Why is Threads the top source in 2026?

Threads is a social network that Meta launched in the summer of 2023.  Many people immediately drew parallels with Twitter (now X) and wondered: why does the world need yet another platform for 500-character text posts?

But Threads isn’t just some random gimmick thrown together for the sake of it. It has a significant advantage over X—the platform is part of the same ecosystem as Instagram and Facebook. This means you can easily link your accounts and repost content to all your profiles with just a couple of clicks. Ultimately, while the advantage is significant, the audience wasn’t particularly convinced. No one was betting on this newcomer in the world of social media.

Three years later… Threads, which no one understood, has unexpectedly become one of the most active platforms for discussing just about anything—from news to product reviews. It’s hard to explain this surge with a single factor, but it’s impossible to deny the growth itself. So in this article, we’ll take a closer look at this platform and break down the reasons behind its rapid growth. Let’s dive in!

About Audience Growth

Initially, the main source of new users was direct integration with Instagram. Later, new features were added that helped stabilize the platform’s growth.

For comparison: by the end of 2024, the platform had 275 million users, and by the end of 2025, that number had grown to 400 million. As early as the second quarter of 2025, Threads had risen to the top in terms of user base growth rates. Data from Statista showed that by the end of 2025, the total number of app downloads worldwide had reached 828 million. This was significantly driven by the platform’s entry into the EU market in 2023, where it had previously been unavailable due to regulatory requirements.

Here are the key takeaways:

• The highest number of downloads came from India (32%), Brazil (22%), and the U.S. (16%).
• The most active users are Millennials and Gen Z—each accounting for 17% of the market—followed by Generation X at 11% and Baby Boomers at 5%.
• Gender breakdown of the audience: 58% men versus 42% women.
• 150 million daily active users compared to 400 million monthly active users result in a retention rate of about 37.5%. For the social media industry, a range of 20–50% is considered the norm, so Threads is clearly at the upper end of that spectrum.
• The platform’s most popular account belongs to soccer player Neymar, with an audience of over 24 million followers. Next are Selena Gomez (20.6 million), Kylie Jenner (18.9 million), and Kim Kardashian (17 million). But alongside celebrities, brands have also firmly established themselves—for example, Netflix and ClickUp actively use the platform to promote their own products.
• According to Sprout Social, by 2025, 57% of brands were already posting content on the platform, and another 23% planned to launch there during 2026.
• The presence of B2C and B2B companies differs significantly: in 2025, according to Marketer Pulse, 64% of B2C brands were present on the platform, compared to just 19% of B2B brands. However, B2B marketers are also beginning to recognize the channel’s potential—31% of them plan to start posting in 2026.
• As for content: 52% of marketers repurpose material from other platforms for the Threads format, 26% create unique content specifically for this platform, and 21% combine both approaches.

What resonates with the audience on Threads?

Statistics for 2026 showed that 30% of users engage with branded content at least once a week—so posting regularly here isn’t just desirable, it’s essential for ensuring visibility in the feed.

The format that works best is short, clear, and emotional. Short videos (up to 60 seconds) and concise text posts generate the most engagement.

Sprout Social identifies four types of content that users want to see the most:

• Entertaining yet educational content about the product.
• Posts from influencers.
• A direct communication channel with customer support.
• A source of information about promotions and discounts.

Key figures for the first half of 2026

Threads is showing consistent growth across key metrics, and the most telling indicator here is audience behavior. People aren’t just scrolling through the feed; they’re creating the discussions that form the basis of the feed. Now, Threads isn’t just some obscure and unknown platform—it’s where many people start their day and can’t imagine life without it.

According to data from Sprout Social:

• By the end of 2025, the monthly audience stood at 400 million active users, and by early 2026, that number had jumped to 450 million—a growth rate that’s hard to miss.
• About 150 million people log in to the platform every day.
• The engagement rate hovers between 3.8% and 4.5%—higher than that of most text-based competitors.
• The average session duration is just 4 minutes, but users return to the platform very frequently, making up for the short visits with their sheer volume.
• It has spread across nearly the entire world, particularly in the three leading markets by traffic: India, Brazil, and the U.S.

To sum up: Will Threads replace X?

There are still people who compare Threads and X without seeing the difference between them. However, while both platforms focus on microblogging, their audiences and use cases differ: X remains a news channel, whereas Threads is more about conversations, jokes, and discussions among people.

So it’s no surprise that Threads has already surpassed X in terms of daily active users on mobile devices. Compared to last year, Threads’ mobile audience grew by an impressive 127.8% in 2026, while X saw a 15.2% decline. But these figures don’t mean that one platform is “replacing” the other. It all comes down to the so-called “purposes” of the platforms and the target audience that uses them.