Zuckerberg says Threads is now as big as X

Mark Zuckerberg said Meta's ↗ 1.44% Threads app has grown to 500 million monthly active users and is now roughly the same size as Elon Musk's X, even as the Meta CEO acknowledged he still posts on the rival platform to reach its technology and AI communities.

Threads Closing the Gap

Speaking on Alex Heath's Sources podcast, Zuckerberg said Threads' growth has brought it within striking distance of — or possibly beyond — X in overall scale. "I think it's actually either bigger than X at this point or it's like very soon about to be," Zuckerberg said. The 500 million monthly active user milestone was first announced by Meta in a June 2026 blog post tied to new product features. That figure puts Threads halfway to the 1 billion-user target Zuckerberg set when the app launched in July 2023 as a direct response to Musk's acquisition of what was then Twitter.stocktwits+2

Threads' rapid ascent has been fueled largely by its deep integration with Instagram, which has roughly 3 billion users and provides a built-in pipeline for sign-ups. Independent data has shown Threads leading X in global daily active mobile users at various points in 2025 and early 2026, though X retains advantages in web traffic and time spent per session.thenews+1

Why Zuckerberg Still Posts on X

Despite the competitive framing, Zuckerberg said his continued presence on X is a practical choice rather than a contradiction. He returned to the platform in July 2026, posting about Meta's Muse Spark 1.1 AI model after a three-year absence. "To some degree, some of the community is on X, and we want to be able to engage where people are," he said, pointing to X's concentration of users working in artificial intelligence and the broader technology industry.firstpost+1

Zuckerberg framed the approach as less about platform loyalty and more about meeting audiences where they already gather, noting that he posts the same material on both services.firstpost

A Rivalry That Keeps Expanding

The user-count claim arrives amid an intensifying Meta-Musk rivalry that now extends well beyond social media, following xAI's 2025 acquisition of X and SpaceX's subsequent acquisition of xAI. X no longer publicly discloses its own user metrics, making direct comparisons difficult.stocktwits

On Tuesday, Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent available through a dedicated app and WhatsApp that can send emails, book travel, fill out forms, and make purchases on behalf of users. The launch underscored Meta's broader push to place artificial intelligence at the center of its product strategy — the same ambition Zuckerberg cited as his reason for staying active on X.taylorvilledailynews+1