Interested In Buying TikTok? Here’s How Much It’s Worth

The American law requiring that TikTok either be shut down or sold by its Chinese owner is still on hold, with no indication that the impasse will be resolved any time soon.

Anyone who wants to step in to purchase the social media platform to secure its future, though, had better have deep pockets.

TikTok isn’t the most valuable social media property in the world. That title belongs to Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp; the company’s portfolio is estimated to be worth about $1.5 trillion.

Even so, estimates indicate that TikTok is the world’s second most valuable. Let’s check out the numbers.

How Much Is TikTok Worth? It Depends

Expert analysts say that TikTok is worth somewhere between $30 billion and $200 billion.

Why such a huge spread in valuations? Three words: the TikTok algorithms.

The app’s proprietary algorithms are largely responsible for TikTok’s success. Among other duties, they assess each user’s profile, browsing history, and other data to display content tailored to their interests and create the platform’s landmark “For You” feed. That makes the key question in any sales negotiation whether the algorithms would be included in the transaction.

Here’s the reason for uncertainty. Someone purchasing TikTok without the algorithms would be buying an app without its “secret sauce” for success — yet government officials fear that continued use of the algorithms after a sale could still leave TikTok vulnerable to Chinese data collection or manipulation.

One prominent analyst believes that TikTok would “only” be worth $30-$40 billion if the algorithms weren’t included with the rest of the platform. Another thinks that a full sale of the app, complete with its algorithms, could fetch between $100-$200 billion.

It’s difficult to predict what TikTok might sell for, since several US billionaires have said they could be interested in putting together ownership groups to purchase the app. A bidding war might push the final price even higher than expected.

In any event, chances are good that anyone reading this article would find it impossible to raise enough money to change their status from TikTok user to TikTok owner.