While TikTok continues to dominate the social media space as the fastest-growing app in market history, its sister app, Douyin, remains the biggest moneymaker for Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, as the highest-grossing iPhone app globally, Douyin grossed $372 million in July, or nearly 30% more than TikTok.
TikTok's sister app, Douyin, grossed 4x more revenue than YouTube and 5x more than Tinder.
Launched in 2016, before TikTok, Douyin instantly became a viral sensation in China. The app was initially created to share music videos, and its powerful algorithm became the foundation of TikTok.
Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance owns both apps, and while they're similar, they follow completely different rules. Furthermore, popular content creators on Douyin are unknown outside of China and vice versa. Globally popular TikTok accounts have no followers in China. Additionally, Douyin earns significantly more revenue through in-app tipping and live streaming.
According to data from Statista and AppTweak, Douyin was the highest-grossing iPhone app worldwide, generating an estimated $372 million in revenue in July. TikTok followed closely, with $324 million in revenue that month. Japanese comic book reading app Piccoma came in third, with more than $228 million in revenue. Honor of Kings and Tencent Videos followed, with about $165 million in revenue from iPhone users.
Douyin's monthly revenue is even more impressive when compared to other apps in the social media space. YouTube grossed $89 million on the App Store in the same month, or four times less than Douyin. Statistics show that the monthly revenue of ByteDance's video-sharing app was also five times higher than that of Tinder, which grossed about $72 million on the App Store in July.
The fifth largest social media platform in the world, with 715 million users
Douyin's impressive revenue figures stem from its ever-growing user base. According to the Global Digital Report 2023, the app reached an impressive 715 million users this year, ranking as the fifth largest social media platform in the world, behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
This puts the Chinese short video app far ahead of other major social media platforms. By comparison, Snapchat reached 635 million users in 2023, or 40 million fewer than Douyin, while Twitter had nearly 160 million fewer users, or 556 million this year.
