X (Twitter)
The global real-time conversation platform formerly known as Twitter.
X at a glance
X is a social media website and one of the most visited sites in United States, currently ranked #5 in the country. It was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams and is headquartered in Austin, Texas / San Francisco, California, United States. Today X is owned by X Corp. (privately held). Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 6.5 billion visits per month. The business earns money mainly through advertising in timeline and search, x premium subscriptions, creator ad revenue sharing. Its closest rivals include Meta Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 6.2 billion / month | +1% |
| Q2 | ≈ 6.4 billion / month | +3% |
| Q3 | ≈ 6.6 billion / month | +3% |
| Q4 | ≈ 6.5 billion / month | -2% |
Traffic sources
- Direct50%
App opens, bookmarks
- Organic search22%
News, people and brand queries
- Referral18%
Embedded tweets, news sites
- Social7%
- Paid & other3%
Audience & demographics
- Men62%
- Women38%
- Age 18-2425%
- Age 25-3431%
- Age 35-5428%
- Age 55+16%
X skews younger and male, with strong concentrations in tech, media, politics and finance communities. It is a primary real-time news source for many users.
Geographic reach
- United States25%
- Japan12%
- United Kingdom6%
- India5%
- Other52%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- Billions of tweet and profile pages
- Estimated organic traffic
- Hundreds of millions of visits / month
- Strongest clusters
- News, people, brands, hashtags
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| x | 1-3 | Very high | — |
| 1 | Very high | — | |
| elon musk | 1-3 | High | — |
| breaking news | 1-5 | High | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- Hundreds of millions
- Link profile
- News embeds, social sharing, profile links
Top referral sources
- Google Search30%
- Direct / app35%
- News and blog embeds25%
- Social10%
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
X's stack is designed for real-time distribution at massive scale, with a heavy emphasis on mobile and timeline performance.
Mobile app statistics
- Mobile share of sessions
- ≈ 80%
- Real-time notifications
- Billions pushed daily
Company information
- Website
- x.com
- Sector
- Social Media
- Owner
- X Corp. (privately held)
- Owner type
- Private company
- Founders
- Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams
- Founded
- 2006
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas / San Francisco, California, United States
- Employees
- 1,500+
- Ownership
- Acquired by Elon Musk in 2022 and taken private; Musk is the controlling owner
- Valuation
- Private valuation estimated around USD 12-25 billion post-acquisition
- Revenue
- Estimated annual revenue USD 2-3 billion (advertising + subscriptions)
- Languages
- 40+ languages
- Top traffic sources
- Direct, mobile app, Google search, referral
Ownership, investors & funding history
Financials
- Revenue trend
- Volatile post-acquisition; ad revenue under pressure
- Profitability
- Private; reported as improving cost structure
- Cost base
- Infrastructure, debt service, content moderation
Business model & revenue
X monetises attention through advertising, premium subscriptions and creator revenue sharing. It positions itself as a public square for real-time news and conversation.
- Advertising in timeline and search
- X Premium subscriptions
- Creator ad revenue sharing
- Verification and organisational accounts
- Data licensing and developer APIs
Products & services
Real-time feed of posts from followed accounts and recommendations.
Subscription with verification, editing and longer posts.
Live audio chat rooms.
Interest-based discussion groups.
Job listings and recruiting tools.
AI assistant integrated into X.
Seller ecosystem
- Verified organisations
- Thousands
- Advertisers
- Hundreds of thousands
- Monetised creators
- Tens of thousands
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
Main competitors
Overview
X, formerly Twitter, is a global real-time conversation platform. Founded in 2006, it became the public square for news, politics, tech and culture before being acquired and rebranded by Elon Musk.
Traffic Statistics
X attracts roughly 6.5 billion monthly visits and has about 550 million monthly active users. Daily active users are estimated at around 250 million.
Traffic Sources
Direct traffic and mobile app opens lead, followed by Google organic search for news and people queries and referrals from embedded tweets.
Audience & Demographics
X skews younger and male, with strong representation in tech, media, politics and finance. It is a primary real-time news source for many users.
Geographic Reach
The United States is the largest market, followed by Japan, the United Kingdom, India and other countries.
SEO Profile
X ranks for billions of news, people, brand and hashtag queries. Embedded tweets and public profiles generate substantial organic visibility.
Technology Stack
X runs on Scala/Java backend systems, React and React Native front ends, custom real-time feed infrastructure and GraphQL APIs.
Social Media Statistics
The official @X account has tens of millions of followers. Corporate presence is strongest on its own platform.
Mobile App Statistics
The X app has more than 1 billion Google Play downloads. Mobile accounts for roughly 80% of sessions.
Company Information
X Corp. is headquartered in the United States. It was founded as Twitter by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams.
Ownership & Investors
X is privately held and controlled by Elon Musk following the 2022 acquisition.
Financials
Estimated annual revenue is USD 2-3 billion from advertising and subscriptions. Profitability is private but reported as improving.
Business Model
X monetises through advertising, X Premium subscriptions, creator revenue sharing, organisational accounts and data/API licensing.
Products & Services
Products include Timeline, X Premium, Spaces, Communities, X Hiring and Grok AI assistant.
Competitors
Competitors include Meta Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.
Company History & Milestones
From Twitter launch in 2006 to SXSW breakthrough, 2012 IPO, 280-character limit in 2017, Musk acquisition in 2022 and X rebrand in 2023.
Latest News
X is expanding creator monetisation and testing new video and payment features.
User Reviews & Ratings
Valued for real-time information; criticised for moderation, instability and ad load.
Pros & Cons
Pros: real-time news, influential users, mobile experience. Cons: moderation issues, advertiser volatility, algorithm concerns.
Key Statistics
~6.5 billion monthly visits, ~550 million monthly active users, ~250 million daily active users, #5 U.S. ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns X? Elon Musk. What happened to Twitter? Rebranded as X in 2023. Is it free? Core service is free; Premium is paid.
Data Sources
X statements, media reports, Statcounter and Similarweb estimates.
Last Updated
2026-09-10
Related Websites
Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
Website Rankings
#5 in the United States and top 20 worldwide.
Revenue & Funding History
2012 IPO raised USD 1.8 billion; 2022 acquisition by Elon Musk took the company private with significant debt.
Employee Statistics
X employs around 1,500+ people after post-acquisition reductions.
Customer Statistics
~550 million monthly active users and ~250 million daily active users.
Backlink Profile
Hundreds of millions of referring domains from news embeds, social sharing and profile links.
Top Organic Keywords
"x", "twitter", "elon musk", "breaking news" and trending hashtags.
Top Referral Sources
Google Search, direct/app, news embeds and social.
Website Technologies
Scala/Java, React/React Native, real-time feeds, GraphQL, mobile-first.
Advertising & Analytics Technologies
X Ads Manager, conversion tracking, audience targeting, mobile ad stack.
API & Developer Information
X API v2, Ads API and data licensing products.
International Seller Opportunities
X Premium for organisations, verified accounts and advertising tools help brands reach global audiences.
Company history & milestones
- 2006
Twitter founded at Odeo incubator
- 2007
Explodes at SXSW conference
- 2012
IPO on NYSE
- 2017
Character limit raised to 280
- 2022
Elon Musk acquires Twitter
- 2023
Rebranded as X
- 2024
Pushes subscriptions, creator payouts and Grok AI
Latest news
- X expands creator monetisation toolsX Blog · 2026
- X tests new video and payment featuresTechCrunch · 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- Real-time news and conversation
- Influential public figures and brands active daily
- Strong mobile experience
- Useful for customer service and brand monitoring
Cons
- Content moderation and toxicity issues
- Ad revenue and advertiser confidence volatile
- Algorithmic timeline can bury followed accounts
- Verification and API changes disrupted developers
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
Who owns X?
X Corp. is privately held and controlled by Elon Musk.
What happened to Twitter?
Twitter was acquired in 2022 and rebranded as X in 2023.
Is X free?
The core service is free; X Premium is a paid subscription.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- X company statementsX Corp.
- Media reportsBusiness and tech press
- StatcounterStatcounter
- Similarweb estimatesSimilarweb
- Data confidence
- Moderate; post-acquisition private disclosures are limited and traffic figures are estimates.
- Last updated
- 2026-09-10
Social media profiles & statistics