Instagram answered TikTok with its new Reels function. The social media app first tried this function in Brazil in late 2019, marketing to a country that was not fully consumed with TikTok yet. Instagram has now released Reels in the United States during the wake of TikTok’s controversies, striking at just the right time.
Instagram Reels vs. TikTok
So, what are the differences between Instagram Reels and TikTok? One of the largest differences comes from the Instagram app itself already having a large ecosystem of content creators. The community on Instagram is accustomed to a different form of publishing content. The app is more geared towards garnering your brand and putting your best face forward. TikTok encourages users to use humor and foster a less polished community rather than create an image.
Technical Differences
When it comes to the technical differences, they are few and far between. TikTok recently allowed its users to release 60-second TikTok videos, while Instagram Reels still restricts its users to 15 seconds. Instead of the “For you” page that TikTok has, Reels shows up on the explore page on Instagram. This can make content a little harder to find if you are looking for Reels exclusively. TikTok still reigns when it comes to interactions between clips as Reels does not yet have a duet function to its service. Instagram does allow for private Reels. If you want to make clips and share them just among your friends, and not the rest of the world, all you have to do is set your Instagram account to private.
Both platforms already have a huge following, however, both communities are vastly different. It’s hard to say if one service will win out over the other, or if that will happen at all.