Guest article: Dario Betti, CEO, Mobile Ecosystem Forum
Threads, Meta’s version of microblogging, launched on 5 July 2023 and made an immediate global impact. Within just five days, Threads surpassed 100 million sign-ups, outpacing even ChatGPT as the fastest app to reach that milestone. After the initial spike, growth slowed but remained robust. India, the US, and Brazil have been the top markets, with India alone accounting for nearly 20% of all downloads.
Despite this momentum, Threads still trails X (Twitter) in total user base – X reported around 550 million monthly active users in 2024. However, X’s growth has stagnated, while Threads continues to add tens of millions of users each quarter. The question remains: can Threads overtake X as the world’s leading microblogging platform? In the short term, an overtake is unlikely. The gap is narrowing, but X’s entrenched user base and cultural cachet remain significant hurdles.
Financial performance
Analysts and investors have been closely watching the financial trajectory of Threads. While Meta did not immediately monetise Threads, the company began rolling out advertising and branded content tools in late 2024 – mostly as an extension of the Meta platforms. Analyst projections are bullish: Evercore ISI estimates that Threads will generate about $8 billion in revenue in 2025, rising to $11.3 billion by 2026. X has not publicly disclosed its performance, but valuation of revenue varies from $2.5 billion to $3.7 billion for 2024 – a downward trend from $4.4 billion in 2023.
Meta’s own filings highlight Threads as a key growth driver, especially as Facebook and Instagram’s ad growth matures. The integration of Threads with Instagram’s ad infrastructure is expected to accelerate monetisation, with early campaigns showing strong engagement rates among Gen Z and millennial users. However, some analysts caution that for revenue per user Threads still lags Instagram and Facebook, and that sustained growth will depend on continued feature innovation and user retention.
Impact on the mobile ecosystem
Threads is more male-skewed, with a strong Gen Z presence. X has a broader age range and a slightly more balanced gender split. Threads is surging in India and emerging markets; X remains strong in the US and Japan. The rapid ascent of Threads has already reshaped the mobile social landscape. For the mobile ecosystem, the platform’s growth presents both threats and opportunities.
Platform Fragmentation: The rise of Threads, alongside TikTok, Snapchat, and others, is fragmenting user attention and making it harder for any single platform to dominate.
Advertising Shifts: Brands are reallocating budgets to Threads, attracted by its younger, highly engaged user base and Meta’s proven ad tech. This is likely to drive up ad prices and competition across the sector.
Privacy and Data: Meta’s handling of privacy and moderation on Threads will be closely watched by regulators, especially as the platform expands into new markets and integrates with other Meta services.
Implications for digital marketing strategies
The fragmentation of the social media advertising landscape between X (Twitter) and Threads is reshaping digital marketing strategies and has significant implications. Brands and agencies now need to split budgets and tailor campaigns across two major—but demographically distinct—microblogging platforms, increasing both the cost and complexity of reaching target audiences.
For CPaaS players, this fragmentation presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, it complicates partnership and integration strategies, as each platform may require different technical and commercial approaches. On the other hand, it makes the role of CPaaS providers potentially more important, opening new avenues for value-added services such as advanced analytics, campaign orchestration, and cross-platform engagement tools. Both Threads and X offer Direct Messaging functions alongside their advertising channels, with Threads using Instagram’s Direct Message interface. These features create a natural playfield for CPaaS.
For MNOs, greater fragmentation increases the relevance of SMS and RCS as mass-market reach channels. Mobile network operators may view the competition among OTT platforms as a positive development, as it diverts disruption/competition away from telecom markets, but across the OTT services themselves.
Advertisers, meanwhile, must adapt to divergent user bases—the younger, mobile-first Threads audience versus X’s broader, more established demographic—requiring more granular segmentation and creative adaptation. Ultimately, this split is likely to drive innovation in ad tech, increase demand for interoperability solutions, and reward those who can navigate a more complex, multi-platform ecosystem.
Dario Betti is CEO of MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) a global trade body established in 2000 and headquartered in the UK with members across the world. As the voice of the mobile ecosystem, it focuses on cross-industry best practices, anti-fraud and monetisation. The Forum, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, provides its members with global and cross-sector platforms for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions.