TikTok excels in short-form video content creation and reaching younger demographics, while Discord is a versatile platform for building communities and offering diverse communication methods. The choice depends on the target audience and content strategy.
| Attribute | TikTok | Discord |
|---|---|---|
| User base size and demographics | Popular among younger generations. | Around 150 million monthly active users (some sources state 200 million as of January 2025), largely male (around 65%), with a significant portion between 18 and 34 years old. A considerable percentage of users are from the United States. |
| Content moderation policies and effectiveness | Aims to remove harmful content proactively using image hashing, machine learning, and human-led investigations; prioritizes child safety and violent extremism. | Community guidelines and terms of service, user reporting, a safety team, image hashing, machine learning, and AutoMod features (keyword and spam filters). |
| Privacy settings and data security measures | Offers multi-layered privacy settings, including profile visibility, content interaction management, and download restrictions. Controls for liked videos, follower lists, location-sharing, geographic targeting, two-factor authentication, age-restricted messaging (16+), and data requests. Suggests avoiding sharing full name, phone number, or linking to other social media accounts to limit data collection. | Privacy settings to control friend requests and direct messages, blocking direct messages, two-factor authentication (2FA). Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Users can request an archive of their personal information. |
| Monetization options for creators | Creators can monetize through brand partnerships, sponsorships, selling merchandise, affiliate marketing, Live Gifts, TikTok Creator Fund, and selling digital products. TikTok doesn't directly pay users for creating content. | Server Subscriptions (creators keep 90% of revenue), Server Shops, donations, merchandise sales, and paid events. |
| Algorithm transparency and control | Algorithm is largely a 'black box,' using AI to analyze user behavior (browsing, clicks, likes) to recommend content. Lacks transparency in ad targeting and delivery. | Limited information available. |
| Community features and engagement tools | Provides direct messaging, sharing of TikTok videos, and live streams with direct messaging. | Text and voice channels, server customization with roles and permissions, community servers with server discovery and moderation tools, polls, file sharing, multimedia updates, reactions, and comments. |
| Live streaming capabilities and quality | Allows creators to activate direct messages during live streams. | Supports VP8 and H264 video codecs (HEVC and AV1 encoders available on some platforms), adjustable stream quality, higher resolutions and frame rates for Discord Nitro subscribers, Go Live screen sharing. |
| Video editing tools and effects | Advanced editing tools, including overlay and sound effects, video effects, and multi-track editing. 'Magic' tool can auto-edit core video features. | Limited information available about native video editing tools. |
| Direct messaging and communication features | Direct messaging available for registered users aged 16 and older. Parents can set restrictions via Family Pairing. Controls for who can send direct messages. Allows sharing TikTok videos, sending texts, emojis, and stickers. | Direct messages (DMs), group direct messages (GDMs), voice and video calls. |
| Integration with other platforms and services | CapCut allows you to directly create a video and post it on TikTok. | Integrates with YouTube, Twitch, and Spotify. Supports webhooks and bots. |
| Accessibility features for users with disabilities | AI-generated alt text for images, increased color contrast, bold text, adjustable text size, dark mode, auto-generated captions, and text-to-speech functionality. | Screen reader support, text-to-speech, keyboard navigation, customizable animations, reduced motion, and adjustable colors. Dedicated accessibility section in user settings. |
| Brand safety and advertising options | Privacy architecture offers protection for both personal and business accounts. Businesses can customize follower list visibility and manage network access. | Moderation tools for server owners, targeted and personalized ads, guaranteed engagement ad model. Prohibits certain content in ads, such as alcohol. |
| Price | Not available | Not available |
| Ratings | Not available | Not available |