There are two ways to use a TikTok teleprompter. TikTok has a built-in Prompter for some creators, mainly TikTok Shop creators making product videos. For everyone else, record in a teleprompter app that shows your script under the front camera, then upload the video to TikTok. The app route works for any account and lets you post the same video on Reels and Shorts too.
This guide walks through both options, helps you choose, and covers script and framing tips made for TikTok, so you look like you're talking to the viewer, not reading.
Option 1: TikTok's built-in Prompter
TikTok's own help pages for TikTok Shop describe a Prompter for creators. It's designed so you don't have to memorize talking points when recording shoppable videos (TikTok Shop Academy). According to that guide:
- Update the TikTok app to version 40.5.0 or later.
- Link a product to your video.
- Enter recording, and choose Use when the Prompter is offered.
- Edit the script in the app, then record.
Two cautions from the same guide: it's built around product videos, and if you turn it off with "Don't show this again", you can only get it back by reinstalling the app. TikTok's features also vary by account, region and app version, so if you don't see it, you're not doing anything wrong. Use option 2.
Option 2: record with a teleprompter app, then upload
Record your video in a teleprompter app that shows the script right under the front camera, save it, and upload it in TikTok. It works for any account and any kind of video, and you end up with a clean file you can post on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts as well.
- Write a short script. 15 to 45 seconds suits most TikToks. See our teleprompter script examples.
- Paste it into a teleprompter app and set the font big and the speed slightly slow.
- Record vertically at eye level, then do a second take.
- Cut the pauses and burn in captions, so they show on every platform.
- In TikTok, tap the plus button, choose Upload, and select your video.
TikTok teleprompter settings that work
Whichever option you use, the same settings make a TikTok teleprompter easy to read and invisible to viewers.
| Setting | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Text position | Top of the screen, under the front camera | Your eyes stay next to the lens |
| Font size | Big enough to read at arm's length | No squinting or leaning in |
| Line length | 3 to 7 words | Each line is one glance |
| Scroll speed | One step slower than feels right | Most people speed up on camera |
| Mirror mode | Off | Only needed under a glass hood |
| Script length | 40 to 110 words | About 15 to 45 seconds at a natural pace |
These settings work the same in TikTok's Prompter and in a separate teleprompter app, because they're about your eyes and your pace, not the software. Do one 10-second test take with these settings before the real one. Watch it back, adjust one thing, and record. For the reasoning behind the speed setting, see our guide to how fast a teleprompter should scroll.
Which TikTok teleprompter option should you use?
Selling a product on TikTok Shop? Try the Prompter. Anything else: the app.
| TikTok's Prompter | Teleprompter app | |
|---|---|---|
| Available to | Some creators, mainly TikTok Shop | Anyone |
| Best for | Product videos | Any talking-head video |
| Editing before posting | TikTok's editor | Any editor, or the app itself |
| Post the same video elsewhere | Harder: it's made inside TikTok | Easy: you have the file |
How to write a script for TikTok
TikTok viewers decide in the first moments whether to keep watching, so your first line has to name their problem straight away. Keep to one point, talk the way you'd reply to a friend's question, and end with one clear ask.
Three openings that work for experts on TikTok.
| Hook formula | Example |
|---|---|
| Reply to a comment | "Someone asked if they're too old to start lifting. Here's my answer." |
| Stop doing this | "Stop pricing your house the way your neighbor did." |
| What I'd tell a client | "Three things I tell every first-time buyer." |
For the full structure and word counts, see our video script template.
How to frame a TikTok so nothing gets covered
TikTok puts buttons down the right side and the caption text and sound name along the bottom. Keep your face in the upper-middle of the frame and your burned-in captions above the bottom area, so neither gets hidden.
Face up top. Captions above the bottom zone. Nothing on the right edge.
How to not look like you're reading on TikTok
- Keep the script near the lens. Text lower on the screen makes your eyes drop.
- Short lines, big font. 3 to 7 words a line, so you read each line in one glance.
- Slow the scroll a step. Most people talk faster on camera.
- Talk to one person. TikTok feels personal, so speak like it's a voice message.
- Do two takes. Keep the one with more energy.
More detail in how to use a teleprompter.
The fastest way to make TikToks with a teleprompter on iPhone
With any app: follow option 2 above.
With SpeakHead: your script scrolls right under the lens in a full-screen vertical camera with platform safe-zone guides, so you can see where TikTok's buttons will sit. One tap of Auto edit cuts the pauses and captions every word. The finished video opens ready to post: save it to Photos or share it straight to TikTok, with no watermark.
SpeakHead is an iPhone app for talking-head videos: it writes ideas and scripts, shows the script right under the camera lens while you record, and turns the raw take into a finished short with captions, cuts and zooms in one tap. Recording and the teleprompter are free, with no watermark.
Read it at the lens. Post it anywhere.
Recording and the teleprompter are free, with no watermark.
Get SpeakHeadTikTok teleprompter questions
TikTok offers a built-in Prompter for some creators. TikTok Shop's help describes it for shoppable videos: update to version 40.5.0 or later, link a product, and choose Use when it's offered while recording. Availability varies by account and region.
Record in a teleprompter app that shows your script under the front camera, save the video, then upload it in TikTok with the plus button and Upload. This works for any account, and you can post the same file on Reels and Shorts.
According to TikTok Shop's help, if you turned it off with "Don't show this again", it can only be restored by reinstalling the TikTok app.
For most talking-head TikToks, 15 to 45 seconds works well: about 38 to 113 words at a natural pace. Put the problem in the first line, keep one point, and end with one ask.
Keep the script right under the camera, use short lines and a big font, slow the scroll slightly, and talk as if you're sending a voice message to one person. Record two takes and keep the more natural one.
Last updated 13 October 2026 by Niko Julius, maker of SpeakHead. TikTok Prompter details from TikTok Shop Academy, checked 13 October 2026. TikTok changes its features often and they vary by region, so check in your own app. Hook examples were written for this guide.
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