# How can I get a TikTok account's follower count through an API?

> Read the follower count, total likes and video count of any public TikTok account by handle, with no OAuth from the creator. Fields, price and a weekly tracking example.

Canonical page: https://okdata.online/answers/tiktok-follower-count-api/

**Short answer: **Call TikTok account profile (/v1/tiktok/users/get) with the handle. It returns followers, following, total likes, video count, bio and verification for $0.002 a profile, and the creator does not have to log in to anything. Refreshing 200 accounts once a week for a month is 800 calls, $1.60.

You keep a sheet of 200 TikTok creators you might work with, and the follower column is three months stale. TikTok's official route to a follower count needs each creator to sign in to your app and grant a stats scope, which is fine for creators who use your product and useless for a prospect list. For public accounts, the handle is enough.

## What one call returns

[TikTok account profile](/apis/tiktok/users/get/) takes `username`, with or without the @.

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `followers` | Follower count |
| `following` | Accounts it follows |
| `likes` | Total likes across all its videos |
| `posts` | Number of videos |
| `bio`, `verified`, `avatar_url`, `url` | Profile details |

With `view=full` you also get the numeric user ID and the verification reason under `ext`.

## Cost

| Job | Calls | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One account | 1 | $0.002 |
| 200 accounts, once | 200 | $0.40 |
| 200 accounts, weekly for 4 weeks | 800 | $1.60 |

## Try it

```bash
curl -s -G "https://api.okdata.online/v1/tiktok/users/get" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY" \
  -d username=khaby.lame \
  -d fields=username,name,followers,following,likes,posts,verified
```

For the weekly refresh, loop over the handles in your sheet, write `followers`, `likes` and `posts` with the date, and compare against last week. A creator whose followers jump while likes stay flat is worth a closer look.

## Gotchas

- Use the handle from the profile URL (`tiktok.com/@handle`), not the display name. If a creator renames their handle, the old one returns `not_found`, which is not charged.
- Follower counts inside video and comment objects are empty on purpose; only this endpoint carries them.
- There is no list of who follows an account and no follower history. Store your own snapshots if you need growth.
- Keys are rate limited. In big loops, read the `X-RateLimit-Remaining` header, and on a 429 wait for the seconds in `Retry-After`; rejected calls cost nothing.

## Other routes

- **TikTok Display API**: the right choice when creators connect their own accounts to your product. It needs their consent per account, and in exchange you get data straight from TikTok.
- **TikTok Research API**: free with date and region filters, for approved non-profit academic researchers only.
- **By hand**: for five accounts, open the profiles.

Finding new creators rather than refreshing known ones is a different job; [creator discovery](/solutions/creator-discovery/) shows how search and profiles combine.

## Endpoints used

- [TikTok account profile](https://okdata.online/apis/tiktok/users/get/) `tiktok.users.get`: $0.002 per call

Updated 2026-11-12