For the past few years, TikTok has grown from a leisurely social app for adolescents into a dominating social platform that has broken user and download records and turned social influencers into celebrities overnight. Month after month, TikTok’s user base continues to grow in unprecedented amounts, making social apps like Instagram and Snapchat seem minuscule in comparison.
Although the platform is still mainly used by Gen Z, TikTok is drawing both Gen X-ers and millennials alike. That shouldn’t be surprising, since the app has also made itself instrumental in promoting and marketing its business and music projects. Brands like Fashionnova have also begun to hire TikTok creators to amplify their marketing campaigns through their massive follower counts, which is another reason why potential creators are rushing to the app in the hopes of snagging themselves lucrative influencer deals.
If you’re looking to become a successful TikToker yourself, then you have to build up a huge following in order to be seen as a top TikTok creator. This list of the most-followed TikTok creators should give you an idea of the type of numbers you need to achieve in order to wildly thrive on the platform.
Michael Le: 49.7 million followers
According to Socially Powerful, Michael Le⏤also known by his TikTok handle, @JustMaiko⏤is the second-fastest growing creative on the platform thanks to his dance moves. Now that he’s become so popular, he’s also become a go-to choice for brands when launching a TikTok hashtag challenge. He currently has endorsement deals with McDonald’s, Invisalign, Hanes, and Amazon.
Loren Gray: 53.6 million followers
Starting in March 2019, Loren Gray was the most-followed TikTok creator for an entire year until she was dethroned by Charli D’Amelio. Gray built a large following across all social media platforms with posts featuring music, dancing, and acting. She’s landed several deals with a wide range of brands including Skechers, Hyundai, Bite Beauty, and Burger King. She also recently inked a new Revlon this fall that offers her creative freedom to create branded Revlon content for her followers. She also has her own music career and a jewelry brand called And Always.
Spencer Knight: 54.3 million followers
Spencer Knight, who also goes by Spencer X, joined TikTok in early 2019 and became popular thanks to his beatboxing skills. Because of his incredible talent, Spencer has performed with a wide variety of acts including Russian rock bands, a bluegrass group, and even an a cappella quintet. So far, he’s landed partnerships with Paramount, Oreo, Uno, and even Sony. He’s even worked with musicians like Alicia Keys and Sean Kingston. When he’s not collaborating with other TikTok creators, you can find him on his own TikTok hosting a series of beatboxing challenges with a stuffed version of himself.
Dixie D’Amelio: 55.9 million followers
Dixie D’Amelio is the older sister of Charlie D’Amelio. Along with her sister and the rest of the D’Amelio family, Dixie creates TikToks that incorporate her acting and music. Her TikTok usually features snippets into her life, music promotion, makeup tutorials, dances, and other sponsored content from her various partners including Valentino, Bliss, Morphe, and Beyond Meat.
Will Smith: 60.4 million followers
With celebrities like Jason Derulo, Jessica Ryan, and Billie Eilish all taking part in the TikTok craze, it was only a matter of time before a big movie star like Will Smith got himself an account. Smith successfully used TikTok in 2019 to launch the hashtag challenge #GeminiMan to promote his film of the same name. The big-name action star regularly joins in on popular TikTok trends and even created a series of content promoting the 30th anniversary of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. True to his personality, Smith’s TikToks often feature funny dance videos and other famous stars from the ’90s.
Zach King: 63 million followers
Before TikTok was even a thing, social media magician Zach King had already climbed to fame with his fantastic and jaw-dropping digital editing skills on the social app Vine. He then moved to YouTube and earned an impressive amount of followers before entering the TikTok world. He currently owns the title of most-viewed TikTok videos with a Harry Potter broomstick illusion that has brought the creator an incredible 2.1 billion views. Thanks to his talent with editing, King has become a top TikTok user and has earned himself many collaborations with more than a few celebrities, including Selena Gomez, Marshmello, and Shay Mitchell. He’s also developed partnerships with brands like Lunchables, PlayStation, Amazon, and Universal Orlando.
Bella Poarch: 77.9 million followers
Who says you have to be talented to be successful at TikTok? Bella Poarch reached TikTok stardom in August 2020 simply by lip-syncing to the song “Soph Aspin Send” by Millie B. A year later, the video still remains the most-liked on TikTok with over 51 million likes and 626.6 million views, which is pretty impressive for a video that doesn’t feature a dance routine or wild transition. Prior to social media stardom, Poarch served in the United States Navy. Now she’s well-known for her comedy TikToks that usually center around gaming.
Now sitting at 70 million followers in 2021, Poarch is poised to potentially take Addison’s #3 spot. Currently, Poarch has partnerships with NYX Cosmetics, Moncler, Linktree, and Valentino. She’s also been featured in Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Vol. 3 Fashion Show and is currently signed on as a Hyper X brand ambassador. In addition, she’s also entered the music industry and made a few music videos for her singles “Build a Bitch” and “Inferno.”
Addison Rae: 82.3 million followers
Addison Rae became popular on TikTok from her dance choreography videos and tutorials. Thanks to her start on TikTok, she’s also built an immensely popular YouTube following from her posts. Her most popular video came in August 2020, when her version of the WAP dance became the most-shared TikTok of all time with 1.6 million shares.
Thanks to her popularity, Rae has earned herself numerous brand partnerships including CoverGirl, Skechers, Bounty, Chipotle, Reebok, and American Eagle. Not too long ago, she was the highest-earning TikToker in 2020 with an estimated $5 million. In 2021, she launched her music career with the single “Obsessed” and is now part of the highly prolific TikTok creator collective Hype House. She’s even started her own makeup line called Item Beauty. Not only that, but the star has appeared in an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and signed a multi-film deal with Netflix after the release of her movie He’s All That on the streaming platform.
Khabane Lame: 99.9 million followers
Senegalese-born and Italian-based TikToker Khabane Lame joined TikTok in March of 2020 after losing his factory job during the pandemic. The creator soon rose to fame after harnessing the momentum of viral and complicated life hack videos by responding to the videos with wordless reaction clips that showed a simpler way to do the same task. Unlike many TikTok creators, Lame’s rise to stardom has been entirely organic. He hasn’t relied on buying followers or views, nor has he joined any TikTok creator houses. If you notice, his posts are reminiscent of the early TikTok days before the app was embraced by Hollywood and began incorporating the more polished production that TikTok users see today.
Since his humble beginnings in 2020, Lame has even acquired his own fan pages that operate in several languages, including English, German, Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish. So far, he’s worked with a few creators on collaborations and even has done promotion for the Italian pasta maker Barilla.
Charlie D’Amelio: 130.4 million followers
In March of 2020, Charli D’Amelio became the most-followed TikTok creator on the app at just 17 years old. In November of the same year, her account was the first to reach 100 million followers, knocking Loren Gray out of the top spot. In addition to her TikTok success, D’Amelio has also managed to earn over 9 million YouTube subscribers after collaborating with celebrity personalities like Noah Schnapp and Marshmello. She even ended up being the first star on the app to appear in a Super Bowl commercial, which is pretty impressive for a TikTok creator. To add to her growing list of accomplishments, she’s also the first person to reach 10 billion likes on the platform.
She actually first started creating content in June of 2019 and became extremely popular thanks to her dance routines. She currently averages 27 million views per video and has accrued 10 billion likes on her account over time. Due to her meteoric rise, Charli has attracted a lot of attention from mini brands, prompting her to charge $30 per sponsored post. That adds up pretty fast from her long-term partnerships with brand names like Hollister and Dunkin’ Donuts. But that’s not all. In addition to her brand deals, Charli has also helped launch the joint makeup line Morphe with her sister, Dixie.
Did your favorite TikTok star make the list? Let us know in a comment below!