Last updated: 31 August 2026. Every figure below is from named primary research — Ofcom and DataReportal — with a link to the original report.
TikTok in the UK: the headline numbers
- 27.3 million UK adults use TikTok monthly — 56% of online adults (Ofcom, Online Nation 2025)
- Monthly reach grew 14% year on year; daily reach grew 37%
- 10.4 million Britons open TikTok every single day (21% of online adults)
- The average user spends 28 minutes a day in the app — rising to 49 minutes among 18–34s
- 62% of UK TikTok visitors are over 35
- TikTok’s own ad tools claim 26.8 million UK adults, or 48.4% of the adult population (DataReportal, Digital 2026: The United Kingdom)
How fast TikTok is growing in the UK
The two growth figures tell different stories, and the gap between them is the most important thing in this article.
Monthly reach rose 14% in a year, to 56% of UK online adults. Solid, but not remarkable. Daily reach rose 37%, to 10.4 million people. TikTok is not mainly winning new users any more — it is converting the users it already had into a daily habit.
That changes what a follower is worth. On a platform people open monthly, a follower sees a fraction of your posts. On a platform they open daily, the same follower is a recurring audience. TikTok is moving from the first category to the second faster than any other UK platform.
Who actually uses TikTok in the UK
Here is where most marketing assumptions fall apart. Ofcom’s breakdown of UK TikTok visitors by age:
| Age group | Share of UK TikTok visitors | Minutes per day |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 39% | 49 minutes |
| 35–54 | 37% | 34 minutes |
| 55+ | 25% | 15 minutes |
Almost two thirds of UK TikTok visitors are 35 or older. The over-55s alone make up a quarter of the audience — a group most brands still describe as “not on TikTok”.
The minutes column shows why the platform still feels young: 18–34s spend more than three times as long in the app as the over-55s. The older cohorts are present but lighter users. If you are optimising content for the audience that watches the most, aim young. If you are optimising for the audience that exists, do not write off the 35+ half.
The gender split is 55% female to 45% male — closer to even than TikTok’s reputation suggests.
TikTok against the other platforms
TikTok’s position in the UK is unusual: modest reach, exceptional attention.
| Platform | Monthly reach (UK online adults) | Minutes per day |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 94% | 51 |
| Facebook / Messenger | 93% | 43 |
| 78% | 20 | |
| 60% | 4 | |
| TikTok | 56% | 28 |
Instagram reaches 22 percentage points more British adults than TikTok, yet TikTok holds each of them 40% longer. Only YouTube and Facebook take more of the average Briton’s day — and both of those reach virtually everyone, so their per-user attention is spread across a far larger base.
The counterweight comes from Ofcom’s Media Nations 2026 report: TikTok accounts for about 4% of all in-home video viewing in the UK, unchanged on the year, against YouTube’s 15%. Measured as a share of the nation’s screens rather than as an app habit, TikTok is still a small player. Both things are true at once, and which one matters depends on whether you are buying attention or buying reach.
What this means if you are growing a TikTok account
Daily habit means content velocity matters more than it used to. With 10.4 million Britons opening the app daily and that number growing 37% a year, posting frequency compounds in a way it does not on monthly-habit platforms. One good video a week reaches a fraction of the audience one good video a day does.
Do not build only for under-35s. 62% of the UK audience is older. The 35–54 group alone is 37% of visitors and still gives the app 34 minutes a day — more than the average Instagram user of any age gives Instagram.
Early engagement carries more weight than it did. Across all UK platforms the share of users who actively post, share or comment has fallen from 61% to 49% in two years (Ofcom, Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes 2026). There are simply fewer people willing to react to anything, which makes the first reactions on a video disproportionately valuable — the reason services like TikTok views and TikTok likes exist at all: not to replace an audience, but to clear the threshold where the remaining active users notice you.
Watch time beats follower count. TikTok’s ranking has always favoured completion and rewatch over subscriber numbers. The 49 minutes a day that 18–34s spend in the app is time competing videos are fighting for, and the algorithm allocates it on retention.
Sources
- Ofcom — Online Nation 2025, published 10 December 2025. Reach, users, minutes per day, age and gender breakdowns (measurement period May 2025).
- DataReportal — Digital 2026: The United Kingdom, published 5 November 2025. Advertising reach figures.
- Ofcom — Media Nations 2026 (UK), published 29 July 2026. Share of in-home video viewing.
- Ofcom — Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes 2026, published 2 April 2026. Participation figures.
Ofcom surveys and measures people; DataReportal reports the audiences platforms claim in their own advertising tools. Account-based figures always run higher, which is why the two sets do not match exactly. Where this page gives a percentage of adults it comes from Ofcom; where it gives an advertising audience it comes from DataReportal.
Frequently asked questions
How many people use TikTok in the UK?
27.3 million UK online adults use TikTok monthly — 56% of online adults — and 10.4 million use it every day, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025. TikTok’s own advertising tools claim 26.8 million UK adults aged 18+.
How much time do UK users spend on TikTok?
28 minutes per day on average. That rises to 49 minutes among 18–34s, 34 minutes among 35–54s and 15 minutes among the over-55s.
Is TikTok only used by young people in the UK?
No. 39% of UK TikTok visitors are 18–34, but 37% are 35–54 and 25% are 55 or over — so 62% of the audience is over 35. Younger users are heavier users, not the only users.
Is TikTok bigger than Instagram in the UK?
Not on reach. Instagram reaches 78% of UK online adults against TikTok’s 56%. But TikTok holds attention longer: 28 minutes a day against Instagram’s 20.
Is TikTok still growing in the UK?
Yes, and faster daily than monthly. Monthly reach grew 14% year on year while daily reach grew 37% — the app is becoming a daily habit rather than simply adding new users.
What share of UK video viewing is TikTok?
About 4% of all in-home video viewing, unchanged year on year, against YouTube’s 15% (Ofcom, Media Nations 2026).
Related reading
For the full national picture see our UK social media statistics for 2026. For practical growth advice, read why TikTok likes matter, or browse our TikTok services and the free TikTok money calculator.