Triller vs. TikTok Review – Which is Better?

The global popularity of both TikTok and Triller is based on authentic user-generated content. By allowing people to create casual videos and share them with the world, the two apps might, on the face of it, appear quite similar.

What’s different about them is the approach to video formats users can upload. There’s also the way they source music for the videos themselves. With over 30 times the number of Triller’s monthly active users, TikTok is clearly more popular. But with Triller’s exponential year-on-year growth of 500%, that might well change in the future.

TikTok

Released in 2016, TikTok only originally served the Chinese market. A year later, when it appeared on mobile platforms worldwide, it took the internet by storm. Today, it’s one of the most popular apps overall, with 1.5 billion downloads and over 800 million monthly active users.

Videos and Music

With TikTok, you can record a video with your smartphone, edit it, add some music, and publish it on the platform. The only limitation is that your final work can’t be longer than 15 seconds. After that, other TikTok users can watch, like, and share your video on other social platforms.

As far as the editing is concerned, there’s a lot you can do with your video. You can cut it any way you like, add effects and overlays, and even play it in slow motion. If you want to add some text to your clip, you can do that as well.

Although you can’t add music from external sources, you’re able to choose songs from the app’s library. Because TikTok has signed deals with many music labels, you’ll no doubt be able to find a track that suits the mood of your video.

Platform’s AI Algorithm

When you upload your video, you can add hashtags to allow other people to find your video based on their interests. Of course, there’s always a chance your video might appear on the app’s Discover page, making it visible to a significantly wider audience.

Besides the Discover page, TikTok’s algorithm also curates the uploaded content to show trending hashtags and current top videos. And if you want to boost your video, you can do that via promoted campaigns.

The app’s AI takes note of a user’s viewing history and their engagement, providing a personalized experience for each individual. When it comes to music, TikTok’s algorithm doesn’t seem to favor any specific genre.

Triller

Appearing a year before TikTok, Triller currently has 75 million app downloads. Along with 26.5 million monthly active users, these figures aren’t even close to TikTok’s success. But with growth that soared five times over in recent years, Triller is definitely proving a worthy contender to TikTok.

Videos and Music

The main difference between the two is that Triller doesn’t have manual video editing capabilities. Instead, users can record any number of videos with their smartphone, choose a song, and let the app do the hard work. The final result is a custom music video that runs for the entirety of the song’s duration.

To be able to do this, Triller employs an advanced AI algorithm to analyze both your body and lip movement. Using that information, the app then chooses your best video takes and syncs them to the beat of the song you chose. The result is really astonishing, considering it’s all done automatically.

It’s important to stress that Triller uses entire songs when creating your music video. It also lets you choose music from the app’s catalogue, Apple Music, or Spotify. This way, Triller directly supports artists whose work appears in user videos.

The way this support works is pretty simple and ingenious at the same time. If you add a song from Apple Music or Spotify, each time your video gets a view, that view also counts towards the artist’s number of streams on the respective platform.

Platform’s AI Algorithm

Since Triller is basically an AI-driven video-editing tool, it also automatically adds effects to your videos. These range from random overlays, slow and fast motion, and some basic text that appears in your Triller clips.

When choosing the content for its Discover pages, the algorithm organizes it in a couple of different ways. There are leaderboards, genre categories, top videos with trending hashtags, and the unavoidable promoted campaigns. All of which make finding new videos far more accessible. When deciding which content to show to users, it seems that the app’s AI favors the artist accounts over the random ones.

Although it may be a bit tougher to get your custom music video to a wider audience, Triller definitely stays true to its goal. By supporting music artists around the world, you’re now able to use entire songs in your videos. And if you organize your favorite clips into a custom playlists, you can share them with other users on the platform.

Comparing the Two

Regardless of the different approach to creating user videos, both TikTok and Triller provide a great way to showcase your creativity. By mixing your own videos with existing music, it’s certain that the end result will become a truly authentic experience.

While TikTok doesn’t focus on any specific genres, it seems that Triller favors hip-hop and EDM (Electronic Dance Music). That doesn’t come as a surprise, since some of Triller’s investors are actually celebrities in these genres. Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Weeknd, and Marshmello are but a few popular names that financially support the app’s endeavors.

This definitely proves Triller’s intent to support the music industry and individual artists. Contrary to this, TikTok seems to be moving in the opposite direction. It’s rumored that the owner of TikTok, a Chinese company called ByteDance, is planning to launch its own streaming platform. With that, it’ll become another competitor in the music industry.

Use Them Both!

Although both TikTok and Triller provide similar features, each offers a completely different experience. If you want to create a short and funny clip, use TikTok. If you have a spur of musical creativity, hop on Triller and create your own music video.

Have you tried using both apps? Do you favor one over the other? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.