Twitter is considered the granddaddy of microblogging. But if you’re looking for an alternative after recent changes at X, Instagram Threads might be a good alternative. While it might seem like a clone, it does a lot to differentiate itself.
What Is Threads?
Threads is a social media platform that primarily focuses on sharing your thoughts and ideas with short text posts (threads) and engaging in public discourse through other people’s threads. Although the emphasis is on text-based updates, you can share photos, carousels, videos, and Instagram posts within a thread.
Threads was created by the Instagram team within Meta and launched to the public in July 2023 (coinciding with the rebranding of Twitter to X). It is closely integrated with Instagram in that you log in with your Instagram account and catch up on updates from the people you follow and your followers from Instagram. Even your username and verification badge are reserved, and you can use them when you migrate from Instagram to Threads.
Threads collects your usage data and uses it on other Meta platforms, mainly Instagram and Facebook. So, don’t be alarmed if you see personalized content and ads based on your Threads activity appearing across Meta’s ecosystem.
You Can Express Yourself More on Threads
X (formerly Twitter) has a 280-character limit for standard users, meaning you can squeeze in 40–50 words in a single X post on average. Threads, on the other hand, has a 500-character limit, which averages to about 80–100 words per thread. So, while X focuses on concise messages, Threads gives you breathing room for slightly more detailed thoughts and ideas.
Furthermore, Threads allows you to post longer videos of up to five minutes. You are limited to 140 seconds (two minutes and 20 seconds) by default on X. Again, Threads allows you to express yourself more right off the bat compared to X.
Threads Is About Connecting With Others
Ever since the rebranding, X has had a different target audience in mind. Before, it was about attracting people who wanted to connect through real-time conversations and news sharing. Now, it has become a platform more focused on people interested in breaking news and taking part in ongoing debates.
Elon Musk wants it to be known as the “number 1 source of news in the world” and the “free speech platform.” Indeed, a major selling point for X is its minimal content moderation, which encourages free and open discourse–assuming your opinions align with the owner’s.
Threads’ emphasis is on connecting people while fostering a positive environment. Threads is geared toward attracting people who want to interact with like-minded individuals, particularly friends and family, on an intimate level and find or build close-knit relationships on social media.
To maintain this positive atmosphere, Threads has stricter content moderation, ensuring meaningful and respectful interactions. While this creates a risk of conversations being more muted instead of freeform and open like on X, users can worry less about encountering topics they would rather avoid.
Threads Is Partially Decentralized
While Threads is still owned and operated by Meta, it is part of the fediverse—a decentralized network of interconnected social media servers that communicate using the ActivityPub protocol. This means Threads can be considered partially decentralized since it allows you to communicate with people on servers not owned by Meta, thus widening your content discovery and reach beyond Threads.
At the time of writing, Threads can only communicate with Mastodon to some extent. For instance, Mastodon users can follow you and view your posts on Threads, and vice versa. The fediverse integration is available to users in the United States, Canada, and Japan.
X remains a fully centralized platform, meaning all content, interactions, and user data are managed solely through X’s servers. Users on X cannot communicate with other social platforms or federated networks from within X.
You Get an Ad-Free Experience on Threads
Interestingly enough, other public Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook serve you ads as you scroll. But Threads is completely ad-free, giving you a peaceful scrolling experience.
X, on the other hand, frequently serves you ads, whether you’re scrolling through your timeline or commenting on someone’s posts. The fact that they often appear as posts mixed in with regular content makes them harder to distinguish from posts you want to interact with.
That is not to say that Threads will never have ads. Meta is now focused on a better user experience to grow Threads’ audience—ads will not be coming anytime soon.
Threads Has No Premium Features
X has more features than Threads, but the best ones are locked behind its premium subscription tiers. You have Basic, Premium, and Premium+, each starting at $3, $8, and $16 per month, respectively.
Here are the overall benefits you get when you get an X subscription:
- A blue checkmark to verify your identity.
- The ability to edit your posts after they’ve been published.
- An increased character limit to 25,000 characters and longer video uploads.
- Your replies are more likely to be seen by others.
- Reduced or no ads in your timeline.
- Opportunities to earn money through ad revenue sharing and creator subscriptions.
- Access to Grok—Xs AI assistant similar to Meta AI.
Unlike X, Threads has no premium features, putting everyone on a level playing field. There is also no monetary incentive for people result to engagement farming tactics, leading to more organic interactions.
If you value meaningful conversations with friends and family in a positive environment and don’t need premium features, Threads is the better choice. However, if you’re interested in breaking news, unrestricted discourse, and premium features, X might be more suitable for you.
Keep in mind that Threads is in its infancy and still finding its footing in the social media space—it’s yet to build up the large user base and engagement levels X has. But it’s not the only one coming for that microblogging throne. Bluesky looks like a contender for X and could be worth a look.
