Threads vs. Twitter: What’s the Difference, and Which Is Better?

Key Points

• Threads, a new social media network, is being compared to Twitter in terms of features and functionality.
• Threads supports posts of up to 500 characters, while Twitter has a 140-character limit.
• Threads lacks support for direct messaging, while Twitter has daily rate caps for sending messages.
• Threads allows users to post and read as much as they want, while Twitter has daily restrictions on browsing, posting, and following.
• Twitter has better integration with other platforms, while Threads allows users to share posts on Instagram and Facebook simultaneously.

Which platform is better: Threads vs. Twitter? The internet has been abuzz with more news surrounding Twitter, including a recent rebranding effort from owner Elon Musk. In the wake of these decisions and controversies, there have been attempts to try and capture the same magic.

Potential users might be aware of apps like BlueSky, Mastodon, and others, but none have captured the public imagination to the same extent as Meta’s Threads. Now, Meta isn’t new to the social media arena; it has had the market’s attention for years thanks to Facebook and Instagram.

With a third new social media network arriving, it does beg the question of how they compare directly. If you’re an avid Twitter user looking for fewer restrictions for your daily browsing, Threads might be worth a look.

So, pull up a chair and see if the app that has drawn over 100 million users is actually worth your time.

Threads vs. Twitter: Side-by-Side Comparison

Do keep in mind that Threads is still fairly new, having only launched in July of 2023. As such, it lacks the maturity that Twitter has been afforded as a platform with nearly two decades of constant development. There is a fair bit of promise to the app, but time will tell how Threads fares.

Threads vs. Twitter: What’s the Difference?

It is always a difficult proposition to directly compare social media networks. However, given the general structure of Threads, you can draw some rather direct comparisons between the two. Threads is still in its infancy in terms of product maturity.

Message Length

Threads supports posts of up to 500 characters. This is massive compared to other platforms, giving quite a bit of room for more long-form content. These can be content-rich posts as well, which isn’t surprising given that Threads uses Instagram as a backbone for migrating accounts.

Twitter has long held the 280-character limit for posts. This results in threads of tweets for more long-form content. Given its place in the cultural Zeitgeist, parsing stories in descending chronological order has been the norm for quite a while.

Threads as a platform lacks support for direct messaging currently. This could be a feature that is integrated in the near future, but users who expect to DM other users might have to settle for more public discourse instead.

Twitter does have support for DMs, however, there are daily rate caps for how many messages can be sent in a given day.

Attachment Support

Both platforms allow for content-rich posting from their users. You can, naturally opt for text-only posts. There is nothing stopping you from embedding videos or images in your posts on either platform. The differences in attachment support can be attributed to how users interact with it as a whole.

Twitter has allowed the editing of image alt-text for quite some time. This can be handy for tagging other users, embedding keywords, and other great functionality. Instead, Threads utilizes artificial intelligence to alter the alt-text of an image.

More robust image editing capabilities could be due in the future for Threads. As with any brand-new platform, it can be difficult to really tell what lies ahead.

Daily Restrictions

The new daily restrictions implemented for browsing, posting, and DMing have been a rather controversial decision by Twitter’s staff. Users who were used to scrolling for hours daily have found that habit swiftly curtailed.

Currently, Twitter allows users verified users to view 2,400 tweets per day, which are broken into smaller chunks over a semi-hourly basis. Twitter only allows users to send 500 DMs a day, which is a hard limit. You also can only follow up to 400 users a day.

Other restrictions apply to users with over 5,000 followers, which might require the purchase of a premium membership.

By comparison, Threads doesn’t have any of these limits. Users can post as much as they want, read as much as they want, and follow who they want.

Integration with Other Social Media Platforms

Twitter has been the king for years when it comes to directly integrating with other platforms. You can natively embed Tweets on blog posts, share tweets to social media feeds, and a whole host of other useful functions for sharing content.

Threads doesn’t natively embed posts. You can share links, but that isn’t quite the same as embedding. Users can share Threads posts to their Instagram stories, which is a great feature for fans of both apps. You can also post on Facebook and Threads simultaneously.

Twitter doesn’t have such tidy integration when comparing the two but does allow for more flexibility when posting on other sites. It has the benefit of product maturity, meaning the web and other applications have grown to accommodate it and its user base.

User Bases

Twitter has been the platform of choice for sharing short-form content in an easily digestible format for years. As users bleed off to other platforms, that might change. Currently, it has one of the largest install bases for a social media app. This is thanks to its maturity as a product and its iconic branding.

Threads is brand-new but has an install base of over 100 million users. Nearly 30 million users signed up upon the launch of the app. Meta has made it easy to use Threads, thanks especially to Instagram users being able to just create an account whole cloth and migrate their bio and profile picture over.

So, Threads will likely continue to grow with time, provided it is able to capitalize on its early advantage.

Threads vs. Twitter: 6 Must-Know Facts

1. 100 million users have signed up for Threads in the first five days following its launch.
2. Over 30 million users made a Threads account when the platform went live on the first day.
3. Threads has a post limit of 500 characters, over triple what Twitter allows.
4. Twitter has been officially rebranded to X as of July 2023.
5. Twitter has limits on browsing and posting activity.
6. Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.

Threads vs. Twitter: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Choose?

So, who really wins when it comes down to Threads vs. Twitter? It can be tough to compare social media platforms, given that all of them are so different when it comes down to it.

A platform like Threads has the potential to outright replace Twitter, but it’ll need to keep the train rolling in terms of integrating new features. The bones for a great social media network are there, but it is lacking vital functionality to really succeed.

What this means for the future, who can really say? However, with such controversial changes and decisions facing Twitter, it might behoove users to look for greener pastures. One thing is sure, there is a lot more competition in the market.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©AdriaVidal/Shutterstock.com.