Bluesky tops 20mn users, narrowing gap with X, Threads

Bluesky, the emerging social network and rival to Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter), has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 20 million users.

According to new data from market intelligence firm Similarweb, Bluesky is quickly closing the gap with Instagram Threads in key metrics such as daily active users (DAUs) and website visits.

While Threads, owned by Meta, remains far ahead with over 275 million monthly active users, Bluesky's DAUs have surged in the U.S. and globally, signaling strong interest from new users.

On November 15, a peak day for Bluesky, its DAU count in the U.S. had narrowed the gap with Threads, with the latter's lead shrinking from a 5x advantage to just 1.5x.

Despite this, Instagram head Adam Mosseri disputed the accuracy of the DAU data, as Meta does not share these figures publicly.

Bluesky's website visits have also increased significantly, surpassing Threads in daily visits in both the U.S. and the U.K. Although it has not yet overtaken Threads globally, the app is quickly gaining traction.

The growth of Bluesky’s mobile app has been particularly striking, with a 519% increase in U.S. usage post-election compared to earlier in the year. The app also saw a 352% rise in usage in the U.K. during the same period.

The app's surge has been reflected in its performance on the U.S. App Store, where it became the No. 1 app on November 13 and has maintained its position.

This ranking indicates a combination of rapid installs and growing user engagement, outpacing both Threads and X in terms of app downloads and growth rate.

Globally, Bluesky has seen a 360% increase in Android app usage since the start of 2024, particularly following the temporary ban of X in Brazil, which led to a temporary spike in daily active users. However, as the ban was lifted, some users may have returned to X.

Bluesky’s rapid expansion is notable considering the platform only opened to the public in February after an extended invite-only period.

Since September, its user base has more than doubled, reaching 9 million users. The platform began adding approximately 100,000 users per day after the U.S. presidential election, with growth accelerating in November.

By mid-November, Bluesky had gained 1 million new users in just a week, reaching the 20 million milestone.

While the departures from X—partly influenced by Elon Musk’s controversial actions, such as his campaign for President-elect Donald Trump—have contributed to Bluesky’s growth, other factors include X’s changing policies, such as modifications to the blocking feature and its new stance on user data sharing with AI companies.

Bluesky’s continued growth positions it as a strong contender in the social networking space, as it closes the gap with established players like Threads and challenges the dominance of X.