Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive officer, saw his persistence pay off. Meta's text-based social media Threads is closing in on 6 million users in Korea, rapidly chasing X (formerly Twitter) led by Elon Musk. Launched as Musk's takeover of Twitter triggered turmoil, Threads is seen as breaking through latecomer limits on the back of strong integration with Instagram. The contest between the two platforms is expanding beyond a simple battle for social media share into a fight over artificial intelligence strategy and control of the ecosystem.
According to app analytics platform MobileIndex on the 16th, Threads' monthly active users (MAU) in Korea last month totaled 5,873,860. After coming in at just 976,432 right after its launch in Jul. 2023, MAU rose to 1,636,639 by the end of that year and expanded to 4,628,323 by the end of 2024. The growth has continued into 2025, stably surpassing the 5 million mark and nearing 6 million ahead of year-end. The user base has grown more than sixfold in about two years.
During the same period, X's MAU in Korea moved more gently around the 7 million range. By MobileIndex's count, X's MAU increased from 6,233,821 in Jul. 2023 to 7,186,603 in Nov. this year. In absolute size, X still leads, but in terms of growth rate, Threads is much steeper. The industry says, "If X is firmly holding a highly engaged user base focused on politics, issues, and breaking news, Threads is widening its base by absorbing large numbers of everyday and light users."
A similar trend is appearing in global markets. Based on data Meta disclosed in recent earnings and briefings, Threads' global MAU topped 400 million as of the second half of 2025. It is a result achieved roughly two years after launch. By contrast, X's global MAU is estimated at about 550 million to 600 million. In absolute scale, X still leads, but Threads is posting clear gains each quarter and narrowing the gap quickly.
The primary driver of Threads' rapid growth is its account and follower linkage with Instagram. Users can start the service immediately with an Instagram account without a separate sign-up, and existing follower relationships carry over, removing the initial barrier to entry. Analysts also say Meta's deliberate minimization of political and news content exposure, maintaining a relatively "quiet space," worked in its favor. As X shifted into a hub of political controversy and ideological conflict after Musk's takeover, users fatigued by the environment chose Threads as an alternative.
The rivalry between the services also dovetails with the founders' long-running personal clashes. Musk and Zuckerberg, at odds over AI philosophy and platform strategy, once traded barbs while even floating the possibility of a public MMA fight. While it never materialized, the two CEOs' competition extended beyond business into symbolic and personal dimensions.
That confrontation is reflected directly in their platform strategies. When Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and retooled it as X, putting "freedom of speech" and a "super app" vision at the forefront, Meta the following year abruptly launched Threads, a text-based social media similar to Twitter. Musk's reaction right after launch—raising the prospect of legal action and saying it was "copied"—is cited as an example of their competitive dynamic.
The competition is continuing in the AI market. Musk founded the Generative AI corporations xAI based on X's vast real-time data and is offering the Grok model. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, open-sourced the Llama series and chose a strategy of integrating AI features across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.