How To Create An App Like Tiktok: Features, Estimation, And Tech Stack

TikTok is a big sensation among the Millions of users across the globe. However, TikTok’s efforts to dominate the Indian market hit the rough patch, when the Indian government banned TikTok among other 59 Chinese apps, as they pose a threat to sovereignty and integrity.

No doubt, TikTok has been the hottest application with users from different walks of life and age groups. But now, TikTok is facing a global backlash over security concerns, as the US is looking at banning this social media app.

Will there be an alternative?

Indeed, TikTok has everything in its platform to hook users and global lockdown spiked that interest to another level. Now when this app is banned in India and has lost $6 Billion revenue so far, and the US in the line to ban it, it becomes a question what would come next?

Multiple alternatives are rising in the market to engage users. Also, the popularity of the app has urged many companies and budding startups to create a TikTok like-app.

Is it possible?

Of course, it is very much possible, today, with our post we will discuss how to create an app like TikTok, the features, factors, cost, and tech stack in creating the app. Let’s dig in to understand the process of carving out a scintillating app solution like TikTok.

Some interesting facts about TikTok

• Much before TikTok faced the backlash of banning in India, it has been ranked as one of the most downloaded apps in 2019 with more than 33 million installs.
• It holds more than 550 million active users around the world.
• A research suggests; an average user spends around 45-50 minutes on the app.
• It is available in over 75 languages in more than 150 markets.

How to Create an App like TikTok?

Now when you have decided to create an app like TikTok, then you must get a whiff of features and functionalities. Here we have compiled a list of necessary and advanced features to help you build a sensational app solution in the market.

Sign- up and Login

Well, this is the basic feature to ensure the safety of users. To get the basic information, you can ask for information like – email, phone number, and social network. However, just like TikTok, you should give viewers liberty to watch videos without signing up even.

Profile edit

With this feature, users can edit their profiles by adding pictures, name, password, gender, date of birth, and more.

 Filters and effects

The filters and effects to the videos is an incredible editing feature of the TikTok videos. With these filters, users can set color saturation, multiple moods, as well as the trends. Also, the effects let them try new trends such as slow-motion, face filters, and lighting effects.

Notifications

Just like any other app, the notification feature in the TikTok also, helps the users to stay glued to its platform. With this feature, not just the TikTok user, but the viewer also gets notified about the new video, follow, like, view, or share updates. Also, the platform ensures to notify users of various upcoming challenges and trends to keep the users engaged.

Hearts and comments

The hearts replicate the like feature of other social platforms. Viewers can leave comments on the video and leave a heart if they like it.  

Videos upload

The video upload should offer a seamless functionality, where users can create and upload the video from the memory card or camera roll effortlessly. 

Sharing

You must let users share their videos on other social media platforms easily. Also, viewers if they like any particular video, and want to share it or use it as their status, the app must allow them. It is another great tool to increase user engagement at rapid-fire speed.

Admin Panel

Through this user as an Admin, can block users if need be. Also, a closer insight at the number of posts, hearts, comments and much more can be tracked.

Advanced Features

The better your app offers the features, the better is the engagement rate. You can leverage the power of technology and infuse it further in your app, so let’s get a glance at some advanced features for TikTok like app. 

Location-based content

The geographical movements of your users play a huge role in gaining users’ interest. An Asian cooking video may not spark the interest for a Canadian user. Henceforth, you need to provide the location-based content to users and must know what’s trending at the moment in that specific location. 

Offer real-time analytics

Calling this feature inevitable would not be wrong, it would help users to get the real-time number of viewers, reactions, number of broadcasters, number of hearts and comments, and much more.  

Video Access without Signup

It is truly a selling tactic followed by the TikTok, where users can access the videos without signing up even. However, to comment or create and post a video they must sign-up. This enables users to gain interest and stay hooked to the platform for longer.

Live video

Just like other social media platforms, your app must also offer the option to users to go live from wherever they are. This further helps them to share with the world their personal experience. This will help your platform to serve everything under one hub only. 

Built-in music library

TikTok users love to utilize trending topics from movies, songs, or dialogues even. Your app must support each of these features and with this built-in music library, your users can lip-sync to them. Also, enable your library to feature the most popular and searched tracks, letting users add their favorite videos as well. 

Hashtags & Challenges

Do you like challenges, then TikTok offers it in abundance. This platform has let numerous celebrities and influencers to offer new challenges to users in the form of dance moves, activities, and the likes. In return, users recreate those challenges on their profiles and boost engagement. 

Utilize AI-Powered recommendations

For a successful app platform, your app must learn about your users constantly via different activities, preferences, and interests. With AI-powered recommendation, your app can read and understand the interest of a specific user, and recommend video as per their preferences.

Duets & reactions

No wonders, but duet feature is extremely popular amid TikTok users, where they can collaborate over a split-screen with other users. This is the new way for the users to find new followers and create interesting videos and stay engaged with the app platform.

Steps to consider before developing an app like TikTok

Indeed, development is the way that helps your dream concept to turn into a reality but is there anything you need to consider. Well, of course, there are certain steps to be taken into the limelight, such as:

Research your target market

Yes, this is the very first step. Although, the concept of an app like TikTok is well popular, but it still requires you to study your audience type. You need to identify your users and must check the demographic profile as well, to help you build an app as per their TASTE.

Study user-behavior

The behavioral trend factor plays a vital role in the success rate of your app. Once you study it, you get to understand their desire towards download the app, loading time expectations, security demands, and much more. This would help you to build create an app that fits the scale users’ demands and requirements.

First create an MVP

The best measure to consider the app monetization model is through, MVP model. It is sure shot way to attain success much before launching the final app. It helps you to test your app and collect valuable feedback from the users to make a significant improvement on it.

Technology Stack

It would be wrong to ignore the tech stack while developing an app like TikTok. The technology that runs behind the social media app development, requires few significant technologies, let’s grab a quick look at…

• For iOS app development- Swift
• For Android development- Kotlin
• For back-end development- Node.js
• For Database- Mongo DB or SQL
• For Cloud- AWS or Azure
• For real-time analytics- Azure stream analytics
• For Notification- Google Cloud Messaging for Android and Apple Push Notification Service for iOS

How much it will cost to develop a mobile app like TikTok?

Well, you must not forget that final app development cost, depends on various factors; design complexity, app platform, features & functionalities among many others. Hence, to provide an accurate cost is not feasible for any professional app development

company. It can range anything from $40k – $60k and can go beyond this bracket depending on the factors mentioned above.

If you are looking forward to getting the accurate number, then you must get in touch with us, and get a no-obligation FREE quotation for your TikTok app project.

Give us a call today!