1. Geography
Douyin is mainland China only. TikTok is everywhere else (banned in India and on US government devices). They are technically the same product split across two infrastructures.
2. Content library
Zero overlap. A Chinese creator on Douyin does not appear on TikTok and vice versa. Trends rarely cross over without manual reposting.
3. Video length
Douyin allows up to 30-minute uploads natively. TikTok caps at 10 minutes for most accounts (60 min in some markets).
4. E-commerce
Douyin's in-app commerce is years ahead — booking restaurants, hotels, flights, and livestream shopping all happen inside the feed. TikTok Shop is catching up but still narrower.
5. Censorship & moderation
Douyin enforces China's content rules — no political content, age limits for minors (under-14s capped at 40 minutes/day in a kids-only feed). TikTok moderates per regional law, generally more permissive.
6. Algorithm tuning
Both use ByteDance's recommendation engine, but they're trained on different data. Douyin favors local creators and e-commerce signals; TikTok optimizes for global virality.
7. Downloads
Both bake a watermark into in-app saves. For clean MP4s, use a Douyin downloader or our TikTok downloader.
FAQ
Are Douyin and TikTok owned by the same company?+
Yes — both are ByteDance products. But the user accounts, content libraries, and servers are completely separate.
Can a TikTok account log into Douyin?+
No. They are two separate platforms with no cross-login.
Why is Douyin only in China?+
China requires apps to comply with local content and data rules. ByteDance keeps Douyin domestic to stay compliant; TikTok handles everything else.
Which is bigger?+
Douyin has ~700M daily users (China only); TikTok has ~1.7B monthly users globally. They have similar reach in their respective markets.