What is the best app for short-form video?

Vertical, loud and endless, the format took over phones inside a decade. A few of these are giants now, a couple are ghosts.

1

TikTok

The app that made the vertical, sound-first video feed the default way to kill ten minutes.

2

Instagram Reels

Instagram's short-video tab, built on the app's existing following and its music and remix tools.

3

YouTube Shorts

YouTube's vertical feed, wired into the largest video library and creator payout system on the web.

4

Snapchat Spotlight

Snapchat's public short-video feed, fed by the camera app teenagers already open first.

5

Vine

The six-second looping video app that ran from 2013 to 2017 and trained a generation of comedians.

6

Facebook Reels

Short vertical video inside Facebook, reaching the older audience the other apps mostly miss.

7

Kwai

Kuaishou's international short-video app, huge across Brazil, Indonesia and other emerging markets.

8

Likee

A short-video app known for heavy special effects and a strong following in South and Southeast Asia.

9

Triller

A music-led short-video app that pitched itself as the American alternative to TikTok.

10

Musical.ly

The lip-sync video app that merged into TikTok in 2018 and supplied its original creator base.

11

Clapper

A smaller short-video app that courted creators with looser moderation and a chronological feed.