It’s time: you’re ready to really stop hiding and use TikTok to grow your business. But how do you decide between a TikTok business and a personal account?
It may sound simple, but actually both account types have their benefits. We take a closer look at TikTok’s business and creator accounts to help you choose the right one for your needs.
What are the different types of TikTok accounts?
There are two types of accounts to choose from on TikTok: Creative/Personal and Business. Below is a quick overview of what each account type has to offer:
| Creator Account | business account | |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Personal | Business |
| best for | General TikTok users content creators Most public figures |
brands Business of any size |
| Privacy settings | public or private | public only |
| Verified Accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Access to sounds? | Voices and Commercial Voices | Commercial Voices Only |
| Access to the promotion (ads) feature? | Yes | Yes |
| Access to analytics? | Yes (in-app only) | Yes (downloadable) |
| pricing | Free | Free |
note: TikTok had two professional account types, Business and Creator, which is different from the standard personal account. In 2021, they merged their personal and creator accounts, giving all users access to creator-exclusive tools.
What is a TikTok creator account?
A creative or personal account is the default TikTok account type. If you’re new to TikTok, you’ll have a creator account.
Pros of TikTok creative account
Access to more sounds: Creators have access to both Sounds and Commercial Sounds, meaning you can stream a video of your grandmother dancing to Lizzo’s latest single without worrying about having the sound removed due to copyright issues. Trading accounts cannot access every trending voice on TikTok, which may limit their ability to participate in emerging trends.
Privacy settings: Creators can set their accounts to private if needed. Business accounts are public by default and do not have the ability to toggle privacy settings.
Verification: Just like brands and businesses, creator accounts can be verified on TikTok.
Accessing the Promote feature: Creator accounts can use TikTok’s advertising tools to get more people to discover their videos and gain more followers. Videos with copyrighted audio cannot be promoted, so you can only promote videos that use original audio that has been cleaned for commercial purposes.
The ability to add links to the bio is limited: Creators can add a link to their bio if they meet certain requirements.
Access to exclusive TikTok development programs: Personal accounts have access to a variety of creator-specific programs, such as Creator Next, which allows creators to earn money as their community grows, and the Creator Fund, which TikTok has set up to pay qualified users to create content. Business accounts do not have access to these programs.
@creatorportal Meet the Next Creator: As TikTok Creators, you can grow your community while monetizing your content.
♬ original audio – Creator Portal
Again! Both business and creator accounts can access the Creators Marketplace. This platform connects business accounts and content creators looking for collaboration opportunities.
Access to Analytics: Creator accounts have access to basic analytics under ‘Creator Tools’. Still, analytics data cannot be downloaded (more on that below).
Cons of TikTok creator account
Access to Analytics: Creator accounts cannot download analytics data, and in-app view is limited to a 60-day data window. This can make it difficult to analyze your business or brand’s performance on TikTok, identify long-term trends, or create an overview to share with other team members.
You cannot manage your account using a third-party platform: Creator accounts cannot be linked to third-party social media management platforms such as Moyens I/O. If you want to plan your content, plan posts for the future, manage comments, and access up-to-date engagement metrics, a personal TikTok account won’t get you far.
Best for TikTok creator accounts…
General TikTok users, influencers, and most well-known people.
What is a TikTok business account?
As you might guess from the name, a TikTok business account is perfect for brands and businesses of all sizes. Business accounts allow users to access more advanced features and review their analytics.
Upgrading to a TikTok business account is free and only takes a few seconds. Best of all, it’s easy to switch back to a creator account if you change your mind.
Pros of TikTok business account
Manage your account using a third-party platform: Business accounts connect to third-party social media management platforms like Moyens I/O, giving you access to a wide variety of features.
Moyens I/O lets you plan and schedule videos, interact with your audience, and learn how your content is performing, so you can focus on content creation and let this powerful platform do the rest.
Moyens I/O allows you to preview and publish or schedule content and even suggest your best times to post for maximum engagement. You can also schedule posts for any time in the future (unlike TikTok’s in-app scheduling feature, which has a 10-day limit)
Verification: TikTok provides verified badges to help users make informed choices about the accounts they choose to follow. Your trading account can be verified on TikTok, which can increase your visibility on the platform and help build trust with your followers.
Accessing the Promote feature: Business accounts can use TikTok’s advertising tools to get more people to discover their content and gain more followers. Videos with copyrighted audio cannot be promoted, so you can only promote videos that use original audio that has been cleaned for commercial purposes.
Access to the TikTok Shop feature: Business accounts can link Shopify sites and view and sell products directly on TikTok. Traders can also stream live to showcase and sell products.
Feature to add link to bio: Business accounts with 1000+ followers have access to the website area. Adding a website link to your TikTok bio is a great way to drive traffic to your site after users engage with your video.
@tik tok_small_business 🗣 Attention #BusinessTikTok and EntrepreneurTok! Ready to switch to TikTok Business Account? Go to your profile and click the menu in the top right corner, select Settings & privacy, then Manage Account and finally Switch to Business Account!
♬ original audio – TikTok for Small Business
Cons of TikTok business account
Limited access to sounds: Business accounts only have access to Business Voices. No copyright concerns here – these songs and sounds have been pre-cleaned for commercial use.
@tik tok_small_business 🎶 See how to use the Commercial Music Library to add copyright protected music to your TikTok. #tiktokbusinesshesabi #smallbusinesscheck
♬ Asian style warm tropical home – Future-proof Trio
Unfortunately, not every trending audio will be part of TikTok’s commercial audio library. This can make participating in voice-based trends much more difficult.
No access to TikTok’s development programs: Business accounts do not have access to Creator Next or Creator Fund. As you might guess from the name, these are limited to creators only.
However, business accounts can access the Creator Marketplace to connect with creators and find influencers.
Best for TikTok business accounts…
Brands and businesses of all sizes.
Choosing between TikTok business and creator accounts
Let’s go through all the different TikTok features for each account type:
| creative | Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical | In-app access | Full access, downloadable |
| Verification | Yes | Yes |
| Store Feature (Powered by Shopify) | Yes | Yes |
| Access to All Sounds | Yes | No (Commercial Voices Only) |
| Ability to Introduce Feature | Yes | Yes |
| Connect to a third-party social media dashboard like Moyens I/O | Number | Yes |
| pricing | Free | Free |
If you want to upgrade your TikTok game, we recommend upgrading to a business account. TikTok is always adding new features to help businesses connect with shoppers to sell their products. If you want to increase your sales, a business account is the way to go.
How to switch to a business account on TikTok?
If you’re ready to switch from a creator to a business account, just follow these easy steps:
- Faucet Profile Click on the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap . 3 line icon Top right to go to your settings.
- Faucet Settings and Privacy
- Tap on Manage Account.
- Faucet Switch to Business Account to choose.
- Follow the instructions to finish.
If you don’t like the business account features, don’t worry: TikTok lets you switch back to a creator account. However, you immediately lose access to business features.
How to switch to a creator account on TikTok?
TikTok doesn’t recommend switching between work and personal accounts, but if you need to, it’s pretty straightforward.
- Faucet Profile Click on the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap . 3 line icon Top right to go to your settings.
- Faucet Settings and Privacy
- Faucet Manage account
- Faucet Switch to Personal Account
Use Moyens I/O to master TikTok. Manage your videos, schedule content and improve performance – all from one simple dashboard! Try it for free today.
