While a mikoshi (a portable shrine) belongs to a shrine, a taikodai as well as a dashi usually belongs to the area of ujiko (shrine parishioners) who donate and maintain it, and the role of taikodai in rites and festivals is to accompany the Shinko-sai Festival (a kind of Shinto ritual; carrying the deity in a mikoshi from a shrine through the community), to lead its parades (tsuyuharai; a forerunner), and to dedicate them before the gods.
神輿が神社の所有物であるのに対して、太鼓台は山車と同様に氏子地域からの出し物であることが多く、太鼓台の祭礼における役割は神幸祭のお供や先導（露払い）、および神前での練りによる奉納等である。