TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts (A Study by Socialinsider)

Short-form video content rules supreme in 2024 (sorry, written content), but not all platforms dedicated to this format are alike.

Is YouTube Shorts better than TikTok? Or should you focus on Instagram Reels?

Understanding the nuances between these three is crucial for social media managers who want to allocate resources effectively, target the right audience, and maximize engagement.

Keep reading for a detailed analysis of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, complete with 2024 benchmarks. This will help you optimize your social media video strategy based on data and leverage each platform's strengths.

Table of Contents
What are Instagram Reels?
What is TikTok?
What are YouTube Shorts?
TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts: 9 Differences between platforms
TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts: Key statistics
Reels vs. TikTok vs. Shorts: Choosing the right platform for your brand
Methodology

What are Instagram Reels?

Instagram Reels are short videos lasting 15 to 60 seconds, with music or audio and featuring a range of creative tools. These tools include AR effects, a timer, and an alignment tool for transitions, which assist users in creating engaging and visually appealing content.

One of the advantages of Reels is its integration within the Instagram ecosystem. Reels can be discovered in the newsfeed, in Stories, and in the dedicated Explore tab, making them a natural part of users’ existing Instagram habits.

This means that Reels can significantly boost engagement for brands and creators by leveraging Instagram’s already extensive user base.

According to Demandstage, 2.35 billion people interact with reels every month, with the majority of the audience being between 25 and 34 years old.

Launched in 2020, Reels was a reaction to the rising popularity of short-form video content, directly competing with its Chinese-owned rival, TikTok.

Despite TikTok’s historic dominance among younger audiences, Meta reports rapid growth for Reels, suggesting it’s catching up in market share and ad revenue.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is one of the leading platforms for short-form video content. Known for its highly engaging content, TikTok allows users to share 15-second to 10-minute videos on various topics.

The platform’s appeal lies in its extensive library of music, sound effects, and editing tools, which let users quickly produce and publish captivating videos.

Launched globally in 2018, TikTok stands out through its algorithm, which tailors the “For You” page to users’ preferences, making content discovery personalized and “addictive”, according to 77.7% of Gen Z users.

For businesses, TikTok offers an opportunity to connect with a highly engaged, younger user base.

According to our Social Media Statistics library, TikTok has more Gen Z users than Instagram, and the majority of users are aged 18 to 34.

What are YouTube Shorts?

YouTube Shorts allow YouTube users to share 15 to 60-second videos while leveraging the platform’s extensive library of music and audio clips.

One of the major advantages of YouTube Shorts is the seamless integration with the broader YouTube ecosystem and the content’s discoverability through the platform’s homepage and search engine.

Google rolled out Shorts globally in June 2021 as a response to the increasing demand for short-form video content, and it competes directly with TikTok and Reels.

According to Data Reportal, 21.3% of YouTube Shorts viewers are 25 to 34, making them the largest age demographic. The platform had over 2 billion monthly users at the end of 2023.

TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts: 9 Differences between platforms

Given the similarities between TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts in terms of the type of content published and demographics, it’s easy to put them all in the same marketing bucket.

However, TikToks, Instagram Reels and Shorts are different in many respects. The details matter, and engaged users will notice (and tax you) if you apply a one-size-fits-all strategy.

Let’s look at the subtle but important differences to help you adjust your strategy specifically for Reels or TikTok and make the best out of YouTube Shorts.

1.  Platform focus

The platform focus of TikTok, Reels, and Shorts shapes user experience, content discovery, and monetization opportunities for creators.

For marketers, it influences strategic planning, content creation,  and audience targeting.

• TikTok is a standalone platform dedicated exclusively to short-form content with a unique algorithm that has led to the creation of a highly engaged and creative community.

• Reels is a feature within Instagram. The difference between TikTok and Instagram Reels is that the latter is integrated into the larger Instagram environment, allowing users to create and share short videos alongside photos and other content types.

• Shorts is a feature within YouTube. Similar to Reels, YouTube Shorts is embedded within a larger platform and leverages an established user base that has access to different types of content, not just short-form videos.
  

TikTok’s focus on short-form videos means that the entire platform is optimized for discovering and sharing this type of content.

In contrast, the discovery mechanisms for Reels and Shorts are tied to the broader platform’s algorithms and user behavior patterns. For example, when considering TikTok vs. Reels for business, you must consider what people expect to find on each platform.

On TikTok, brands can focus entirely on creating engaging, trend-based videos. This includes participating in challenges, using popular sounds, engaging in duets, and doing stitches.

On Instagram and YouTube, brands must diversify their content strategy to maintain consistent engagement across all content types, including photos, long-form videos, live streams, etc.

2.  Video length

Video length directly influences content strategy and audience engagement.

• TikTok offers more flexibility in terms of video length. Though the platform became famous for its shorter clips, videos can now range from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. The shorter video length encourages creativity and conciseness and is more appealing to a younger audience, while the longer videos give creators a chance to explore topics more in-depth, but not to the extent that platforms like YouTube allow.

• Reels allow videos from 15 to 60 seconds. For brands with a strong presence on Instagram, Reels offer an integrated approach and the chance to complete their strategy with the popular short video format.

• Shorts also allow videos from 15 to 60 seconds. They are naturally connected to longer YouTube content, making them a strategic tool for businesses aiming to draw viewers to more in-depth videos, such as product tutorials, expert interviews, webinars, etc.
  

When considering whether TikTok is better than YouTube Shorts for business, the answer is: it depends on your goals.

TikTok offers an advantage for short, engaging ads, while Shorts work as teasers for educational content that can nurture leads. On the other hand, Reels is suitable for cross-promotion and more complex, integrated campaigns.

3.  Content mix

The content mix on the three platforms determines how brands diversify their engagement strategies across different types of posts.

• TikTok primarily features short videos with a strong emphasis on trends, challenges, and viral content.

• Reels feature short videos that often mirror the trends on TikTok but also include content from existing Instagram influencers and brands.

• Shorts feature short videos that can drive traffic to brands’ longer content on their YouTube channels.
  

While TikTok's videos can be quite creative, the content tends to be repetitive, prompting brands to continually innovate within the short video format to maintain interest, increase brand awareness, and distinguish themselves from similar content.

Similarly, though YouTube shorts offer more cross-promotional value by being connected to the platform's long-form video content side, not all brands seek to create in-depth videos.  

In contrast, Instagram offers a more diverse content mix, including carousels posts and single images. Brands can complement Reels with photos, Stories, and feed posts. According to our Instagram content benchmarks, brands prioritized Reels over single images, with a 11% increase in Reels volume YoY.

Social media managers now create a comprehensive Instagram marketing strategy to engage their audience and tell a more complete story.

For example, a retail brand can use Stories for highlighting UGC, Reels for quick, engaging store highlights, and the feed for high-quality, visually appealing product images.

When comparing Reels vs TikTok, businesses may prefer Reels if they already have an established presence on Instagram and wish to maintain a consistent brand voice across various formats.

4.  Editing

Both TikTok and Instagram provide native tools for recording and editing videos, while YouTube Shorts offers more limited options. These features directly impact the quality and creativity of the published content.

• TikTok offers complex in-app editing tools, including filters, effects, text overlays, and sound synchronization.

• Reels provide various editing tools, such as AR effects, timers, and alignment tools, though they are somewhat less extensive than TikTok.

• Shorts include basic editing tools, such as multi-segment camera options, speed controls, and a timer, but are less comprehensive than TikTok.
  

Of the three, TikTok is the clear winner when it comes to in-app editing features. The tools enable users to produce highly engaging content quickly without needing external editing software.

While this is appealing for independent creators, brands typically have access to more advanced resources and expertise and will most likely produce and refine videos in third-party tools before uploading them.

If you’re growing a small brand and looking to streamline creation while cutting costs, you'll enjoy TikTok’s more complex editing features.

Many creators also download the TikTok video and reuse it on other platforms, though, in this case, it’s advisable to do further editing to remove the TikTok watermark for a professional look.

When reusing videos, you’ll also want to consider differences in target audiences and whether the same engaging mechanisms work on TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts.

5. Target audience

Imagine trying to have a conversation, but everyone speaks a different language. That’s what happens when businesses use the same message on TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Each platform has a specific audience with different expectations, behaviors, and jargon.

• TikTok is like the hangout for Gen Z, all about quick, creative clips (many even poking fun at older generations), though it has started to attract more diverse age groups.

• Reels appeal to Instagram’s broader user base, including both younger and older demographics who enjoy a mix of fun and familiarity.

• Shorts target YouTube’s diverse audience, spanning all age groups and interests. Given YouTube’s massive popularity, the audience is a mashup of all ages and interests.
  

So, how do you choose between the three? First, define your target audience and see how it matches that of the platforms. Second, understand how engaging with each demographic can help you achieve your social media marketing goals.

TikTok has a more experimental vibe, and its high engagement rates make it perfect for brands looking to innovate and connect with a tech-savvy, dynamic demographic. This audience is more likely to adopt new products and give niche offerings a chance, but also more exigent with anything commercial-related.

In contrast, the diverse demographic mix of Instagram gives social media managers the chance to develop a more varied content strategy to reach different audience segments.

Is Instagram Reels better than TikTok in this respect? The broader demographic of Reels is certainly appealing, particularly for brands that already have an established Instagram following. The same is true for YouTube Shorts, where a brand can access a huge, diverse user base.

However, there are other factors to consider. As we’ll explain in more detail below, data shows that, while catering to a narrower audience, TikTok has double the engagement rate, which is mostly due to its algorithm.

6.  Algorithm

Each platform has a secret sauce: an algorithm that decides what content users see.

• TikTok stands out through its highly personalized “For You” page, which uses a sophisticated algorithm to serve content based on user behavior and preferences.

• Reels content is shown in the main Instagram feed, Stories, and the Explore tab, leveraging Instagram’s existing algorithm.

• Shorts are primarily featured on the Shorts shelf on the YouTube homepage, where they benefit from YouTube’s recommendation system, which promotes popular and relevant content.
  

TikTok’s algorithm is designed as a “mind reader,” serving personalized videos that keep users hooked. It is also known for favoring unknown, new users who sometimes go viral overnight. This means that even a new business can become popular quickly by striking the right chord with the scrolling crowds.

Compared to Reels and YouTube Shorts, TikTok definitely has the algorithmic upper hand, and its engagement rates make it tempting for any brand or creator. However, as every marketing manager knows, content strategies must take into account a variety of factors, especially when it comes to spending big bucks.

7.  Advertising

Where are your advertising dollars best spent? Each platform offers distinct advantages.

• TikTok stands out with ads that feel like part of the party, not party crashers: in-feed ads that look like regular videos, branded hashtag challenges, and special effects users can play with.

• Reels provide advertising opportunities through Instagram’s ad platform, including sponsored posts, Story ads, and in-Reels ads. The platform is designed to expand your interactions, so it is a great option if you want to create an ad campaign that flows seamlessly across different sections and leverages various content formats.

• Shorts integrate with YouTube’s ad platform, offering pre-roll ads and other monetization options for creators. YouTube’s extensive search and discovery features can boost ads to a diverse and engaged audience.
  

You can strategically use all three platforms to achieve goals such as enhanced brand awareness, improved conversion rate, lead generation, and better social media ROI.

Be clear about your objectives, set up your campaign target audience in detail, match content to users’ expectations on each platform, and keep an eye on social media campaign analytics. These will help you understand performance and refine your ads.

8.  Music

A certain sound or melody can make or break the success of your short-form content. Here’s an overview of TikTok, Reels, and Shorts music accessibility.

• TikTok provides an extensive library of music and sound effects, allowing users to create synchronized and trendy videos.

• Reels leverages access to Instagram’s music library, which is broad but sometimes less varied than TikTok’s offerings.

• Shorts gives users access to YouTube’s extensive music library, allowing creators to choose from various tracks.
  

In terms of audio options, TikTok definitely wins over Instagram and Shorts. TikTok has transformed how music is integrated into social media, making it very easy for users to incorporate sounds into their clips. Additionally, sounds play a central role in content discoverability, and music (even older ones) often achieves commercial success after going viral on TikTok.  

When comparing YouTube Shorts vs. TikTok vs. Instagram Reels for music integration, businesses must consider the specific needs of their campaign and how effectively each platform’s music features align with their content strategy.

A dynamic B2C brand that wants to make a splash on TikTok and attract young audiences must absolutely learn how to leverage musical trends in content. A B2B business looking to drive traffic to long-form education content will do just fine with the Shorts music integration.

9.  Analytics

Platform analytics help businesses understand content performance and audience engagement across TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Each social networks analytics offer unique insights that help marketing managers optimize content strategy and marketing efforts.

• TikTok provides analytics through its Business Account. Metrics: video views, follower growth, profile views, engagement statistics. You can also measure your TikTok performance using a more comprehensive analytics tool.

• Reels offer analytics through Instagram Insights, including demographic data and integrated analysis with other Instagram content. Metrics: reach, impressions, likes, comments, shares, saves.

• Shorts use YouTube’s analytics tools to provide comprehensive data that allows the analysis of both short-form and long-form content performance. Metrics: views, watch time, audience retention, demographics.
  

Tracking analytics across multiple platforms can quickly become confusing and time-consuming for marketing managers. Each platform has its own set of metrics and dashboards, which can lead to fragmented data and difficulty in gaining a comprehensive view of performance.

As an alternative, businesses can use a social media analytics tool like Socialinsider that centralizes data from various platforms into a single interface, providing a cohesive social media dashboard. This enables brands to see the big picture and make strategic decisions about optimizing short-form content, not just do isolated fixes.

Talking about strategic decisions, let’s look into the latest data behind TikTok, Reels, and Shorts to help you take data-driven actions on these platforms.

TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts: Key statistics

While platform algorithms are elusive — always changing and not letting people in on their secrets — data doesn’t lie.

We measured engagement rates, watch times, and other key metrics across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts, and here’s a breakdown of the findings:

• TikTok is the most engaging short-form video platform: TikTok takes the gold medal with a whopping 2.34% engagement rate, meaning viewers are more likely to like, comment, or share your content. Reels comes in second at 1.48%, while YouTube Shorts trails behind at 0.91%.

• TikTok sparks 3x more conversations than Reels: When it comes to sparking conversation and community building, TikTok shines (again) with the most comments compared to Reels and Shorts.

• TikTok scores the highest watch rate — with drops across the board for big accounts: Interestingly, while Reels had the highest average watch time in 2023, TikTok captured the top spot for this metric, too, in 2024. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues.
  

While TikTok takes the crown on multiple statistics, don’t hurry to log out of the other two.

Keep reading for an in-depth TikTok vs. Instagram Reels vs. Shorts data analysis and expert recommendations.

TikTok is the most engaging short-form video platform

With the highest engagement rate (2.34%), TikTok reigns supreme for the third year in a row for brands seeking maximum interaction with their audience. This makes it ideal for building brand awareness and reach, especially among Gen Z.

However, the best platform depends on your target audience and goals.

Instagram Reels, with a 1.48% engagement rate in 2024, is perfect for established brands with a large Instagram following.

Reels' "teaser" format keeps existing fans engaged and leads them to the feed content—and beyond, to landing pages and product offerings.

Remember, TikTok prioritizes views, so a high engagement rate is expected. On the other hand, Instagram is follower-based, so it might be more suitable for building a community around the brand.

YouTube Shorts, with a 0.78% engagement rate, serves as a powerful discovery tool. Most views come from the YouTube homepage, potentially leading to a larger subscriber base and more views on longer YouTube videos.

If you're looking to drive traffic to long-form content, Shorts is the shortcut.

If resources allow, a multi-platform approach is your best bet for a balanced strategy that is not platform-dependent.

Keep in mind that even if TikTok has the highest engagement rate, it has been decreasing over the last two years — with a big dip at the end of 2023 — while Reels and Shorts have maintained a steady pace.

To maximize reach, impressions and engagement for your particular audience, consider using all three platforms and measuring results. Also, check out social media benchmarks to understand industry trends.

TikTok sparks 3x more conversations than Reels

Engagement goes beyond likes. Comments show a deeper audience connection, and TikTok is again the clear winner.

With a whopping 0.22% comment rate, TikTok sparks three times more conversations on average compared to Reels (at 0.07%).

High engagement rates on TikTok indicate that the content resonates with viewers, fostering a strong brand presence in people’s minds.

However, not all conversations are created equal.

While it's important to aim to get as many comments as possible on all platforms, also keep an eye on the tone of those conversations.

Monitor brand sentiment to understand if people are talking about you in a positive, negative, or neutral way, and identify possible changes and issues to address.

TikTok scores the highest watch rate — with drops across the board for big accounts

We found interesting insights by looking at watch rates for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts across different follower ranges.

TikTok consistently maintains the highest watch rates across all follower ranges, holding on to its status as engagement king — though engagement drops as follower count rises.

Instagram Reels performs well, especially for accounts with fewer followers, but shows a significant drop as follower count increases.

YouTube Shorts have the lowest watch rates in all categories, suggesting they may not be as effective for retaining viewer attention as TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Overall, smaller accounts experience high engagement, while maintaining high engagement becomes more challenging as the follower count grows on all three platforms. Who said being popular was easy?

Reels vs. TikTok vs. Shorts: Choosing the right platform for your brand

So, after all the data and analyses, which is the best short-form video platform in 2024? Here’s our verdict:

Engagement champion: TikTok

Looking to boost brand awareness and spark engagement?

TikTok is better than Reels and Shorts, according to the data.

Its vibrant community thrives on trends, challenges, entertaining snippets, music videos, and more. This makes it ideal for capturing youthful demographics and nurturing a highly interactive brand connection.

Strategic community building: Instagram Reels

For established brands, Instagram Reels offer a strategic space. Leverage this platform for educational content, such as product demos or behind-the-scenes glimpses.

Reels seamlessly integrate with Instagram’s existing audience, making them ideal for deepening brand loyalty and showcasing your expertise and products in a more interactive way.

However, keep innovating and don't get too comfortable, or you might get lost in the Instacrowd.

The power of discovery: YouTube Shorts

Shorts excel as a discovery tool, particularly for brands and creators already established on YouTube. Use this platform to create captivating short-form content that entices viewers to explore your longer-form videos.

YouTube’s powerful search and recommendation features are a marketer’s dream, but success isn’t guaranteed. For a solid marketing approach, explore other platforms alongside YouTube.

TikTok, Reels, and Shorts best practices

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind in your long-term short-video journey:

• Know your audience and tailor content to match their interests and each platform’s particularities.
• Grab attention in the first few seconds of the videos with a compelling intro.
• Create videos under 60 seconds to maximize engagement.
• Optimize content for soundless viewing, too. Use captions and visuals to make your content compelling, even on mute.
• Tap into trending topics and hashtags for discoverability.
• Analyze social media performance and refine your strategy continuously.
• See what's working for similar brands and popular creators through competitor analysis and adapt their winning elements for your own content.

Final thoughts

Short-form video is a marketing essential, not just a trend.

With TikTok, Reels, and Shorts all offering unique advantages, a multi-platform approach is often your best bet. Start with the platform that best aligns with your target audience and brand goals, then expand using data to guide you.

Socialinsider provides analytics across TikTok, Reels, and YouTube, helping track performance and optimize strategies. Experiment with different formats, hashtags, and styles to see what resonates most.

Creativity is key, so have fun and let analytics tools handle the heavy lifting.

Methodology

The findings of this study are based on the analysis of Shorts, Reels, and TikTok videos posted between January 2022 - March 2024.

TikTok’s engagement rate per post (by followers) is calculated as the sum of likes, comments, and shares on the post divided by the total number of followers that page has. The result is then multiplied by 100.

Instagram’s Reels engagement rate per post (by followers) is calculated as the sum of Reels' likes and comments divided by the total number of followers that the profile has. The result is then multiplied by 100.

Youtube Shorts’ engagement rate per post (by followers) is calculated as the sum of posts' likes and comments divided by the total number of followers that profile has. The result is then multiplied by 100.

The average watch rate represents the count of views in a given timeframe divided by the total number of profile followers multiplied by 100 to get a percentage.