July 11, 2025
Everyone said Threads was just another desperate attempt by Meta to copy Twitter – and, well – they were right. But two years down the line and Threads is slowly building its own case…for itself, and against its rivals X and Bluesky.
In July 2023, Threads emerged gaining 2 million users in just 2 hours and hitting 100 million users faster than literally any other app in history.
Since then…
– 275 million users by Q4 2024
– Over 350 million monthly active users by Q1 2025
– 33 million people logging in daily
X’s dominance has wavered – more on that below – but with a 6.25% engagement rate compared to X’s 3.6% (DemandSage) Threads users aren’t just lurking anymore, trying to figure out what this is all about – they’re now actively participating.
Not like other platforms?
Threads’ initial ethos was to be…well, not like X. A place for meaningful chats and relatable conversations. The spike in new users wasn’t therefore suprising, but for a long time the platforms has kind of drifted along…not entirely sure of its purpose. A lot of users kind of looked at eachother and wondered if this was it…
But in a way, Musk made Threads thrive – because he drove users away. We don’t see this is as a Threads masterstroke, more a house burning exercise from another major competitor that left people with no where to go but the hotel across the road. It may have been written in the stars, and Meta made a smart move behind the scenes – but it’s been little by way of a PR masterpiece by Meta to get Threads thriving.
Going Global
The international love – or interest, at least – for Threads has been rising a lot recently. India leads with 19% of downloads, followed by the US at 13% and Brazil at 7% (Influencer Marketing Hub). How the global rise on Threads has materialised is interesting to say the least – the key drivers? There are mixed reports on this – but heavy Instagram usage there might be a seamless driver for them.
Show Me the Money
Threads is expected to double its revenue to approximately $8 billion in 2025, with projections hitting $11.3 billion by 2026 (Resourcera). This financial success proves something important: when you create a platform people actually enjoy using, they’re more willing to engage with ads.
Threads Is Winning by Not Playing the Same Game…Probably
The platform didn’t fill a gap in the market – in fact it just walked into a place already largely crowded. They’ve arguably thrived based on a mass exodus of other platforms – but it’s working for them. And with ads coming to a wider degree soon, who knows what the future holds.
The platform that everyone said was “just another Twitter clone” has become the thing Twitter always claimed to be: a place for meaningful conversation.