11+ Spectacular Kuaishou Statistics for 2023

Facebook is home to 2.9 billion people.

TikTok boasts over a billion users, too.

But there are other large, albeit not quite as massive, platforms out there, and we’ll look at one of those today.

In this collection of Kuaishou statistics, we’ll talk all about TikTok’s little brother and how it performs both in China and abroad.

Key Kuaishou Facts (Editor’s Choice):

• Kuaishou launched in 2011 as a GIF creation app.
• A decade later, Kuaishou’s IPO raised approximately $5.3 billion.
• Kuaishou reported 37.9% higher revenue in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Online marketing services (read: ads) generated 52.6% of Kuaishou’s entire revenue in 2021.
• In Q2 2022, the number of advertisers on Kuaishou increased 90% YoY.
• Kuaishou has over 347.3 million daily active users.
• Each of them spends an average of 126.6 minutes a day on the app.
• There are over 20 billion pairs of mutual followers on Kuaishou.

The Kuaishou App and Its Many Names

Given the interconnected nature of the internet, it’s only natural that businesses from all over the world endeavor to offer their platforms globally.

After all, it’s not too difficult to do so, and it grants access to billions of new customers.

Kuaishou is no exception. In fact, it has adopted a similar strategy to that of its main rival: Douyin (TikTok).

1. Kuaishou was founded in 2011 as a GIF creation app.

(Source: CNBC)

The company behind Kuaishou, Beijing Kuaishou Technology, didn’t immediately come up with the idea of creating a short-video platform. Instead, when the app first launched in 2011, it only let users create GIFs.

It wasn’t until 2013 that the company added the functionality to make videos. At that time, it started to look more like a social media platform, too.

Finally, in 2016, another big update brought live streaming, which has since become a significant source of revenue.

2. Kuaishou was the #1 app in Brazil in 2021.

(Source: South China Morning Post)

Both TikTok and Kuaishou come from China, and both platforms take different names at home and abroad. For instance, TikTok is the overseas version of Douyin—that’s the Chinese name.

Kuaishou, on the other hand, is the original name used in China itself. So, what does the rest of the world call it?

In Brazil, it’s known as Kwai, and in 2021, it was the single most popular app on the country’s App Store. For comparison, TikTok was #5.

In other places, such as Indonesia, it’s known as Snack Video, and it appears to be gaining ground, already ranking #10 in the social media category. TikTok is the #1 entertainment app, though.

3. Chelsea FC’s first live stream on Kuaishou attracted 300,000 viewers.

(Source: SEO Agency China)

As one of the most popular non-Chinese football clubs in China, it was only natural for Chelsea FC to be the first to launch a Kuaishou account.

The club did so with a fun live stream remembering some of the best plays and goals they’ve had, as well as running quizzes for their viewers. Stars Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, and Jorginho challenged fans to try juggling a ball the highest possible number of times within 30 seconds and even did a demonstration themselves!

The spectacle attracted 300,000 fans.

Kuaishou’s User Stats & Demographics

A social platform can only be successful if it has enough users to make it “social” in the first place. This is why there are relatively few apps—and nearly everyone is on them.

Kuaishou is a more recent contender in the market, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better or worse than the competition. As a matter of fact, it’s starting to catch up even to some of the giants in the field.

How many people have Kuaishou in 2022?

The answer isn’t as simple as giving you a single number, but we’ll tell you about it below.

4. Kuaishou has over 347.3 million daily active users.

(Source: Kuaishou)

There are two key metrics to consider when calculating user counts: DAU (daily active users) and MAU (monthly active users).

As of Q2 2022, Kuaishou boasts 347.3 million daily users. This is a substantial increase over 2021 when the count stopped at just 293.2 million.

In terms of monthly activity, Kuaishou statistics show the platform has over 586.7 million MAU—which is quite impressive on its own, but it pales in comparison to TikTok’s 1.1 billion users.

5. As of Q2 2022, users spend an average of 126.6 minutes a day on the app.

(Source: Kuaishou)

Kuaishou is getting better at keeping people on the platform for longer. Back in 2020, each user spent an average of 87.3 minutes browsing. A year later, Kuaishou saw a 27.7% increase, reaching 111.5 minutes per user.

Fast forward another year, and users spend over two hours daily on the app.

Now, considering how many people are on Kuaishou, this means users spend a cumulative 43.8 billion minutes (730 million hours) sharing or watching videos every day.

Fun fact: If somebody starts using social media in their teenage years and continues using it throughout their adult life, that person will have spent more than five years of their life scrolling through a feed.

6. There are over 20 billion pairs of mutual followers on Kuaishou.

(Source: Kuaishou)

Sound like a weird metric?

That’s the cool thing!

Kuaishou wants to build a social environment focused on interactions. In this regard, one person following another—e.g., a fan following a celebrity—doesn’t really work. Two Kuaishou users following each other, on the other hand, is a much better way to become friends or deepen existing relationships.

7. Only 4.9% of users live in Tier 1 cities.

(Source: Statista)

This is a curious way of analyzing Kuaishou’s demographics, but we’ll take it.

Chinese cities are divided into at least five tiers, based primarily on economic development. Tier 1 is the highest and includes cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Each consecutive tier features more but smaller and less developed cities. 

Kuaishou seems to be more popular in China’s rural regions—roughly 65% of users live in cities that are Tier 3 or lower, whereas just 4.9% live in one of the top cities.

Kuaishou’s Revenue Breakdown

Social media has gotten quite good at making money, and there’s one main reason for that—advertisers.

But diversifying income streams is always a wise choice, and Kuaishou has proven successful at it.

8. Kuaishou’s IPO raised $5.32 billion.

(Source: CNBC)

Despite being over a decade old, Kuaishou only went public in early 2021. The company priced its shares at HK$115, but trading opened at HK$338—a surge of nearly 200%, which subsided to 160% by the end of the day.

At its IPO, Kuaishou’s valuation reached HK$41.28 billion (that’s about $5.32 billion in US dollars), boasting one of the highest initial public listings in Hong Kong in recent years.

Furthermore, given the app’s recent surge in popularity, the app’s stock was overbought 1,200+ times. In other words, demand was far superior to the available supply of shares.

9. Kuaishou reported 37.9% higher revenue in 2021 compared to 2020.

(Source: Companies Market Cap)

The past two years haven’t been great for those in the tech field in most of the world, but they’ve proven particularly bad for businesses in China due to the government’s crackdown on the sector.

Consequently, Kuaishou’s market cap fell nearly eightfold, from a high of $214.16 billion in February 2021 to just $29.14 billion by the end of September 2022.

That said, the company is doing perfectly fine otherwise. In fact, its revenue reached ¥81.1 billion ($11.3 billion) in 2021, which is 37.9% higher than 2020’s ¥58.8 billion ($8.2 billion). 

Moreover, Kuaishou already boasts ¥42.76 billion ($6 billion) in revenue for the first six months of 2022, which constitutes a further 18% gain year-on-year.

10. Kuaishou’s ad revenue represented 52.6% of the total in 2021.

(Source: Kuaishou)

Where there is a platform with millions of users, there are also advertisers spending millions on ads. Kuaishou’s growth has ensured that the platform is no exception to this rule.

In Q2 2022, the number of advertisers on the app was 90% higher compared to Q2 2021. Moreover, spending is 10.5% higher, too—Kuaishou’s “online marketing services” segment generated ¥11 billion ($1.5 billion) in Q2 2022, compared to ¥9.96 billion in Q2 2021.

That said, ad revenue was actually higher in Q1 2022 (¥11.35 billion). This means that even as Kuaishou’s popularity among advertisers has continued to rise, their average spending has dropped.

Still, online marketing services continue to make up 50%-55% of the company’s quarterly revenue.

Fun fact: Social media platforms often have ads as their main source of revenue. Instagram, for instance, generated $13.86 billion from ads in 2020 alone.

11. Live streaming constituted 38.2% of the app’s total revenue in 2021.

(Source: Kuaishou)

Kuaishou supports various types of monetized interactions between streamers and viewers. In Q4 2021, the app’s monthly ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) was ¥60.7 ($8.5), which represents a 17.2% increase year-over-year.

Although the official list of Kuaishou facts doesn’t include the number of paying users, we can make an educated guess. Considering that the app’s live-streaming revenue was ¥31 billion ($4.34 billion) in 2021, it’d be reasonable to assume that Kuaishou has roughly 42.5 million paying users.

That is, only 7% of its user base actively contributes to this revenue stream.

Fun fact: Although some of the world’s most profitable apps are banned in China (YouTube, HBO Max, Google One), Chinese people were actually responsible for 40% of the world’s total app revenue in 2019.

12. Kuaishou’s overseas revenue saw a 1,540% YoY increase in the first half of 2022.

(Source: Kuaishou)

Kuaishou stats from 2022 are incredibly encouraging. They suggest that the company is finally going global—and going well.

Regarding its operations outside of China, the first six months of 2022 brought Kuaishou a 1,640% higher revenue compared to 2021.

While the overseas segment represents just 0.35% of the company’s total revenue (¥151 million out of ¥42.76 billion for the period), it still represents a gigantic growth spurt compared to 2021’s 0.025% (¥9.2 million out of ¥36.15 billion for the first half of 2021).

Wrap Up

After reading through so many Kuaishou statistics, you now know what the platform has to offer. The only question left to answer is whether you think it’s a platform you should advertise on.

Do the platform’s demographics fit the market segment you’re targeting?

Chances are they do. After all, with several hundred million users in China and other emerging economies across the world, Kuaishou is definitely one of the foremost choices for any marketer.