Threads launched on July 5, 2023, as Meta’s text-first alternative to X, built by the Instagram team and tied to your Instagram identity from day one. Meta didn’t build it as a side project. The goal was to ship a Twitter-style feed with instant distribution, so creators and brands could start with an audience instead of shouting into the void.
The early hype made Threads look like a launch-only story. Marketers care about something else: adoption that holds, usage that grows, and engagement that justifies effort. If your team is already stretched across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, Threads has to earn its place.
This breakdown gives you the numbers that matter, plus what they mean for creators, paid social, and brand presence in 2026.
Pro Tip: Don’t bring X-style posting and expect it to work. inBeat Agency helps you build Threads-native creative that earns engagement for your brand.
TL;DR
If you’re short on time, here are the key Threads adoption stats:
- Threads passed 350 million monthly active users by Q1 2025, and hit 400 million monthly active users by August 2025.
- In June 2025, Threads reached 115.1 million mobile daily active users, up 127.8% year over year.
- In the same month, X was at 132 million mobile daily active users, with -15.2% year-over-year growth.
- Meta said recommendation upgrades drove a 35% increase in time spent on Threads over the prior six months.
- Threads’ median engagement rate is 6.25%, compared to 3.6% on X (a 73.6% higher interaction rate on Threads).
- Despite stronger rate benchmarks, average engagements per post still skew toward X: 328 on X vs. 58 on Threads (and 21 on Bluesky)
- Threads’ web footprint still trails hard: 145.8 million average daily web visits for X vs. 6.9 million for Threads in June 2025.
What Makes Threads Different?
Threads is built as an extension of Instagram, not a standalone network you have to grow from zero. You log in with your Instagram account, and your identity carries over immediately. That’s a big deal for brands and creators who want distribution fast.
Product-wise, Threads stays simple: short text updates, public replies, reposts, and quote posts, plus links, photos, and video. Posts support up to 500 characters, which gives you more room than X-style one-liners without forcing essay-mode.
Here’s why this matters: Meta can plug Threads into its existing recommendation and follow systems, so “starting cold” is less of a problem than on newer networks.
Pro Tip: Want stronger context on how Threads fits inside Meta Platforms and how ad spend behaves across the Meta ecosystem? Read our 90 Meta statistics for users, revenue, ads, and platform facts.
The State Of Threads Adoption: A Quick Look
The Threads’ adoption curve has had two phases.
First, an explosive launch driven by Instagram’s built-in distribution. Then, a reality check, as the novelty wore off and the app had to earn habit, not just sign-ups.
Since then, we’ve seen Threads move through the unglamorous part: shipping table-stakes features, smoothing the experience, and widening access.
For example, Meta rolled out a web version and added options like a chronological feed as it worked toward feature parity with what heavy users expect from a text-first platform.
What analysts have flagged is the same thing we (and other marketers) feel:
Threads has a real momentum, but the adoption only turns into value if conversations stay active and creators keep posting consistently.
Threads Adoption Stats For 2026 Planning
Below are the Threads adoption stats, which show how quickly it scaled, who stuck around, and what usage looks like after the hype phase.
Threads Adoption And Growth Milestones
These are the headline numbers that explain why Threads stayed on marketers’ radars after the launch hype.
TechCrunch reports (citing Meta leadership) that:
1. Threads passed 400 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of August 2025.
2. Threads added 50 million MAUs in the prior quarter, moving from 350 million MAUs in late April 2025 to 400M+.
3. X was described as having north of 600 million monthly active users, based on prior statements attributed to its former CEO.
Meta’s earnings call transcript adds a platform-level adoption signal marketers care about:
4. In the prior six months, recommendation improvements drove a 35% increase in time spent on Threads (with increases also reported on Facebook and Instagram).
Takeaway: Threads didn’t just collect sign-ups. Meta is pushing the feed hard enough that time spent is rising fast, which is what you need before ads and creator strategy can scale cleanly.
Daily Active Users on Threads And Usage Momentum
Monthly users tell you the size, but daily actives tell you about your habit.
As TechCrunch also stated, citing Similarweb, reported the daily picture like this:
5. Threads hit 115.1 million daily active users on iOS and Android in June 2025.
6. That represented 127.8% year-over-year growth in daily actives.
7. X reached 132 million daily active users in the same month, with a 15.2% year-over-year decline reported.
Buffer adds context on what “daily usage” looks like once people open the app:
8. Globally, Threads users spend about 34 minutes per month on the app and open it around 20 times.
9. Threads’ median engagement rate sits at 6.25%, compared to 3.6% for X posts (a 73.6% higher interaction rate for Threads by that measure).
10. Engagement rate is higher on Threads, but average engagements per post are higher on X: 328 for X, 58 for Threads, and 21 for Bluesky.
By comparison:
11. TikTok users spend 60X more time than Threads users on their preferred channel, according to Data Reportal.
12. Data Reportal also states that Threads’ monthly active user count (~275 M) doesn’t place it among the top 15 social apps, and that the app with the ~15th largest user base (Pinterest) has 522 M MAUs, which is almost double Threads.
13. Threads users spend 15 minutes or less per week during early adoption (July 2023 baseline), Statista reports.
Takeaway: Threads is getting closer to X on mobile daily actives. But the “gravity” of conversation still looks stronger on X if you judge it by raw engagements per post. For performance teams, that difference matters when you’re forecasting reach and testing creative volume.
Web Versus App Behavior for Threads
If your audience is web-heavy, Threads can look smaller than it is.
Another data from Similarweb collected by TechCrunch highlights the gap clearly:
14. X averaged 145.8 million daily web visits worldwide in June 2025.
15. Threads averaged 6.9 million daily web visits worldwide in the same period.
DemandSage adds a later traffic data point for Thread's overall visits:
16. In October 2025, Threads logged 236.1 million visits, down 2.59% versus September 2025.
17. According to Social Shepherd, 100% of Threads usage is on mobile devices. The difference between mobile usage and desktop usage is similar in other countries, too.
Takeaway: Threads is a mobile-first habit right now. If your brand relies on desktop traffic patterns (news, SaaS, B2B communities), X still has structural advantages.
Pro tip: If you want a simple checklist for mobile-native creatives that convert, read our guide on mobile app ad creatives.
Threads Launch Velocity And Download Signals
This is where Threads separated itself from “another Twitter clone.” The launch scale was real:
DemandSage’s timeline summary also reports:
18. Threads hit 1 million users within one hour of launch.
19. Threads crossed 100 million users in 4 days and 6 hours after launch.
20. Within the first 24 hours, users posted 95 million threads and left 190 million likes (attributed there to reporting from The Verge).
Backlinko adds the cleanest download benchmarks in one place:
21. Threads has generated over 100 million downloads on Google Play alone.
22. In March 2025, Threads was downloaded 18 million times worldwide across Google Play and the App Store.
Takeaway: The top of the funnel was never the problem. The real question is how many of those users build repeat posting habits, and what content formats pull them back in.
Threads Audience Makeup And Cross-App Overlap
This is the part marketers care about for targeting, creator strategy, and content tone.
Buffer, in their audience profile, also highlights:
23. The largest age group on Threads is 25 to 34 (28.75%), followed by 18 to 24 (20.36%) and 35 to 44 (19.15%).
24. 57.85% of Threads users are male.
25. More than half of Threads users (55%) also spend time on YouTube.
26. 70% of daily Threads users in the U.S. are also active on Facebook.
27. 51% of Threads users are active on Instagram.
Backlinko’s also lists a top account, which gives a quick “what content wins” hint (celebrity pull is still huge):
28. The most-followed account is Neymar Jr. (22.7 million followers), followed by Selena Gomez (20.1 million) and Kylie Jenner (17.9 million).
Takeaway: Threads is still tightly linked to Meta’s ecosystem. That’s great for rapid distribution, but it also means creators and brands can’t treat it like a separate island. Your Instagram and Facebook signals bleed into what happens here.
Threads Engagement Patterns That Matter For Content Strategy
If you’re going to post consistently, you need to know what gets interaction.
Buffer’s engagement findings show clear format and timing patterns:
29. Wednesday at 7 a.m. is the top engagement window for median engagement, with other strong windows on weekday mornings from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
30. Photos lead median engagement: 0.6% more than videos, 37% more than posts with links, and 60% more than text-only posts.
31. A typical Threads post averaged four engagements in 2024, rising to five by early 2025.
Takeaway: Threads may be positioned as text-first, but performance still leans visual. If your current Threads plan is pure text hot takes, you’re leaving interaction on the table.
Threads Monetization And Marketer Attention Signals
This is where adoption turns into budget.
Sprout Social’s Q1 2025 survey points to marketer behavior shifting:
32. 36% of marketers said their audience is starting to spend more time on emerging platforms like Threads, Bluesky, Lemon8, and Mastodon.
MonetizeMore shares ad-side estimates that show what Threads would need to match X financially:
33. Threads CPM is estimated at $5 to $10, with an RPM estimated at $10 to $20, based on expectations tied to Meta’s ad ecosystem integration.
34. To match X’s revenue, one model suggests Threads would need either 333 billion monthly impressions at the same RPM, or an average RPM of $25 at the same impression volume.
DemandSage adds the longer-range revenue forecast datapoint included in your research pack:
35. By the end of 2026, Threads is forecasted to add $11.3 billion to Meta’s annual revenue.
Takeaway: Threads is already pulling attention from marketers, but monetization at X-level economics requires either massive inventory, stronger RPM, or both. That’s the tension: growth is fast, but revenue efficiency still has to catch up.
Pro Tip: Threads posts need to feel native and drive interaction, so you need the best strategy in your content creation, like UGC. In our 50 UGC statistics, you can see how it could work for your brand.
What These Numbers Mean For Marketers And Creators?
Threads make sense for teams that can publish consistently and judge performance without relying on click-outs. It’s a mobile-first habit with short sessions.
Engagement rates can look strong, but raw engagement per post is still a gap versus X.
Meta’s feed improvements also mean what works today may shift in 2026, so keep your plan test-led.
Here’s how to translate that into decisions you can act on:
- Treat Threads as a consistency channel, not a spike channel: Plan for steady posting and compounding reach. Don’t bank your quarter on one “viral” thread.
- Prioritize mobile-native creative: Threads’ strength is the mobile app experience. If your plan assumes desktop browsing and link-heavy consumption, you’ll hit the ceiling faster across most social media platforms.
- Lead with visuals, even if your brand is “text-first”: Photos outperform link posts and text posts on median engagement. Build templates your team can ship quickly for repeatable content creation.
- Shift your KPI from clicks to contribution: Replies, reposts, and profile visits are stronger early indicators than click outs for long-term account lift on the Threads app.
- Use Threads to warm demand, then close elsewhere: If you need conversions, pair Threads with Instagram retargeting, email capture, or creator-led landing pages. If you run paid, plan the handoff through Meta Ads Manager.
- Post in proven windows, then validate with your own data: Weekday mornings are a strong starting point. Keep testing cadence and formats, then refine based on what your mobile app audience actually does.
- Expect “rate vs volume” confusion internally: Threads can show higher engagement rates, while X still wins on raw engagements per post. Use both in your growth comparison, so stakeholders don’t overreact to one metric.
- Creators win faster here: The platform is still defining its culture, which gives strong voices an advantage over polished brand-speak. Keep it human, direct, and make content creation feel native to the Meta family of apps.
If Threads keeps pulling replies, reposts, and profile visits, it’s a channel worth keeping and scaling.
Pro Tip: Learn how to create a structured plan to roll Threads into a broader go-to-market motion. Read our US GTM playbook, and map Threads to the US market.
Make Threads Part Of Your 2026 Content System
Threads ended 2025 with a real scale, but it’s still a platform in motion. Meta keeps improving recommendations, usage keeps shifting, and content patterns are still settling. That’s exactly why Threads rewards teams that test with intent instead of posting randomly.
If your audience overlaps with Instagram and Facebook, you already have a head start. Now it’s about execution: pick one angle, ship consistently for a month, and evaluate based on engagement quality and repeat reach.
If you want help building a Threads plan you can measure and scale, get in touch with inBeat Agency. We’ll help you match the right creators to the right format, then turn posting into outcomes you can report on.
FAQs
Is Threads Getting More Popular?
Yes. The Threads microblogging app grew into one of the largest social media platforms by audience size. Meta Platforms said Threads had more than 350 million monthly active users by Q1 2025, and third-party tracking later put it at around 400 million MAUs by August 2025.
What is the Current User Growth Rate of Threads?
The Threads mobile app reached 115.1 million daily active users, up 127.8% year over year.
How Quickly has Threads been Adopted by Users Since its Launch?
Adoption was fast, and app downloads backed it up. The Social Shepherd reported 95 million posts in 24 hours and 100 million active users by the end of the first month, while DemandSage summarized 1 million users in one hour and 100 million users in just over four days. Backlinko also notes 100+ million installs on the Google Play Store.
What Factors are Driving Threads’ Adoption?
Meta Platforms’ distribution is the base layer, and feed quality is the multiplier. Mark Zuckerberg pointed to recommendation upgrades that increased time spent on Threads by 35% over six months, which is the clearest signal of momentum driven by artificial intelligence systems (and Meta AI work more broadly).
For marketers, that changes content creation priorities and the value of audience insights, and it can justify testing ad spend once you see repeat engagement. Instagram Reels also matters here as a workflow input, since teams can repurpose creator narratives and hooks into text-led posts.
How does Threads' Adoption Compare to Similar Apps like Twitter or Instagram?
In June 2025, Threads had 115.1 million mobile DAUs versus 132 million for X, based on Similarweb data reported by TechCrunch. On the web, X averaged 145.8 million daily visits versus 6.9 million for Threads, so the gap is still significant outside the mobile app.
