eMarketer: TikTok Will Have More US Gen-Z Users Than Instagram by Year-End

The research firm said that by the end of 2021, TikTok will have 37.3 million Gen Z users in the U.S.—defined as those born between 1997 and 2012—who access their accounts on the video creation platform at least once per month, versus 33.3 million for Instagram.

Insider Intelligence eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson said in a statement, “Instagram’s user base is steadily aging. This year, its fastest-growing age group will be ages 35 to 44 (up 7.2%), while gains will be much slower among teens 12 to 17 (0.7%) and young adults 18 to 24 (2%) However, Gen Z will still make up nearly three in 10 users on Instagram (28%) this year, so advertisers can still find them on the platform.”

Indeed, Instagram still has far more total U.S. users than TikTok or Snapchat, with eMarketer projecting its total at 118.9 million at year-end, up 3.7% compared with the end of 2020. The introduction of Instagram Reels led the research firm to bump up its estimate.

Snapchat is the leader in U.S. Gen Z users, projected to total 42 million at the end of 2021, and eMarketer said that it will remain atop the list through 2025, but TikTok will narrow the gap considerably during that time period.

With the threat of being banned in the U.S. now in its rear-view mirror, eMarketer increased its user projections for the platform, saying that it sees total U.S. users rising 18.3% in 2021, to 78.7 million, and adding that by 2023, TikTok’s projection of 89.7 million will give it a slight edge over Snapchat’s 89.5 million.

Williamson said, “TikTok has incredibly strong engagement and loyalty among Gen Z. The members of this generation are using it not only to be entertained, but also increasingly to learn about and discuss weightier issues such as climate change, politics and news. Other social platforms also offer such content, but TikTok’s unique video style and aesthetic is strongly appealing to young people.”