TikTok vs Reels: Which is best for your business?

We’ve all heard the buzz, Facebook launched a TikTok “look-a-like” feature last week on the Instagram app and it has everyone talking. While we (along with every other creator) may be feeling a little uncertain about TikTok’s future, today we’re going to dive into how this app compares to Instagram Reels, along with asking the big question — which one should you use for your business?

Let’s start by comparing the features of Instagram Reels and TikTok. We’re going to put them into three main categories: length of content, editing features and the results we’ve seen from both apps.

Length of Content

When it comes to creating content, TikTok allows for the upload of either 15 second or 60 second videos. Instagram Reels on the other hand allows for 15 second videos.

Editing Features

Simply put: TikTok offers a substantial amount of editing features that Reels does not. The effects TikTok give to their creators are far and wide and include fun interactive effects, as well as popular trends such as “clone trio” and “green screen”. When it comes to Instagram Reels, you have the same “Filters” to choose from that you’d normally find on an Instagram Story. There is also no way to determine on Reels which effects or sounds are “trending”, which happens to be one of the things that help you get more views on TikTok. Speaking of, TikTok allows for creators to upload their own sounds and as you might of guessed it… Reels does not. These sounds on TikTok are a combination of music you might hear on your favorite Spotify playlist, “mixes” and voice-over style sounds.

When you download an Instagram Reels video to your camera roll, the sound will be missing. Our best guess is that Instagram has yet to work out the details on copyrights to the music, and how they can be shared to other platforms. TikTok on the other hand allows for you to keep the audio of your video, and share it with other platforms (hence how much easier it is to go viral).

Another popular feature Reels is missing (compared to TikTok) is the ability to “duet” a video, which is basically creating side-by-side reaction videos. Users on TikTok use duets as a way to communicate with each other, by either reacting to the original video or adding to the conversation.

Results We’ve Seen So Far

If you’ve been struggling to grow on Instagram, and you have creative ideas for video, we believe that putting your efforts towards TikTok will grant more return on investment than Instagram Reels (at the time of this article). While TikTok was geared more in the beginning to Gen Z’s, a much wider demographic is now on TikTok, creating and consuming videos every single day.

We also believe that apps like and might even “favor” your content if you utilize all it’s features. With that being said, creating content for Instagram Reels is still a good idea. Maybe it’s not as evolved as TikTok, but some ideas for content your business can share include:

• Vlog Style “Day In The Life”

• Behind-the-Scenes At Work

• Repurposed Video Content

Bottom Line: While we personally feel that Instagram Reels isn’t a full replacement for TikTok, it is a new way to get in front of more potential customers. We’re excited to see where it goes in the future, and what features they end up adding.