Are Alan and Alex Stokes Related? Yes, and It's Closer Than You'd Guess

A while back I was scrolling YouTube on the couch when my cousin leaned over and asked, "Wait, which one is that? Alan or Alex? Are they even brothers, or just friends who dress the same?"

I laughed, then realized I couldn't answer with total confidence. I'd watched plenty of their videos, but I'd never sat down and checked the basics. So I did. If you've wondered the same thing, here's what I found.

The Short Answer

Yes, they're related. Alan and Alex Stokes are identical twin brothers, and that's the whole premise of their brand. They go by the Stokes Twins online. They use their real names rather than online aliases, so there's no hidden stage-name story here.

It's an easy thing to get confused about. Their videos rarely stop to explain who's who, and they sometimes dress alike on purpose, so a new viewer can reasonably wonder if they're a duo of friends.

A Bit of Background

Alan and Alex were born on November 23, 1996, and their birth names are often listed as Alan Chen Stokes and Alex Chen Stokes. They're half-white and half-Chinese, and several sources say Alan is the older twin by under two minutes.

Birthplace is where the internet gets messy. One report says they were born in Fujian, China and moved to Memphis, Tennessee around age six. Others list different Chinese cities, and a few low-quality sites claim Utah or Florida. Treat those last two with suspicion, because they look like copy-paste errors that spread from site to site.

The safest summary is that they were born in China and raised mostly in the US. Anything more specific, I'd double-check against a reliable source before repeating.

How I Learned to Tell Them Apart

For a long time I just guessed, and I was wrong about half the time. Here's what finally worked.

1. Look for the mole: Fans commonly use the mole on the right side of Alex's face to tell them apart. Once I started looking for it, I couldn't unsee it.
2. Check the video description or captions: Creators usually tag themselves, and so do editors on shorts.
3. Visit their personal Instagram accounts: Each twin has his own page. Seeing them solo helps you learn their individual looks and styles.
4. Watch for context clues: In collab videos, the other creators call them by name constantly. Pay attention to who gets addressed.
5. Don't rely on one clue: Lighting, makeup, and camera angles can hide a mole completely. I use two clues before I trust my guess.

What They Actually Make

If you're new to them, here's the quick version. They run on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and their content is built around huge challenges, pranks, comedy, and elaborate builds. Netflix's trailer called them "the internet's most creative agents of chaos."

Their growth has been remarkable. Years ago, reports described them as having around 5 million YouTube subscribers and 26 million on TikTok. A more recent report says they've reached 141 million YouTube subscribers. Wikipedia's current figures are higher still when you combine channels. Because the numbers change constantly, I'd check a live tracker like Social Blade before quoting any figure.

They've also reached the streaming world. Netflix signed a deal to bring an archive of their YouTube videos to the service, and they're working on an original series for 2027.

Real-Life Scenarios Where This Matters

You might be reading this for a practical reason, not just curiosity. Here are a few situations where knowing the basics helps.

• You're writing a school project or blog post: Don't copy facts from the first site you find. Birthplace and age claims vary wildly across random bio sites. Cross-check with a major outlet like Wikipedia's citations, TIME, or Tubefilter.
• You're trying to follow their content: Follow the main channel for shared videos, then each twin's personal account for solo stuff. Don't expect either personal account to carry the full joint content.
• You're a fan trying to win a trivia argument: Remember the core facts: identical twins, birthday of November 23, 1996, and the mole on Alex's face. Skip the shaky details unless you've verified them.

Mistakes People Keep Making

I made a couple of these myself.

• Assuming they're just friends: I mentioned my cousin earlier, and the mix-up is common because the pair feels like a "crew" more than a family unit.
• Trusting old age info: Several sites still list them as teenagers or in their early twenties. They were born in 1996, so they're now around 29 or 30.
• Mixing up the individual accounts: If you tag the wrong brother in a comment or post, fans will notice immediately. It happens to everyone.
• Believing every controversy headline: In 2020, a fake bank robbery prank in Irvine, California, drew serious legal attention. Their defense team said they were wrongfully accused and that they'd never been arrested. The lesson I took away was to read the full story and the later updates, not just the clickbait headline.
• Using unverified "net worth" numbers: You'll see wildly different dollar figures online, and most are estimates from third-party calculators. Treat them as rough guesses, not facts.

A Quick Honest Note on Sources

While researching, I noticed how many "bio" sites contradict each other. Some say Utah, some say Florida, some give random birth years like 2002. That's a good reminder for anything you read about a public figure: check at least two reputable sources, and prefer ones that cite their own sources.

Final Thoughts

So yes, Alan and Alex Stokes are brothers, identical twins born minutes apart, who turned a shared knack for chaos and creativity into one of the biggest creator brands out there. If you want to tell them apart, look for Alex's mole, but don't bet your whole argument on a single frame.

Next time someone asks you, "Are they actually related?", you'll have the answer, and a few good tricks for backing it up.