Elon Musk’s X sees daily usage go down as Meta’s Threads is catching up

Social media platform X

Elon Musk’s social media platform X is still larger than Meta’s Threads, but that lead may not last long. According to new data from Sensor Tower and Similarweb, X’s daily active user base dropped by 10% year-over-year in Q2 2025. In contrast, Threads surged by 127.8%, with 115.1 million daily mobile users compared to X’s 132 million.

While X remains dominant overall, its total user base is still 65% larger than Threads and dwarfs Bluesky by 10 times. However, its mobile lead is shrinking fast. Threads, buoyed by seamless integration with Facebook and Instagram, has grown its app user base by 160% in the past year. Meta’s strategy of building Threads into its ad empire is also seems to be paying off, as per a report by TechCrunch. Global ads rolled out in April, followed by video ad trials in May, making the app attractive to marketers already fluent in Meta’s tools.

Still, Threads trails X in engagement. Users on X spend an average of 31 minutes a day on the app—nearly four times that of Threads. And nearly half of X’s monthly users open the app daily, compared to a third for Threads.

X’s advertising business, once in freefall, has stabilised under former CEO Linda Yaccarino. US ad spending on X rose 62% in H1 2025, with new big-ticket brands like Apple, Google, and Dell joining the roster. Key ad sectors — media, shopping, gaming — have all grown since 2022.

For Meta, Threads is a rare homegrown success after a graveyard of failed apps. Now with 350 million monthly active users, Threads may not have won yet, but it’s finally proving Meta can still build—not just buy—a hit.