In recent years, TikTok has become one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, with over 1 billion users.
The video-sharing platform’s popularity has skyrocketed largely due to its tailored ‘for you’ page that’s filled with endless videos accompanied by catchy, viral music.
On the app, users can watch anything from short comedy sketches to trending dance routines, recipes, and social activism.
It has established itself as a perfect place for videos to go viral, reaching millions of users, and can make a superstar out of anyone overnight.
But who has the most followers on the app? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who has the most followers on TikTok? (As of March 6, 2024)
Khaby Lame rose to fame on TikTok after he lost his job in the pandemic
Tim P Whitby / Getty Images for Wiba Academy LLP
Khaby Lame is the most-followed person on TikTok, with a whopping 161.4 million followers.
Lame, 23, who goes by the username @khaby.lame, surpassed creator Charli D’Amelio’s follower count in 2023 to reach the top spot and has held onto it in 2024.
The Senegalese-born social-media influencer, who lives in Italy and worked in a factory before losing his job due to the pandemic, quickly built up a following on the app, gaining popularity with videos that saw him giving wordless yet amusing responses to overly complicated ‘life-hack’ videos.
D’Amelio had been the most-followed person on the app since March 25, 2020, before Lame overtook her.
Most of Lame’s videos rack up views in the millions, with his most popular offering achieving more than 300 million.
In the biography for his account, Lame informs his followers that, if they want to have a laugh, they are “in the right place”.
After losing his job, Lame took to TikTok as an outlet for his boredom, where he soon became a huge success.
Speaking to HypeBeast, Lame said: “I made videos on YouTube as a child, but only my father and uncle watched them. And it was with TikTok that I realised that I had found the ideal platform for me to upload my self-deprecating and comic videos.
“I like to entertain people with my irony, but it’s just a tool to do what I’m really interested in — encouraging those who follow me to fight to achieve their goals.”
What is Khaby Lame’s net worth?
The star’s popularity on the app has also translated to monetary gain, as Celebrity Net Worth estimates that the influencer has a net worth of $20m (£15m).
What are the top 10 most-followed TikTok accounts?
1. Khaby Lame — 161.4 million followers
One of Lame’s most popular video formats appears to mock the TikTok “life hacks” genre, where users claim to offer advice on finding easier ways to do tasks.
Lame has gone immensely viral by silently doing the same task from the life hack video in a seemingly easier way, often using the hashtag #LearnfromKhaby under his posts.
2. Charli D’Amelio — 152 million followers
Anyone even remotely familiar with TikTok will have come across Charli D’Amelio.
The 19-year-old American social media sensation started posting TikTok viral dancing videos when she was 15, and has since taken over the internet as one of the most popular teenagers in the world.
In addition to choreography — most notably the one to the song Renegade — D’Amelio was also one of the first TikTokers to feature in a Super Bowl commercial, and has also starred in the Hulu docuseries, The D’Amelio Show.
She was a contestant on season 31 of US show Dancing With The Stars last year, winning the competition in November 2023.
In February 2024, D'Amelio announced her split with ex-boyfriend Landon Barker, citing wanting to focus on themselves as the reason for the split.
3. Bella Poarch — 93.8 million followers
Ex-army veteran turned lip-sync star Bella Poarch skyrocketed to fame in August 2020, when she unwittingly created the most-liked TikTok of all time.
The 27-year-old posted a video lip-syncing and bobbing her head to a line from Millie B’s M to the B (Soph Aspin Send), which went on to accumulate more than 61 million likes.
Poarch then built up her following taking part in trends and posting lip-sync videos on the app.
In May 2021, she released her debut single, Build a B*tch, and released her first EP, Dolls, the following year.
4. Mr Beast - 93.4 million followers
American YouTube personality, YouTuber, and philanthropist Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast online, is a veteran internet sensation.
Best known for his YouTube channel, which recently became only the second channel ever to hit 100 million subscribers, he is known for his attention-grabbing stunts, as well as giving away money or committing acts of kindness and filming them for content.
The 25-year-old first joined YouTube when he was just 13. He went viral in 2017, after his “counting to 100,000” video earned tens of thousands of views in just a few days, and he has become increasingly popular ever since, with most of his videos gaining tens of millions of views.
5. Addison Rae — 88.6 million followers
Addison Rae first joined TikTok in 2019, uploading dance videos to trending songs on the platform. She gained more than one million followers on the app in just a month.
She was an early member of the Hype House, a collective of influencers who lived and made content together, initially including Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, among others.
In August 2020, she was ranked as the highest-earningTikTokpersonality byForbes, and the following year she made theForbes30 Under 30list for social media influencers.
In 2021, she released her debut single Obsessed, and made her acting debut in theNetflix original filmHe’s All That, a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 filmShe’s All That.
6. Zach King — 81.1 million followers
First finding fame just over a decade ago on the now-defunct video-sharing app Vine, 34-year-old Zach King used to create videos while working out of his garage.
He is most known for his “magic vines”, which are six-second videos digitally edited to look as if he is doing magic.
He made the transition to TikTok in 2016, and lays claim to the most viewed TikTok video ever.
7. Kimberly Loaiza— 80.8 million followers
The 26-year-old Mexican singer started vlogging on YouTube with her first video in November 2016.
Kimberley Loaiza initially uploaded make-up videos, hair tutorials, and trivia, as well as vlogs and challenges.
In 2019, Loaiza began a career in music and released her first single, Enamorarme. She posts dance videos, trends, and behind-the-scenes content to her 74 million TikTok followers.
8. TikTok - 79.1 million followers
Ironically, TikTok is the most followed brand account on the platform, with a huge 79.1 million followers.
TikTok's account is known for posting videos with creators at their events, as well as interviews with musicians and other stars.
9. Burak Özdemir (Cznburak) –– 74.7 million followers
Burak Özdemir, better known as Cznburak on the app, is a Turkish chef and restaurateurfamous for his often outlandish TikTok cooking videos.
Burak’s preparation and presentation ofTurkish recipes,while almost alwayssmilingto the camera, have made Özdemir anInternet celebrityonline.
10. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — 74.2 million followers
Actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson is certainly no stranger to a viral TikTok moment.
In 2021, audio of Johnson making his rap debut on Tech N9ne’s song Face Offbecame a viral sound on TikTok,used by creators to make memes about fitness and determination.
The actor also shares clips of his workout routines, behind-the-scenes videos, and memes.
What is the most popular TikTok video ever?
The most viewed TikTok video ever is Zach King’s Harry Potter Illusion video, which has 2.3 billion views and counting.
In the video, Zach can be seen riding a flying broom with a Harry Potter coat, in an illusion that makes him look like he’s levitating over the road.
