Zuckerberg's Threads Closes in on Musk's X in User Numbers

Threads catches up to X in daily mobile app users in June
115 million vs. 132 million

Threads, the social networking service (SNS) platform launched by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to compete with Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter), has come close to catching up with X in terms of mobile user numbers just two years after its debut.

According to data from market research firm Similarweb on July 7 (local time), the average daily active users (DAU) of the Threads app for iOS and Android reached 115.1 million last month. This figure is close to X's daily user count of 132 million during the same period.

Threads' DAU increased by 127.8% compared to the same period last year, while X's DAU decreased by 15.2%, significantly narrowing the gap between the two platforms. In the United States alone, Threads' daily mobile user count stands at 15.3 million, trailing X's 22.9 million. The narrowing gap between the two SNS platforms is attributed to many users leaving X in protest after CEO Musk formed a close relationship with former U.S. President Donald Trump following the U.S. presidential election in November last year.

Meta launched Threads, a text-based SNS similar to X, in July 2023. This move aimed to attract users who left Twitter after being disappointed by CEO Musk's policies following his acquisition of the platform, then known as Twitter.

However, X still holds a significant lead on the web. As of last month, X had an average of 145.8 million daily web visitors worldwide, more than 20 times higher than Threads' 6.9 million. In the United States, the gap is even wider, with X recording 33.1 million web visitors compared to Threads' 985,000. In terms of global monthly active users (MAU), Threads reportedly has 350 million, while CEO Musk claimed last year that X has 600 million.

Meanwhile, Bluesky, a decentralized network gaining attention as another alternative to X, saw its global mobile app user count rise by 372.5% year-on-year to 4.1 million. In the United States, the number of web users reached 2.4 million, surpassing Threads, indicating a growing user base.