Bluesky’s Active User Base Is Shrinking, and Remains Tiny Compared to Threads and Twitter/X
Sarah Perez, writing at TechCrunch last week: Decentralized social network Bluesky was one of the bigger beneficiaries of the exodus from Elon Musk’s X in November 2024, following the U.S. elections. But now, nearly two years later, the social network and would-be X competitor is struggling to hold on to its momentum. According to data from digital intelligence provider Similarweb , Bluesky’s…
Bluesky, a decentralized social network that gained traction after users fled Elon Musk's X in November 2024, is now grappling with a shrinking user base, according to data from Similarweb. In June 2026, Bluesky reported 10.4 million monthly active users globally, a 27.2% decrease compared to the previous year. The decline in daily active users was even steeper, dropping 25.6% year-over-year to approximately 3 million in July 2026.
While it's crucial to approach third-party analytics with a healthy dose of skepticism, as these figures are estimates rather than hard data, it's clear that Bluesky's user base remains significantly smaller than its competitors, Threads and Twitter/X, which boast hundreds of millions of active users. Even if Bluesky's user count is three times higher than Similarweb's estimate, the social network still falls far below the massive user bases of its competitors.
In comparison, Mastodon, another platform built on the ActivityPub protocol, remains relatively small but culturally relevant. For some, Mastodon represents the ideal social network—small, tight-knit, and free from the drama and nonsense that can plague larger platforms. However, small-scale communities like Mastodon often struggle to achieve mainstream cultural significance.
Written by urgent.news from Daring Fireball's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
