Studio Scribis

With so many social media platforms, it is essential to understand what you want to achieve in order to spend your time and budget efficiently on them. This post compares Threads and X (Twitter) and explores which platform is better for engagement in 2025.

Threads versus X (Twitter)

1.Threads (by Instagram)

Threads is a text-based social media app by Instagram. Launched in July 2023, right when everyone was craving something a little more social in social media. Meta built it to spark more conversations and community vibes. And yes, it looked a lot like Twitter (or X)… just without the Elon Musk drama.

It’s perfect for longer threads, back-and-forth replies, and sharing thoughts in a more open, flowing way.

Source: Meta/Fb.com

But here’s the real question: Is it actually better than X for engagement?

According to a Buffer study, yes, Threads drives 73.6% more engagement than X (Twitter). Buffer analyzed 10.2 million posts published to Threads and X in 2024. Their analysis confirmed that Threads drove more engagement than X.

That’s a big win for a platform that’s still new to the game.

Key Features 

Threads Key Features Include:

• Integration with Instagram. Threads is linked to your Instagram account. It automatically syncs your profile to your Instagram account.
• Focus is on community. Users can engage with a post in a number of ways such as likes, reposts, and replies.
• Follower import. You can choose to automatically follow your Instagram followers or build a new audience.
• Topic tags which are similar to hashtags. These enable users to find topics relevant to them.
• 500 character limit for posts.
• Allows posts to be edited within 15 minutes of being shared.
• Ad-free platform but are currently testing ads.
• Feed display is based on the algorithm. It is not chronological.

2. X (formerly known as Twitter)

X, also known as Twitter, has been the go-to platform for global discussions, up-to-date and real-time news sharing. It focuses on what’s happening in real time and trending conversations.

Twitter was launched in 2006 and was acquired by Elon Musk in October 2022, after concerns that there was a crack down on free speech in the US, especially on social media. Twitter was then rebranded to “X” in July 2023. Elon Musk’s idea was to create an ‘everything app’  like WeChat that could support a number of functions such as communication, interactions and financial services.

According to Sprout Social, 59% of users use X as a news source.

But engagement? That’s a different story. The average user spends just 11 minutes a day, with a 0.015% median engagement rate.

Key Features 

X still remains a great platform for breaking news and live updates.

X (Twitter) key features include:

• Elon Musk claims that Twitter is a truly free speech app, free of content moderation, bias, and government censorship.
• It promotes community engagement through features like hashtags, mentions, and cash tags.
• Communities and spaces promote niche interactions. 
• Introduced Grok, an AI chatbot that allows users to ask questions or request further explanation on news posts.
• X premium which offers subscription perks such as verification checkmarks.
• 280 character limit for text-based posts (with option for longer posts for premium subscribers).
• Live streaming, long videos, stories.
• Direct messages inbox.
• It’s also an advertising platform. 

Threads and X (Twitter) Pros and Cons

Platform	Pros	Cons
Threads	1. User control. Threads allows users to control who replies and mentions them. Users can also choose to with either ‘For You’ or Following.  2. Content moderation system that enables users to flag and remove unwanted content such as threats.	1. No direct messages.   2. Limited features. 3. Threads has no live streaming or polls. 4. No ads, but in testing (A disadvantage for business owners but a plus for ordinary users).
X (Twitter)	1. Free-speech doesn’t get censored. 2. Great for updates and real-time news.  3. Communities and spaces for niche interactions such as crypto and tech. 4. Monetization e.g. paid subscriptions and Ad revenue.	1. Limited moderation. Users have complained about harassment, bots and spam. 2. Users are required to pay for some features e.g. post long-form content, and access analytics (X Premium). 3. Lower number of users, and lower engagement.

How To Measure Engagement on Threads and X (Twitter)

How To Calculate Engagement Rate (Formula)

Engagement rate = [(Likes + Comments + Shares) ÷ number of followers] × 100

Engagement on both Threads and X (Twitter) can be measured by looking at a number of factors such as:

Direct Interactions

• Likes: This is the quickest way one can engage with a post.
• Comments: Users usually take time to comment on posts they resonate with.
• Reposts: Reposted content is shared with one’s followers. This is also a quick way to engage content.
• Shares: A user can share a link to a post on another platform.
• Clicks: Clicks on images or links.

User Retention 

• Time spent on a particular post.
• Clicks to a user’s profile after interacting with a post.
• How often users revisit profiles.
• New followers gained from a post.

Analytics Tools To Help You Automatically Calculate Engagement Rate

Threads analytics

Threads analytics gives you insight into what your audience looks like and enables you to identify what type of content performs well.

Source: Threads

X Analytics

X Analytics enables business owners and content creators to analyze their data and optimize their content. It shares monthly statistics, metrics for every single posts ( Post Activity Dashboard), and video activity. It also provides ad campaigns, conversion tracking and business insights.

Source: Zack Warner

But you don’t always have to rely on manually counting likes and comments. We can now use advanced analytics dashboards like Pallyy, which allow you to plan, schedule posts and track enagement for individual posts or for the profile as a whole.

Source: Pallyy

Conclusion 

Threads and X (Twitter) are similar in a number of ways but cater to different needs. The platform you decide to go with will depend on your goals as a user. Threads is great for community engagement and long form conversations.

On the other hand, X is great for real-time news, trending topics, tech, and global conversations. X (Twitter) also has monetization capabilities e.g., subscriptions and ad revenue.