Is Threads Actually Beating X in Terms of Daily Users?

Meta’s social media platform Threads is recording sustained user growth and increasing daily engagement, even as X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, continues to see ongoing declines in usage, according to recent industry data and market analysis reports. Official tracking insights indicate that Threads not only continues to attract new users but has also surpassed X in critical daily mobile usage metrics, signaling a major shift in the competitive social networking landscape.

According to digital intelligence firm Similarweb, Threads recorded approximately 141.5 million daily active users on iOS and Android as of early January 2026, compared with around 125 million daily mobile users for X, reflecting a growing preference among smartphone users for the Meta-owned platform’s mobile experience. Similarweb’s data has shown that this trend did not emerge overnight but represents the continuation of a multi-month momentum shift that began in late 2025.

The momentum has translated into Threads increasingly distancing itself from X’s traditional dominance in mobile engagement, a space historically led by the platform since its origin as Twitter. Industry observers note that the integration with Meta’s broader ecosystem, particularly Instagram, has helped reduce onboarding friction and boosted daily usage rates on Threads.

In contrast, X’s overall user engagement metrics have shown ongoing pressure. Multiple reports highlight that both mobile and desktop activity on X are trending downward year over year, with notable declines in daily active users and engagement levels, particularly outside peak news events, even as the platform maintains a larger total registered user base.

Analysts connecting usage drops to product changes suggest that updates prioritizing artificial intelligence integration and feed algorithm shifts may not have translated into sustained engagement gains among core mobile audiences.

The divergence in usage patterns points to distinct roles that each platform now plays in users’ digital habits. Threads, leveraging Instagram’s network effects, appears to resonate with users seeking community-driven conversations and mobile-first interactions. X, with its legacy as a locus for breaking news and real-time commentary, now has a task of contending with competing user attention and fragmented engagement across multiple apps.

On the other hand, the chart is tracking daily active users, not monthly active users, which is the standard benchmark typically used to compare scale and performance across social platforms. By that metric, Threads currently reports 400 million monthly active users, while X asserts it has 600 million, which is a figure that invites skepticism and warrants closer scrutiny.

Historically, user growth has been a persistent weakness for Twitter well before Elon Musk’s acquisition. The platform plateaued at approximately 336 million monthly active users in Q1 2018 and failed to generate meaningful expansion beyond that point.

The stagnation became so pronounced that Twitter reclassified itself as a “News” app on Apple’s App Store, a strategic move designed to sidestep unfavorable comparisons with Facebook, which was still adding millions of users each quarter and steadily widening the gap. Notably, this repositioning was not possible on Android, where Google prevents primarily user-generated content platforms from being listed under the News category.

A shift in daily activity on mobile devices is consequential because daily active users are a core metric for advertising value, content discovery reach, and creator monetization potential, especially as brands align investments with platforms that consistently capture users’ attention.

Increasing mobile engagement positions Threads favorably in the battle for advertiser interest and creator loyalty, while X’s declines raise questions about its long-term competitive position.

However, nothing is set in stone as of yet. Despite gaining ground in daily mobile metrics, Threads still trails X in total web-based engagement, where X continues to draw higher traffic, particularly around live events and breaking news. Neither platform has fully eclipsed the other across all key measures, but the current trajectory highlights mobile usage as a critical battleground in social network competition.

Will Threads’ growth sustains or will X adapt its product direction to counteract usage declines? Only time will tell.