Threads surpasses X in daily US users, data shows

Meta’s Threads app, launched last summer as a direct rival to X, has been steadily gaining momentum in the United States, consistently surpassing X in daily active users (DAUs) since December, according to usage estimates from Apptopia shared by Business Insider. While X’s user base remains relatively flat, Threads has seen continuous growth in its daily user count.

Since its launch, Threads has been gaining traction, becoming Apple’s most downloaded app in December 2023. Currently, it ranks as the third most downloaded free app on the Apple App Store and the 12th most downloaded free app on the Google Play Store. In contrast, X is ranked much lower, at 41st place on the Apple App Store and 44th place on the Google Play Store.

In April, Threads averaged an estimated 28 million daily active users in the US, marking a significant 55% increase from December when it averaged 18 million users daily. On the other hand, X has seen fewer DAUs overall during the same period, averaging 22 million DAUs in April, which is 21% lower than Threads.

While Threads has been gaining momentum, X’s user base remains down overall compared to before Elon Musk took over the platform. Daily users of the X app worldwide are down 19% compared to October 2022, the month that Musk took over Twitter. X’s daily active users for the first quarter of 2024 are down 14% year-over-year.

Despite its growth, Threads still has work to do to unseat X as the most popular microblogging app and reach Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s goal of reaching 1 billion users. Promotional efforts, such as Taylor Swift’s recent use of Threads to promote her latest album, did not result in a noticeable increase in users for the app, according to Sensor Tower data.

However, Zuckerberg remains optimistic about Threads’ potential, stating in a recent earnings call that it is “on track to be a major success.” He believes that the app’s friendly and discussion-oriented approach can compete with the most popular social apps.

In terms of monthly active users (MAUs) in the US, X still holds the lead over Threads. While Threads US MAUs have hovered around 100 million for the last three months, X MAUs in the US are just over 140 million. Despite fluctuations in user numbers, X remains the dominant platform in terms of monthly engagement in the US.

Nevertheless, Threads’ consistent growth in daily users and Meta’s optimism about its future indicate that it could pose a significant challenge to X’s dominance in the microblogging space in the coming months.