Which to Choose for E-commerce: WeChat Mini Program Live Streaming or Channels Live?
Updated on |By QPSoftware
WeChat mini program live streaming runs inside a brand’s own mini program: viewers watch, claim coupons and buy without leaving it, which suits brands with an existing audience. Channels live streams from a WeChat Channels account and reaches new viewers through WeChat’s public traffic. For e-commerce, using both at the same time works best.
What Is Live Streaming in WeChat?
Livestream selling is now mainstream in China. By December 2024, China had 833 million live streaming users, 75.2% of all internet users, according to the 55th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). Live streaming has become a basic capability for companies.
WeChat offers two ways to sell live:
- Mini program live streaming, which WeChat’s documentation describes as an official merchant tool for live interaction and closed-loop product sales inside a mini program.
- Channels live, from a WeChat Channels account. Originally a simple live streaming tool, it added livestream shopping, and Tencent reported that livestreaming e-commerce GMV on Channels grew more than 800% in 2022 compared with 2021.
For a brand that wants to run a highly converting livestream show, the two tools differ in four ways: opening conditions, features, traffic logic and user retention. We first compared them in 2022, and checked the rules of mini program live streaming again in September 2026.
Mini Program Live Streaming vs Channels Live at a Glance
| Mini program live streaming | Channels live | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Inside the brand’s mini program | On a WeChat Channels account |
| Who can use it | Companies and organizations in mainland China, in eligible categories | In 2022, a company Official Account bound to a Channels account, with no category requirement |
| Shopping | Closed loop inside the mini program, with coupons and lottery draws | Supported, with fewer shopping tools in 2022 |
| Traffic | Mostly the brand’s own audience | WeChat’s public traffic and the brand’s followers |
| Retention | Viewers buy without leaving the mini program | Viewers can easily switch to other streams |
| Best for | Converting an existing audience | Reaching new viewers |
Opening Conditions
Mini program live streaming is a business tool launched by WeChat. Its access requirements, in force since February 24, 2020, set three conditions:
- The mini program is developed by a non-individual entity in mainland China.
- It belongs to an eligible category, such as e-commerce, education, finance, transportation, real estate, catering, tourism, automotive services or sports.
- It has had no serious violation in the past six months, and payment activity in the past 90 days.
A brand without an entity in China should check these conditions first. The live stream also needs products to sell, in an e-commerce mini program: this is what WeChat store development delivers.
Mini program live streaming in the admin console of QPSoftware’s own mini program (2022)
For Channels live, in 2022, a company’s Official Account first had to be bound to a Channels account before it could go live, with no requirement on categories.
Channels live: QPSoftware’s Official Account console asks to bind a Channels account first (2022)
Features: What Can Each Tool Do?
Mini program live streaming has three parts: the viewer side, the streamer side and the back office. The back office manages live rooms, a product library, member roles, live data and comments. The streamer app starts and pushes the stream and improves audio and video, and the sales tools include promotions, lottery draws and coupons. Viewers can subscribe to upcoming streams and share them.
In 2022, Channels live also supported sales promotions, but with fewer supporting functions, which WeChat was expected to enrich over time.
Creating a live room on the streamer side of mini program live streaming
Traffic Logic: Private or Public?
Mini program live streaming is private by nature: most viewers already follow the brand. They learn about a stream through the mini program, the Official Account, the brand’s own media or its communities, then join the live room. Its traffic depends on brand influence and awareness. In 2022, WeChat was also testing a public entry for mini program live streams on Android, under Discover, Mini Programs, then Livestream Shopping.
Channels, launched in 2020, combines public and private traffic. It collects traffic from across WeChat and redistributes it, and by 2022 it had become the distribution center of traffic inside WeChat. According to Tencent, in 2022 the number of users of Channels livestreams rose by 300% and viewing time by 156%.
Entry points to Channels live streams in WeChat
User Retention and Conversion
Combining an e-commerce mini program with live streaming creates an immersive, closed-loop shopping experience. Viewers place orders while they watch, without jumping to another page, which helps conversion. Interactive features such as lottery draws, coupons, likes and comments drive sales, build loyalty and strengthen the brand.
Channels live benefits from WeChat’s public traffic, but in 2022 it had two weaknesses:
- Viewers arrive from situations that have nothing to do with shopping, and can easily switch to another live stream.
- Its shopping features did not yet meet every need.
Both can lower conversion and retention.
What Should You Do Next?
For e-commerce live streaming on WeChat, using mini program live streaming and Channels live at the same time works best. The brand gets public traffic from Channels and converts its own audience in the mini program, with a better shopping experience and more brand awareness.
Mini program live streaming and Channels live shopping running at the same time
To get there:
- Check the access conditions of mini program live streaming: entity in mainland China, category and payment history.
- Link a Channels account to your Official Account, as WeChat required in 2022 before going live.
- Prepare the store: products, coupons and payment, so that viewers can buy during the stream.
If you want to open a WeChat store for your brand and connect it to your live streams, read our guide to opening and promoting a WeChat store and our KOL marketing strategies for e-commerce in China. Contact us for e-commerce livestreaming solutions on the WeChat platform.
References of the 2022 comparison:
- “What are the differences between WeChat mini program livestreaming and WeChat Channels livestreaming?”: https://www.zhihu.com/question/491417089
- “Access requirements for WeChat mini program livestreaming function”: https://developers.weixin.qq.com/miniprogram/product/live/access-requirement.html
- “How to excel in WeChat mini program livestreaming?”: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1662314348731775439&wfr=spider&for=pc
- “An analysis of current situation and development trends of WeChat Channels marketing in 2021: marketing ecological framework will improve gradually and commercialization advantage will emerge”: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1709139472626398351&wfr=spider&for=pc
- “Research Report on Development Trends of China’s Enterprise Livestreaming Industry in 2022”, iResearch
- “WeChat Channels”, baike.baidu.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What is live streaming in WeChat?
Live streaming in WeChat means broadcasting video in real time to viewers who can comment, like and often buy. Brands use two tools: Channels live, from a WeChat Channels account, and mini program live streaming, a component inside their own mini program. Channels reaches new viewers, while the mini program converts the brand’s existing audience.
What is the difference between mini program live streaming and Channels live?
Mini program live streaming runs inside a brand’s mini program, with a closed shopping loop, coupons and lottery draws, and mostly reaches the brand’s own audience. Channels live runs on a WeChat Channels account and draws public traffic from across WeChat. In 2022, Channels had fewer shopping tools, so many brands used both together.
Who can use WeChat mini program live streaming?
According to WeChat’s access requirements, the mini program must be developed by a non-individual entity in mainland China and belong to an eligible category, such as e-commerce, education or catering. It must also have had no serious violation in the past six months, and payment activity in the past 90 days.
