By ByteBot
Meta’s Threads platform surpassed X (formerly Twitter) in mobile daily active users for the first time this month, reaching 141.5 million on iOS and Android compared to X’s 125 million, according to Similarweb data published January 18. However, X still dominates web traffic with 145.4 million daily visits versus Threads’ meager 8.5 million—giving X approximately 270 million total daily users across platforms compared to Threads’ 150 million. The mobile crossover, measured January 7, marks a watershed moment, but the full story is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
For developers and tech professionals, this isn’t just about user counts. It’s about API economics, platform stability, and where tech communities are actually gathering. Musk’s controversial changes at X—including API pricing that jumped 9,900% for enterprise access—created an opening that Zuckerberg exploited through Instagram integration and a “positive conversations” pitch.
The Mobile Win vs Web Dominance Reality
Threads averaged 143.2 million mobile daily active users in the first 13 days of January, while X dropped to 126.2 million. That’s a 37.8% year-over-year growth rate for Threads versus an 11.9% decline for X. The mobile momentum is real.
But web traffic tells a different story. X still pulls 145.4 million daily web visits—17 times more than Threads’ 8.5 million. This reveals fundamentally different usage patterns: Threads dominates mobile-first engagement and in-app conversations, while X remains the platform for web-based news consumption and link sharing. Moreover, even in the US market, X still leads mobile users 21.2 million to 19.5 million.
The takeaway isn’t “Threads won.” It’s platform fragmentation. Mobile engagement (where Threads leads) represents active participation. In contrast, web traffic (where X dominates) suggests passive consumption. Consequently, developers need to understand these patterns when choosing where to invest time and API integrations.
Musk’s Self-Inflicted Wounds Created the Opening
X’s decline stems directly from Musk’s product decisions. After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, he cut 80% of staff, rolled back content moderation (reinstating over 1,100 banned accounts), and overhauled API pricing in ways that broke developer trust.
The API pricing disaster is particularly egregious. X moved from a free tier to $200/month for Basic, $5,000/month for Pro, and $42,000+ monthly for Enterprise—a 9,900% increase for enterprise access. The free tier now offers a useless 50 posts per month, write-only. This pricing killed indie developer projects overnight and forced startups to migrate to alternatives.
Furthermore, advertisers fled too. Ad revenue dropped 78% in December 2022, then fell another 40% year-over-year by mid-2024. Kantar research shows 26% of marketers planning to slash X budgets in 2025. X’s brand value crashed from $5.7 billion in 2022 to $673 million in 2024. These aren’t external market forces—they’re consequences of specific choices.
API Economics Drive Developer Platform Migration
While X priced developers out, Threads rolled out the welcome mat. Meta launched a comprehensive free API in June 2024, then expanded it massively in July 2025 with analytics (views, likes, replies, reposts, quotes), webhook notifications, keyword search with date ranges, poll creation, location tagging, and click tracking. The auto-publish feature lets developers create text-only posts with a single API call.
The contrast is stark. A startup building a social media management tool faces a simple calculation: pay $42,000/month for X Enterprise API access, or use Threads’ free tier with reasonable limits. For new integrations, Threads is the obvious choice. Nevertheless, even X’s pay-per-use beta (currently closed, offering a $500 voucher for testing) can’t undo the trust breach.
This economic reality accelerates migration beyond user preferences. When developers build on platforms, they make multi-year bets. X’s API whiplash—free to prohibitively expensive in months—signals instability. Meanwhile, Threads, backed by Meta’s infrastructure and Instagram’s proven scale, offers predictability.
The Multi-Platform Hedge Strategy for Developers
There’s no single “right” platform choice anymore. Most tech professionals and companies are hedging: maintaining X presence for announcements and web reach while building Threads communities for mobile engagement. Platform migration isn’t binary—it’s fragmentation across Threads, X, Mastodon (15 million fediverse users), and Bluesky (35 million users).
Strategic considerations matter. X still has strengths: web traffic dominance, breaking news platform status, and an established tech community culture. Threads counters with mobile engagement, lower toxicity, Instagram’s 2 billion user leverage, and that free API. Additionally, cross-platform tools like Publer, Buffer, and Hootsuite make simultaneous posting manageable.
The smart money isn’t abandoning X entirely. Web traffic of 145 million daily visits means visibility still matters for product announcements and reaching influential accounts. However, building long-term community and developer integrations? Threads’ combination of growth momentum (adding 30 million users monthly), mobile-first engagement, and developer-friendly economics makes it the future-focused choice.
Key Takeaways
- Threads dominates mobile with 141.5 million daily active users versus X’s 125 million, but X still leads overall with 270 million total daily users (mobile plus web) compared to Threads’ 150 million
- X’s API pricing disaster—free to $42,000/month enterprise, a 9,900% increase—forced developers to migrate to Threads’ comprehensive free API with analytics, webhooks, and keyword search
- Platform choice isn’t binary anymore: maintain X presence for announcements and web reach, build Threads communities for mobile engagement and developer integrations
- Musk’s product decisions (80% staff cuts, advertiser exodus, API pricing) created the opening that Zuckerberg exploited through Instagram leverage and developer-friendly strategy
- Usage patterns matter more than user counts—Threads for active mobile engagement, X for passive web-based news consumption, different audiences with different behaviors
