Bluesky vs. Threads: Finding Life After X

The demise of the Twitter we once knew and loved, now branded as X, has left many of us searching for a new digital home. I, too, found myself adrift, experimenting with various alternatives to recapture that familiar feeling of instant connection and flowing conversation. After extensive testing, two platforms emerged as clear front-runners: Bluesky and Threads.

Both offer compelling features, yet neither is perfect. Choosing between them can feel like a difficult decision. So, I put both platforms through rigorous testing, comparing them across various metrics to help you, and myself, decide where to invest our social media energy. If you’re ready to finally escape X but unsure where to land, consider the following points, focusing on what matters most to you. Remember, personal experience is key, so try both if possible to see which resonates best.

User Interface and Ease of Use

Visually, Bluesky and Threads are remarkably similar, intentionally echoing the classic Twitter design. Both are intuitive and easy to navigate, leveraging the well-established microblogging format. Scrolling timelines, simple menus for activity tracking, and easy search functionality for accounts and topics are hallmarks of both platforms.

Picking a winner is difficult here, but I would narrowly favor Bluesky. However, this comes with a significant caveat. Bluesky requires some initial effort to optimize the experience to your liking. Tweaking settings, discovering interesting feeds, and refining your moderation preferences takes time. But once you’ve tailored Bluesky to your specific needs, the overall user experience edges out Threads in my opinion.

Winner: Bluesky

Migration and Getting Started

Let’s assume you’re a current X user seeking an exit strategy, hoping to bring your existing connections along for the ride. Starting from scratch is rarely appealing.

Bluesky offers a fantastic tool called Sky Follower Bridge designed specifically for migrating connections from X (and other platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook) to Bluesky. This tool streamlines the process, making it remarkably easy to rebuild your network on the new platform.

Threads, on the other hand, primarily focuses on leveraging your existing Instagram network. While importing Instagram data (including followers) is relatively straightforward, it lacks a direct pathway for migrating connections from X. Meta has hinted at developing a tool to import followers from X in the future, but it’s not as seamless or feature-rich as Sky Follower Bridge.

Therefore, if your primary goal is to easily transition from X with your existing network intact, Bluesky is the clear winner. However, if you’re like me and see this as an opportunity for a fresh start, consciously curating your network from the ground up, then Threads might hold a slight advantage due to its connection to your Instagram account.

Winner: Bluesky (for easy migration), Threads (for a fresh start)

User Base and Community Size

When it comes to user base, there’s a stark difference between the two platforms. As of Q1 2025, Bluesky boasts around 30 million monthly active users, while Threads dominates with over 350 million.

A larger user base presents both advantages and disadvantages. On Threads, you’re more likely to encounter familiar faces and discover a wider variety of niche communities. However, the increased size also brings greater challenges in the form of increased noise, trolls, and bots.

Winner: Threads

Engagement and Reach

In my experience, the level of engagement you receive on each platform directly correlates with its user base size. Despite actively using Bluesky for months, my posts and replies consistently garner more attention and interaction on my relatively newer Threads account.

The simple reality is that Threads offers more opportunities to reach a wider audience. A reply to a popular account on Threads is significantly more likely to be seen by others than a similar interaction on Bluesky. Bluesky, while promising, can still feel like a developing platform with a limited reach.

Winner: Threads

Conversation Quality and Tone

Many people abandoned Twitter long before Elon Musk’s acquisition and the subsequent rebranding to X. The once-vibrant platform had devolved into a breeding ground for argumentative behavior and toxic interactions. So, are Bluesky and Threads any better?

In my opinion, both alternatives offer a significantly improved environment compared to X, at least for now. If you enjoy engaging in unproductive arguments with bad-faith actors, then X remains your platform of choice. However, both Threads and Bluesky provide opportunities for more constructive and civil discussions.

Between the two, I find the overall vibe on Bluesky to be noticeably friendlier, more positive, and generally more conducive to meaningful interactions. This could be attributed to its smaller user base and more robust moderation features, which effectively limit the impact of trolls, bots, engagement farmers, and argumentative individuals.

Winner: Bluesky

Content Moderation

Both Threads and Bluesky offer comprehensive content moderation tools, allowing users to report posts, mute or block accounts, and customize their experience through various settings. However, Bluesky excels in this category for two key reasons.

First, the sheer number of moderation features available on Bluesky is impressive. A comprehensive suite of tools and filters empowers users to meticulously curate their feed and manage their interactions.

Second, Meta’s recent shift away from proactive fact-checking and stringent content moderation on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and likely Threads, raises concerns. This decision may impact the overall quality and safety of the Threads environment.

Winner: Bluesky

Algorithmic Prowess

Objectively comparing social media algorithms is challenging, as individual preferences vary greatly. What one person considers a good algorithm, another might find frustrating. Therefore, my assessment is based on my subjective experience with both Bluesky and Threads.

Both platforms do a decent job of surfacing content they believe you’ll find interesting, requiring some usage time to learn your preferences and refine their recommendations. While Threads offers only "For You" and "Following" feeds, Bluesky provides a broader range of feed options, which I’ll discuss in the "Customization Options" section below.

Despite this, I believe Threads’ algorithm is more adept at understanding your engagement patterns, identifying your interests, and delivering more of the content you enjoy. This likely stems from the Threads team’s extensive experience and data accumulated under the Meta umbrella.

Winner: Threads

Customization Options

In terms of customization, Bluesky is the clear victor. This is unsurprising, given that Threads is part of Meta (a company known for standardized experiences), while Bluesky was designed as a decentralized alternative to Twitter, prioritizing user control and satisfaction.

While the Threads experience is largely uniform for all users, Bluesky offers extensive customization options, enabling individuals to curate their own unique experience. These options include custom feeds, user-created algorithms, shareable moderation lists, curated groups and feeds known as Starter Packs, and adjustable "Following" feed preferences.

If customization is a high priority for you in a social media platform, Bluesky is undoubtedly the better choice. If you prefer a straightforward, one-size-fits-all app that simplifies the experience for everyone, Threads may be a better fit.

Winner: Bluesky

Breaking News

One of the primary reasons people continue to cling to X, despite its shortcomings, is its unparalleled ability to disseminate breaking news and facilitate real-time reactions.

Both Threads and Bluesky theoretically offer the capacity to serve as sources for breaking news. However, Threads’ larger user base gives it a distinct advantage in this area. Not only are more news organizations and official sources present on Threads, but the sheer number of users increases the likelihood of discussions surrounding breaking news events that originated elsewhere.

Of course, this is a double-edged sword. Platforms with larger user bases are also more susceptible to the spread of fake news and misinformation. Therefore, the most effective approach, if breaking news is your primary concern, is to directly follow trusted news organizations, wire services, and companies on whichever platform you choose.

Winner: Threads

The Verdict: Which Platform is Right for You?

If your priorities include easy migration, control over your feed, extensive customization options, superior curation and moderation features, and a higher overall quality of conversation, then Bluesky is the clear choice. It’s also the preferred option if you’re wary of supporting, or being influenced by, megacorporations like Meta.

If you simply want to join the largest online community and "be where everyone else is," then Threads is the better option. It boasts a larger active user base and wider adoption among companies and organizations, although this comes with increased exposure to trolls, bots, and negative interactions. Threads is a standardized social media platform that heavily relies on personalized, algorithmic content delivery.

Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either choice. The truly winning move is to finally abandon X for good. Given the ongoing controversies, the pervasive negative energy, and the lack of effective moderation, you’re doing yourself a disservice by remaining on the platform.