Threads versus X: Algorithmic USP and the benefits of a cross-platform offering

In a September interview with Sources, Mark Zuckerberg dropped the finding that Threads is as big – or at least closing in on – X, the platform it was designed to compete with. The platforms’ respective monthly active user reported numbers are 550 million for X, as of May 2026, and 500 million for Threads as of June 2026, which would indicate Meta’s intent to compete with X is seeing success. 

Platform culture has to do with algorithms, not userbases

MIDiA data shows that users are likely to ‘stack’ similar apps, with nearly half of all consumers using more than four apps on a weekly basis. Two in five consumers use both YouTube and Instagram weekly, and one in four use all three competing platforms TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram weekly. Zuckerberg himself illustrates this stacking behaviour, admitting that he posts to both X and Threads. He offers an interesting case study in using two competing platforms, but there is a seeming contradiction in his explanation: he says he uses both because they are home to different ‘communities’. 

The reality is an algorithmic distinction. On the surface, two platforms may be incredibly similar, with the same audiences scrolling through them and the same creators posting the same content. However, the user experience can algorithmically differ strongly enough that each platform can become a unique proposition – leading to side-by-side, rather than competitive, use. 

The benefits of cross-platform pollination

On the surface, monthly active user numbers may be closing in between Threads and X. However, MIDiA’s consumer survey shows this may not be so cut and dried. In Q2 2026, roughly a fifth of consumers use X on a weekly basis, dropping to only a tenth who use Threads weekly. When looking at daily active use, one in six consumers use X, and only one in twenty use Threads. 

Threads usage also has additional context: it is linked to Instagram, which is used by more than half of consumers on a weekly basis. With targeted Threads posts displayed tactically in the Instagram home feed, it is far more likely that users will eventually click through to the app to read the rest of a post.

Anecdotally, it seems that Threads posts are often optimised for this type of engagement, with a strong ‘lead’ that trails on into multiple posts when clicked through to the app. Meanwhile, X posts tend to get the message across in one, which most users will see displayed in the home timeline.

In short, this means that while monthly user numbers may look good – if not competitive with X – these numbers are piggybacking off the success of Instagram, rather than growing entirely on their own merit. 

In this lies the powerful formula of Instagram, which manages better than most platforms to be a ‘jack of all trades’. It has one of the highest userbases, meaning the biggest social network. It also provides direct messaging and stories for friends-first communication, and an entertainment-first Reels feed to compete with TikTok and YouTube. And, of course, it offers the choicest Threads for consumption as well. 

Yet disruption is on the horizon, with Meta now the first social media company to be hit with new regulations in the US, on top of emerging cross-social regulations worldwide. As the algorithms on apps like Instagram are incentivised to be less ‘sticky’ or addictive, user retention will become harder, and competitors will begin to stand out based on need cases they can still continue to serve when the algorithm no longer works as a standalone USP. 

Threads might be offering strong growth promise now, but with the impending decline of social media algorithmic experiences on the horizon, its active user numbers could be harder hit than most.

Image credits: Dima Solomin via Unsplash / Al Amin Shamim via Unsplash