TikTok has exploded in popularity over the past few years and has become one of the fastest growing and most influential social media platforms. According to 32 Latest TikTok Statistics For 2024: The Definitive List, between Q3 2019 and Q2 2020, TikTok usage in the US grew by 123%. As of January 2023, TikTok was the 6th most downloaded app of the decade with over 3.3 billion downloads.
The addictive video-sharing app allows users to create and share 15 to 60 second videos on any topic. It has become a hub for viral internet challenges, dances, lip-syncs, comedy sketches and more. TikTok’s algorithm is notoriously good at serving users content that keeps them endlessly scrolling and entertained.
With over 1 billion monthly active users as of September 2022, TikTok has gained immense popularity across multiple demographics. About 43% of its users are between 18 to 24 years old. But it also has a significant user base among 25 to 34 year olds (29%) as well as 13 to 17 year olds (32%).
Defining Success on TikTok
On TikTok, creators can find success measured in various ways. Three of the main metrics used to evaluate a TikTok creator’s success are follower count, views, and engagement.
Follower count refers to the number of users who follow a creator’s account to see their new videos in their feed. Creators with larger followings stand to reach wider audiences with each new video. As of January 2023, the most followed TikTok creator is Charli D’Amelio with over 150 million followers (source).
Views indicate how many times a video has been watched. Videos with higher view counts tend to appear more prominently in feeds and recommendations. TikTok’s all-time most viewed video, posted in 2021 by Bella Poarch, has over 600 million views and counting.
Engagement calculates the total number of likes, comments, shares and other interactions on a creator’s videos. High engagement rates signal that a creator makes content that resonates with viewers. Engagement can help convert views into a loyal, invested audience.
Top TikTok Creators by Followers
The top TikTok creators ranked by follower count are:
- Charli D’Amelio – The most followed creator on TikTok with over 150 million followers. She is known for her viral dance videos. Source
- Khaby Lame – The second most followed TikTok creator with 143.5 million followers. Khaby found fame by posting short silent videos mocking overly complicated life hack videos. Source
- Bella Poarch – Currently ranked third with 92.4 million followers. Bella went viral with her lip sync video for M to the B and now posts a variety of comedic and music content.
- Addison Rae – Previously the second most followed creator, now dropped to fourth place with 86.8 million followers. Addison originally got popular doing dance videos alongside Charli.
- Zach King – Known for his magic trick and illusion videos, Zach ranks fifth with 73.4 million followers.
The top creators have grown massive audiences on TikTok by consistently creating viral content in popular categories like dance, comedy, and magic tricks.
Top TikTok Creators by Views
When looking at overall video views, the list of top TikTok creators reveals some of the biggest stars and viral sensations on the platform. According to Exploding Topics, the TikTok creator with the most views is Bella Poarch, who has over 8 billion views across her popular lip-syncing and dancing videos. She hit it big with her viral “M to the B” video, which alone has over 560 million views. Following behind is Addison Rae with over 5.2 billion views, launching to fame from her trendy dance videos often with her Hype House collab. Other top creators by views include Zach King (5 billion), Spencer Polanco Knight (4.9 billion), and Lauren Godwin (3.4 billion) 1. Even longtime top star Charli D’Amelio ranks below them by total video views, though she still has an impressive 2.6 billion views thanks to her consistent posting and engagement from her loyal fans.
Many creators gain massive view counts from viral hits, benefiting hugely from TikTok’s algorithm if it picks up their videos. But it takes consistency and engagement over time to stay relevant and build an audience. Measuring top creators just by views provides insight into viral sensations, but a more complete picture examines other metrics like followers, engagement, earnings, and influence.
Top TikTok Creators by Engagement
When measuring a TikTok creator’s success by engagement, metrics like likes, comments, and shares give a good indication of audience enthusiasm and response. Some of the top creators ranked by engagement include:
Bella Poarch (@bellapoarch) frequently tops engagement rankings, like her iconic lip-sync video to “M to the B” that has over 560 million likes. Her creative concepts, relatable personality, and stunning visuals garner huge engagement across her videos.
Spencer Polanco Knight (@spencewuah) earns incredibly high engagement with his comedic sketches and impressions. Many of his videos top 1 million likes. His comments sections are flooded by fans appreciating his humor and talent.
Loren Gray (@lorengray) was one of TikTok’s first megastars, joining in 2015. She built a massive fanbase through her acting, dancing, and lip-sync videos. Her posts often exceed 10 million likes thanks to her early audience loyalty.
Will Smith (@willsmith) leverages his existing fame for big engagement. Videos on his account like challenges, jokes, and behind-the-scenes peeks regularly get over 30 million likes from his audience.
Khabane Lame (@khaby.lame) is the second most-followed TikTok creator, and earns likes in the tens of millions. His comedic, wordless reaction videos are universally appealing and get huge engagement globally.
Highest-Earning TikTok Creators
When looking at success on TikTok, one key metric is earnings. Several platforms have estimated the highest-earning TikTok creators based on sponsored content, livestreams, merchandise, and other monetization methods.
According to Later, these are currently the top earning TikTok stars:
- Charli D’Amelio – With over 146 million followers, Charli earns an estimated $4 million per month from her branded merchandise and sponsored content. This makes her the highest paid TikTok creator.
- Addison Rae – The second highest earning creator, Addison Rae makes an estimated $3.5 million per month through similar monetization strategies.
- Dixie D’Amelio – Sister to Charli, Dixie earns around $2.9 million per month as the third highest paid creator.
- Loren Gray – One of TikTok’s first major stars, Loren Gray earns an estimated $2.6 million monthly.
- Josh Richards – As the highest earning male creator, Josh Richards makes around $1.5 million per month.
These top earners have leveraged their massive follower counts into lucrative business opportunities. Their success demonstrates the financial potential of building an audience and brand on TikTok.
Most Influential TikTok Creators
When determining the most influential TikTok creators, it’s important to look beyond just followers and views. True influence stems from the ability to shape culture and start trends on the platform. Some of the most influential TikTokers have had an outsized impact despite having fewer followers than the top creators.
Charli D’Amelio is considered one of the most influential creators on TikTok. Though she doesn’t have the most followers, her viral dances have started huge trends on the platform. She helped popularize the Renegade dance, launching many other creators to fame (Source). Charli was also the first TikToker to reach 100 million followers, setting records on the platform.
Addison Rae Easterling has also been tremendously influential through her catchy dances and collaborations. She frequently works with other top creators like Charli D’Amelio, helping expand their reach and visibility. Her content appeals to a massive mainstream audience (Source). She was named by Forbes as TikTok’s highest-earning star in 2021.
Charli D’Amelio’s Success
Charli D’Amelio has become one of the most successful creators on TikTok, amassing over 150 million followers as of January 2023. According to the New Yorker1, she gained over 5 million followers in less than a week after joining TikTok in 2019. Her fast rise to fame is often attributed to her fun, relatable dance videos that inspired millions to follow suit.
D’Amelio’s massive following has translated into equally impressive engagement and earnings. She consistently garners over 50 million likes per video, with some of her most popular videos crossing 500 million views. D’Amelio has leveraged her TikTok fame into lucrative brand deals and partnerships. According to Forbes2, she and her sister Dixie have earned over $70 million since 2020 through partnerships with brands like Dunkin, Abercrombie, Amazon and Prada.
With her meteoric rise and ability to convert followers into engagement and revenue, Charli D’Amelio stands out as one of the most successful TikTok creators to date.
Khaby Lame’s Rise
In March 2020, Khaby Lame was laid off from his job at a factory in Italy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With lots of free time, he started creating short, silent videos on TikTok poking fun at overly complicated online “life hacks.” His videos quickly went viral as people appreciated the simple humor during a difficult time.source
By mid-2021, Khaby had become one of the fastest growing stars on TikTok. He gained over 78 million followers in just over a year, with his signature no-words, hand gesture reactions. His followers appreciated how he humorously pointed out the obvious solution to unnecessary life hacks. While not speaking in his videos at first, his expressive face and body language connected with a global audience.
A major factor in Khaby’s success was his ability to create content that resonated across cultures. As an immigrant in Italy, his silent, visual comedy was understandable by people worldwide regardless of language barriers. This allowed his TikTok account to quickly gain international popularity across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and beyond.
The Most Successful TikTok Creator
When evaluating success on TikTok, there are several factors to consider – number of followers, views, engagement, earnings, and influence. Based on reviewing these metrics for top creators like Charli D’Amelio, Khaby Lame, and others, the most successful TikTok creator is Khaby Lame.
Khaby Lame has experienced a meteoric rise to fame on TikTok, gaining over 142 million followers in just two years since joining in 2020. His comedic reaction videos have amassed an astounding total of 2.3 billion likes across his posts. With over 1.5 billion views on his most popular video, Khaby Lame has achieved viral success at a scale unmatched by other top creators.
In addition to his massive viewership and engagement, Khaby Lame has leveraged his TikTok fame to earn lucrative brand deals and become an influencer. He ranks among the highest-paid creators on the platform. Beyond the numbers, Khaby Lame has built a distinctive personal brand and earned recognition as an internet phenomenon.
For these reasons, when evaluating overall success on TikTok across metrics like followers, views, engagement, earnings, and influence, Khaby Lame stands out as the most successful TikTok creator.
