Threads Ascends in Social Media Rivalry
Meta's two-year-old conversation platform Threads has surpassed X in daily active mobile users by nearly 17 million in early 2026. Similarweb data shows Threads averaged 143.2 million global daily users in the first 13 days of January, against X's 126.2 million. This gap has widened sharply since both platforms matched at around 130 million users in September 2025.
Threads grew 37.8% year-over-year, while X declined 11.9%. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on January 29 that Threads hit over 320 million monthly active users, adding over one million sign-ups daily. He anticipates it becoming the top discussion platform and reaching one billion users in coming years.
X leads in the US with 21.2 million daily mobile users to Threads' 19.5 million, though narrowing, and dominates web traffic at 149.4 million versus 8.9 million.
Threads' rise aligns with advertiser doubts about X. Evercore ISI forecasts $11.3 billion in Threads revenue by 2026, as X's ad business falters. X earned $2.5 billion in ads in 2024, down 13.7%, with 68% of revenue ad-dependent.
Concerns over Musk's content moderation and statements drove major brands away. X's global ad revenue plunged 51.7% to $2 billion in 2023.
Bluesky, hyped post-Musk's 2022 Twitter buy, hit just 3.6 million daily users in early January, down 44.4% year-over-year. Despite 40 million total users by late 2025, engagement has plummeted.
Threads leverages Instagram integration for easy onboarding. Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney notes this allows Meta to effectively "siphon" users.
