Your Guide to Mini Program Platforms in China: More Than Just WeChat
Updated on |By QPSoftware
Mini program platforms in China are super apps that host lightweight apps inside them. WeChat is the largest, with over 1.1 billion monthly users of its mini programs in 2026. Alipay, Douyin and Baidu run their own platforms, each with its own rules, audience and strengths, from payments to short videos.
Key takeaways
- WeChat, Alipay, Douyin and Baidu all host mini programs, and WeChat’s ecosystem is by far the largest.
- Users need no download: they open these apps inside the host app, stay logged in and pay with its built-in tools.
- Each platform has its strengths: social commerce on WeChat, payment-led services on Alipay, video-led sales on Douyin, search on Baidu.
- In China, the server domains of a WeChat mini program need an ICP filing, and since 2023 an MIIT app filing applies too.
What Are Mini Programs?
Mini programs are lightweight apps that run inside another application, usually called a super app. WeChat is the best-known host, and its WeChat Mini Program ecosystem is what most people think of first.
Tencent launched WeChat mini programs in January 2017, and other Chinese apps soon followed. Today, Baidu, Alipay and Douyin all run their own ecosystems. WeChat’s remains the largest, and it is the one our WeChat Mini Program developers in Shanghai work on.
These apps now reach very large audiences. In its spring 2023 report, QuestMobile found that eight of the ten most used mini programs had over 100 million active users in 2022, and the top three over 200 million each.
Why Use Mini Programs?
They offer advantages over traditional apps to end users, to businesses and to the super apps themselves.
For Users
The main advantage is convenience. There is no new app to download and no extra icon on the phone screen. Users are already logged in through the host app, so they do not need to register. Each platform also caps the size of what it hosts: on WeChat, all the packages of a mini program together are limited to 30 MB, so phone storage is spared.
For Businesses
A mini program gives a business access to the existing user base of the host app. With a native app, a business only reaches the people who download it and register. This first step is called FTU, or first time use, and mini programs make it much easier because they are part of an app people already use.
Since users are logged in, businesses can also collect useful usage data. On social super apps such as WeChat and Douyin, a brand can run a whole campaign inside the host app, from content and livestream sales to checkout.
For the Super App
For the host app, mini programs keep users on the platform, because they do not need to leave it to use third-party services. For example, Alipay users can hail and pay for a taxi with the Didi mini program without downloading the full Didi app.
Disadvantages of Mini Programs
Convenience has limits. Because of their size caps, these apps cannot be as fully featured as a native app. They also follow the rules of their host. For example, WeChat mini programs do not accept Alipay payments, as Alipay is the main competitor of WeChat’s own WeChat Pay.
How Do Mini Programs Work?
Users open mini programs from within the host app. The entry point varies: the home screen on Alipay, a simple pull-down gesture on WeChat, a few menus on Douyin and Baidu.
Accessing mini programs in WeChat, Baidu, Alipay and Douyin (left to right)
Users can also scan a mini program’s QR code in shops, on posters or on packaging.
Once opened, a mini program works like its own app, with its own navigation. To close it, users tap the close button at the top right of the screen.
Running inside the host app, it can use the host’s built-in features, such as payments and geolocation. This is what lets a mini program work as a fully fledged application.
Which Types of Mini Programs Are the Most Popular?
Mini programs are as diverse as native apps: games, e-commerce, finance, daily services, social media, dining, music streaming and more. In China, they now fill almost every industry niche, all within a few super apps.
According to QuestMobile, daily services were the most popular type across super apps in 2022. They include power bank rentals (Energy Monster), phone bill top-ups (China Telecom), bike sharing (Hello Bike), food delivery (Ele.me) and parcel delivery (SF Express, 顺丰快递). That year, this category made up 43%, 52% and 26% of the 100 most used mini programs on WeChat, Alipay and Baidu respectively.
Other popular types include financial services (Duxiaoman 度小满 on Alipay, Weizhong 微众 on WeChat), e-commerce (the many ordering pages of restaurants and small shops that customers open by scanning a QR code) and ride hailing (Didi).
In the WeChat ecosystem, office tools such as Tencent Docs and games such as Sheep Sheep (羊了个羊) are more common than on other platforms. In the Baidu ecosystem, education and media are more popular than elsewhere.
Mini Program Platforms in China Compared
The two tables below compare the four main platforms. Figures and rules are those of early 2023, except for WeChat’s size limit, checked in WeChat’s documentation in September 2026.
| Platform | Mini programs since | Who could publish (2023) | Platform MAU, January 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Individuals, individual businesses and companies | 1.045 billion | |
| Alipay | 2017 | Companies only | 877 million |
| Douyin | 2018 | Individual businesses and companies | 654 million |
| Baidu | 2018 | Companies only | 738 million |
| Platform | Platform fee (2023) | Size limit | Suitable industries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free for individuals, who cannot sell; RMB 300 verification fee for companies | 30 MB in total, 2 MB per package (2026) | Gaming, office tools, city services, e-commerce, event promotion | |
| Alipay | Free | 8 MB (2023) | Business services, city services, finance, e-commerce |
| Douyin | RMB 600, including server costs and account verification | 16 MB (2023) | E-commerce |
| Baidu | RMB 300 verification fee | 8 MB (2023) | Education, news |
The size limits do not include pictures and videos hosted on the brand’s own servers. The MAU figures come from QuestMobile’s spring 2023 report.
WeChat Mini Programs
WeChat mini programs are what most people think of first. In April 2026, Tencent said that Weixin Mini Programs serve over 1.1 billion monthly active users. The ecosystem was already the largest in September 2022, when a Statista report counted 921 million monthly users, 89% of WeChat’s users: more people than the whole Alipay, Douyin or Baidu apps had in January 2023.
Besides the pull-down gesture on the chat page and QR codes, WeChat users open mini programs from cards shared in chats and from ads in the Discover tab.
Alipay Mini Programs
Alipay is first and foremost a mobile payment app, and almost every mini program in its ecosystem builds on its payment features. Users find them on Alipay’s home screen and in My Mini Programs. In 2023, the barrier to entry was higher than on WeChat and Douyin, because Alipay’s platform was only open to companies.
Douyin Mini Programs
Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese counterpart owned by ByteDance, was the last of the four major super apps to adopt mini programs, and in 2023 its ecosystem was the smallest. The Douyin Open Platform presents them as a way to turn short videos, livestreams and Douyin search into customers.
Besides the drop-down menu, users find mini program links in Douyin posts and livestreams.
Baidu Mini Programs
Baidu calls them smart mini programs. Like Alipay, Baidu only allowed companies to publish one in 2023, so launching on Baidu had a higher barrier to entry than on other super apps.
What Do Businesses Need to Launch a Mini Program in China?
Size limits mean that most content other than code sits on the brand’s own servers. On WeChat, every server domain a mini program calls must use HTTPS and have an ICP filing, so businesses need to apply for an ICP filing first.
Since 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has also required a filing for mobile apps, which covers mini programs distributed through platforms such as WeChat. New apps must file before they start operating, and existing ones had to file between September 2023 and March 2024.
Which Mini Program Platform Should You Choose?
Choose the platform where your customers already are, and match it with what they do there:
- WeChat for social commerce, loyalty programs and services shared between friends, with the largest audience.
- Alipay for services built around payment, finance and city services.
- Douyin for brands that sell through short videos and livestreams.
- Baidu for services people find through search, such as education and news, based on the 2023 data.
For most projects, the next step is a short scoping of the use case, the accounts and filings, and the connections with your existing systems. If WeChat is your first platform, our mini program development team in Shanghai can help you plan and build it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mini program?
A mini program is a lightweight app that runs inside a larger app, called a super app, instead of being installed from an app store. In China, WeChat, Alipay, Douyin and Baidu all host them. Users open one in a few taps, stay logged in through the host app and can often pay with its built-in payment tool.
What is an Alipay mini program?
An Alipay mini program is a service that runs inside the Alipay app, usually built around payment: ride hailing with Didi, power bank rentals with Energy Monster, finance or city services. Users find them on Alipay’s home screen and in My Mini Programs. In 2023, only companies could publish one, and the Alipay app had 877 million monthly users.
Can individuals publish mini programs?
On WeChat, yes: individuals can register a mini program, but with fewer features than a company account. For example, a personal mini program cannot display web pages. In 2023, Alipay and Baidu only accepted companies, and Douyin accepted companies and individual businesses. Rules change often, so check each platform’s developer documentation before you start.
Which companies offer mini program development in China?
Many digital agencies and software studios in China build mini programs, mostly for WeChat. Before choosing one, look at the projects it has actually published, its experience with payments and back-end integration, and its ability to handle ICP filing. QPSoftware, a digital agency in Shanghai founded in 2009, develops WeChat Mini Programs for Chinese and international brands.
