Threads passed X on mobile in January 2026, averaging 143.2 million daily active users against X's 126.2 million. It has 450 million monthly users, 73.6% higher engagement rates than X, and since January 2026 it runs ads in every market.
Here's the catch: none of that money reaches creators. Threads has no native creator payouts, and Meta quietly ended its bonus program in 2025. That doesn't make Threads worthless for earning. It changes where the money comes from. The creators doing best on Threads use it as a growth engine that feeds income on other platforms and through things they sell themselves.
This is the same window that existed on Instagram in 2014 and TikTok in 2019: high organic reach, low competition, and an audience that's growing fast. Below is the straight answer on whether Threads pays, what it can realistically earn you, and 15 ways to monetize it. (Brands taking a strategic view rather than a creator view should start with our Threads marketing brand playbook, which covers when Threads is the right channel investment for your brand category.)
Does Threads Pay Creators? (No Native Monetization Yet)
No. As of September 2026, Threads pays creators nothing directly. There is no creator fund, no ad revenue share, no tipping, no paid subscriptions and no per-view payout. The invite-only bonus program that paid some creators in 2024 stopped in 2025 and nothing has replaced it.
Ads on Threads are live worldwide, but that revenue goes to Meta. Creators don't get a cut, and Meta hasn't announced a revenue share or a date for one.
So the honest framing is this: you don't make money from Threads, you make money because of Threads. Every method in this guide works by turning attention on Threads into income somewhere else, whether that's a brand deal, an affiliate commission, a newsletter, a client, a product, or a bigger Instagram following that does have payout tools.
1. Brand Partnerships and Sponsored Posts
Threads' high engagement rates make sponsored content especially valuable. With median engagement of 6.25% on Threads versus 3.60% on X, brands get noticeably more interaction per post.
Rates:
- Nano creators (1K-10K followers): $100-$300 per sponsored Thread
- Micro creators (10K-50K): $300-$800 per Thread
- Mid-tier creators (50K-200K): $800-$2,500 per Thread
- Established creators (200K+): $2,500-$5,000+ per Thread
Why brands are interested: Threads' conversational format makes sponsored content feel more authentic than ads on other platforms. Text-first content that reads like a genuine recommendation outperforms polished ad copy.
How to land deals: Build a niche audience with strong engagement. Create a media kit highlighting your Threads engagement rates (they'll likely look strong next to other platforms). Approach brands directly or use influencer platforms. Brands hiring for Instagram campaigns increasingly add a couple of Threads posts to the package, so price that add-on too. Set your rate card first with our Threads influencer pricing calculator.
2. Affiliate Marketing
One of the easiest entry points for Threads monetization. Share product recommendations through conversational posts and earn commissions when followers purchase.
How it works on Threads: Write story-driven posts explaining why a product matters, building trust that drives clicks. Place affiliate links in your bio or use link-in-bio tools (Linktree, Stan Store, etc.). If you would rather not pay a monthly fee, our free link-in-bio generator exports a themed links page you can host anywhere.
Why it works: Engagement rates up to 8.3x higher than X mean more eyeballs on your affiliate content. The conversational format suits "mini reviews" and genuine product recommendations. Finance, SaaS and tech affiliates tend to do well because so many Threads users are working professionals.
Best formats: Product comparisons, "5 tools that changed my workflow" threads, honest reviews, and use-case demonstrations.
Compliance: Always disclose affiliate relationships with #ad or #affiliate tags.
3. Driving Traffic to Instagram (Cross-Platform Monetization)
This is the most commonly used strategy, and the most effective. Since Threads and Instagram are tightly integrated (same Meta ecosystem, linked accounts), Threads works as a top-of-funnel growth tool.
The funnel: Spark curiosity and conversations on Threads, nudge engaged users to your Instagram, then monetize through Instagram's built-in tools.
Instagram monetization you can access:
- Instagram Subscriptions ($0.99-$99.99/month)
- Gifts on Reels
- Instagram Branded Content partnerships
- Instagram Shopping
Seamless integration: Meta lets you share Instagram Reels directly to Threads, so cross-promotion takes one tap. Your Threads audience is one tap away from your Instagram.
For more on Instagram monetization, see our full guide: How to Make Money on Instagram.
Schedule content across Threads and Instagram from one dashboard. See our best Threads scheduler roundup for tools that let you plan and auto-publish to both platforms. Start your 7-day trial →
4. Selling Digital Products
Use Threads to build authority and demonstrate expertise, then direct followers to purchase your digital products.
What to sell: Online courses, ebooks, templates, Notion templates, Canva templates, presets, guides, swipe files.
Earnings potential: Digital products can generate $20,000-$100,000+ in initial revenue with ongoing passive income potential.
Why Threads works: The text-heavy, conversation-driven format is ideal for showing the expertise that makes people buy. Share insights, frameworks, and results, then link to your product.
Where to sell: Gumroad, Teachable, Kajabi, Stan Store, Shopify, or your own website.
5. Newsletter Growth and Monetization
Use Threads content to build your email list, then monetize through your newsletter.
Strategy: Share valuable insights on Threads, include your newsletter signup link in your bio, and convert your most engaged followers into subscribers.
Newsletter monetization:
- Sponsorships ($50-$500+ per issue depending on list size)
- Paid subscriptions ($5-$15/month via Substack, Beehiiv, ConvertKit)
- Affiliate links within emails
- Product launches to a warm audience
Why it works: Threads content can be repurposed into newsletter content and vice versa. Your Threads engagement builds the trust that converts followers into email subscribers, the most valuable audience you can own because no algorithm change can take it away.
6. Coaching and Consulting Lead Generation
Threads attracts a valuable demographic for coaching: 65% of users are aged 25-44, representing higher earning potential and willingness to invest in professional development.
Earnings:
- Business coaching: $75,000-$235,000 annually
- Executive and leadership coaching: $135,000-$285,000 annually
- 1:1 coaching sessions: $200-$1,000+ per hour
- Group coaching programs: $2,000-$10,000 per cohort
Strategy: Share actionable insights, frameworks, and case studies on Threads. Build relationships through genuine engagement in replies. Convert warm leads through your bio link to a booking page (Calendly, Cal.com, etc.).
7. UGC (User-Generated Content) Creation
Brands hire UGC creators to produce authentic-looking content for their marketing, and you don't need a large following to get started.
Rates:
- Beginners: $150-$200 per deliverable
- Intermediate (6 months to 2 years experience): $300-$500
- Expert creators (3+ years): $600-$1,000+
- Extended usage rights add 20-100% to base rate
How Threads helps: Showcase your content creation abilities on Threads to attract brand attention. The platform's emphasis on authentic, conversational content matches the UGC look brands want.
8. Freelance Client Acquisition
Threads' conversational format is ideal for demonstrating the expertise that attracts freelance clients.
Why it works: B2B marketers are flocking to Threads in 2025-2026. The platform deprioritizes political content and conspiracy posts, making it a safer, more professional space for business engagement.
Best for: Social media managers, copywriters, designers, consultants, developers, and marketing strategists.
Strategy: Share your process, results, and insights regularly. Engage in conversations within your niche. Include your services link in your bio. 43% of independent workers use social media for client acquisition, and Threads' high engagement makes it one of the more efficient options.
Create scroll-stopping content faster. PostEverywhere's AI content generator helps you write engaging posts, brainstorm content ideas, and keep a consistent schedule across platforms. See plans →
9. Community Building for Paid Communities
Build an engaged audience on Threads, then funnel your most loyal followers into a paid community.
Platforms for paid communities: Patreon (recurring monthly income), Discord (subscription servers), Skool, Circle, or membership areas on your website.
Pricing: $5-$50/month for community access, depending on the value and exclusivity offered.
Strategy: Use Threads' high engagement to build genuine relationships. When followers consistently engage with your content and ask for more, offer a paid community as the "next level."
10. Print-on-Demand and E-commerce Promotion
Promote your products through Threads' conversational format without inventory risk.
Market size: The global print-on-demand market reached approximately $10 billion in 2024 and is growing at 26% annually.
Services: Printful, Printify, Gelato. All integrate with Shopify, Etsy, and other e-commerce platforms.
Strategy: Design products that resonate with your niche audience. Use Threads to share the stories behind your products, building emotional connection that drives purchases. Social media is still the cheapest way to promote merchandise.
11. Cross-Promoting YouTube, Podcast, or Blog Content
Use Threads to drive traffic to your monetized long-form content on other platforms.
Strategy: Share key takeaways, behind-the-scenes insights, or provocative questions from your YouTube videos, podcast episodes, or blog posts. The text-first format works well for "hook" content that sends people to the longer piece.
Why Threads works for this: Higher engagement rates mean more visibility for your cross-promotional content. Unlike X, Threads doesn't suppress posts with external links as aggressively.
12. Running Threads Ads for Your Business
Meta rolled out ads on Threads globally starting January 26, 2026, and the early data is promising for businesses.
Cost benchmarks:
- CPM: $3-$10 (vs Facebook $8-14, Instagram $6-18)
- CPC: $0.30-$1.50 (vs Facebook $0.50-$1.00, Instagram ~$1.42)
Ad formats: Image and video ads, including 4:5 aspect ratio and carousel ads.
Integration: Manage Threads ads alongside Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp campaigns in Meta Business Settings. Third-party brand safety verification is available through Meta Business Partners.
Why it matters for creators: Lower ad costs mean you can promote your products, courses, or services on Threads for a fraction of what you'd pay on Instagram or Facebook. Early movers are getting the best rates before competition increases. Model a $1,000 test budget at Threads' $5 average CPM with our free CPM calculator: that's 200,000 impressions, more reach than most organic creators earn in a month.
13. Offering Threads Management Services
Many businesses know they need a Threads presence but don't yet have a strategy. That's a service opportunity.
Rates: $500-$2,000/month per client for content creation, scheduling, and community management.
What to offer: Content strategy, post creation, engagement management, analytics reporting, and growth consulting.
Tools to use: PostEverywhere's multi-account management to handle multiple client accounts from one dashboard. Other options include Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, Later, and Metricool, all of which support Threads scheduling and analytics. If Later is on your shortlist, compare the Later alternatives first.
14. Building Authority for Book or Course Launches
Threads' conversational format is well suited to building pre-launch buzz.
Strategy: Share insights from your upcoming book or course, building anticipation and an audience of potential buyers. The high engagement rates mean more visibility for your launch content.
Why Threads over other platforms: The text-first format lets you share the kind of deep insight that convinces people to buy a $30 book or a $300 course.
15. B2B Lead Generation
B2B marketers are increasingly turning to Threads because of its professional user base and lower advertising costs.
Advantages for B2B:
- Lower CPCs than LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google Ads
- Less ad fatigue (newer ad platform, less clutter)
- Cross-platform targeting via Meta's ad ecosystem (Facebook + Instagram + Threads)
- Professional demographic (65% aged 25-44)
Strategy: Share industry insights, case studies, and thought leadership content. Use Threads ads for retargeting. Funnel leads to landing pages or demo booking links.
Manage your B2B social presence from one dashboard. PostEverywhere lets you schedule posts across Threads, LinkedIn, X, and more. Plan it out using our free Threads content calendar template. Start your 7-day trial →
What Income Threads Can Realistically Drive
How much does Threads pay per 1,000 views?
$0. Views on Threads earn nothing on their own, at any follower count. For comparison, TikTok's Creator Rewards Program pays for qualified views on videos over a minute long (see what TikTok creators make), and YouTube shares ad revenue with Partner Program members (see what YouTubers make).
What Threads can do is feed the methods above. The size of that effect depends on your niche and what you sell, so treat the examples below as a way to do the math, not as a promise:
- Around 5,000 followers: If 2% of followers join your newsletter, that's 100 subscribers you own. Add a few affiliate sales a month and the odd nano-tier sponsored post ($100-$300). For a freelancer or consultant, a single client landed through Threads can outweigh everything else combined.
- Around 25,000 followers: The same 2% is 500 subscribers, enough for a paid newsletter or a small product launch to matter. Brands start to approach you, and micro-tier rates ($300-$800 per post) come into play, often as an add-on to an Instagram package.
- 100,000+ followers: You're a recognised name in your niche. Threads posts move meaningful traffic to your Instagram, YouTube or store, and sponsored posts reach the mid-tier and established ranges listed in method 1.
Run your own numbers with our Threads money calculator, and track the metrics brands ask about with the Threads engagement rate calculator. The point is that zero direct payouts doesn't mean zero value; it means the value shows up on other invoices.
How Threads Compares to Other Platforms for Earning
| Platform | Pays creators directly? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Threads | No | Indirect only: brand deals, affiliates, funnels |
| X (Twitter) | Yes | Ad revenue sharing for Premium subscribers who hit follower and impression thresholds, plus Subscriptions |
| Yes | Subscriptions, Gifts, branded content tools | |
| TikTok | Yes | Creator Rewards Program for qualified views on longer videos, plus LIVE gifts |
| YouTube | Yes | Ad revenue share through the YouTube Partner Program |
| No general payouts | Indirect: clients, consulting, B2B brand deals |
Threads vs. X (Twitter): X has ad revenue sharing, but it only counts engagement from Premium users, and many creators report payouts that barely cover the Premium subscription. The gap between the two is smaller than it looks on paper. Full numbers in our X creator pay guide.
Threads vs. Instagram: Instagram's monetization tools are far more developed. Because the two apps share an account system, the practical play is to use both: Threads for discovery, Instagram for payouts. Cross-posting keeps you present on both without doubling your workload. See what Instagram influencers make.
Threads vs. LinkedIn: Neither pays most creators directly. LinkedIn's professional audience makes each follower more valuable for services and B2B deals, while Threads' audience is broader. See our LinkedIn creator earnings guide.
Threads vs. TikTok: TikTok pays for views and has a mature brand deal market. Threads pays nothing, but a text post takes minutes, with no filming or editing.
Threads vs. Bluesky: Both are text-first and neither has native payouts; Threads has the far larger audience and live ads. Here's the Bluesky side of the question.
If direct platform income is your main goal, Threads is the wrong place to start; our ranking of which social media platform pays the most covers where the payouts are. If you're building an audience you can take anywhere, Threads' reach per hour spent is hard to beat.
When Will Threads Add Monetization? (And What Happened to the Bonus Program)
Meta ran an invite-only creator bonus program where selected creators earned $500-$5,000 per month for meeting view and post targets. Payments stopped around April 2025 with no public explanation, and no replacement program has launched since.
As for when creator payouts arrive, nobody outside Meta knows, and Meta hasn't given a date. What we do know:
- The money now exists. Every platform that pays creators does it by sharing ad revenue. Until January 2026 Threads had no ads worth sharing; now ads run in every market.
- Meta's pattern is ads first, creator tools later. Instagram launched in 2010 and got ads in 2013; creator payouts came years after that. Facebook followed the same path.
- Meta's existing tools are the likely template. If Threads monetization comes, expect something like Instagram's: branded content tools, subscriptions or gifts, and possibly a performance bonus. That's a reasonable guess, not an announcement.
There is a risk either way. Meta could design payouts that favour new creators over early ones, or Threads growth could stall before payouts arrive. So build on Threads alongside platforms that already pay, not instead of them. Keep your main income wherever you earn today and treat Threads as a growth investment. Our multi-account management features make running several platforms practical.
What this means for you: Don't wait for payouts. The creators earning the most on Threads right now use the 15 methods above. If Meta does introduce revenue sharing, an engaged audience built now puts you first in line.
Threads by the Numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly active users | 450 million |
| Daily active users (mobile) | ~143 million |
| Year-over-year DAU growth | 128% |
| Median engagement rate | 6.25% |
| Engagement advantage over X | 73.6% higher |
| Largest age group | 25-34 (29%) |
| Users aged 25-44 | 65% |
| Global ad rollout date | January 26, 2026 |
| Threads ad CPM | $3-$10 |
| Threads ad CPC | $0.30-$1.50 |
| Direct creator payouts | None |
FAQ
Does Threads pay creators any money?
No. As of September 2026, Threads has no creator fund, no ad revenue share, no tipping, no paid subscriptions and no per-view payouts. Meta's invite-only bonus program stopped paying in 2025 and has not been replaced. Ads on Threads are live, but creators don't get a share. Income from Threads comes indirectly, through brand deals, affiliate links, and sending followers to products, services or platforms that do pay.
Can you make money on Threads without native monetization?
Yes. While Threads doesn't offer direct creator payouts, all 15 methods in this guide work without them. The most successful Threads creators earn through brand partnerships, affiliate marketing, cross-platform funneling to Instagram, digital product sales, coaching, and freelance client acquisition.
How many followers do you need to make money on Threads?
No minimum for most methods. Affiliate marketing, digital product sales, and freelance client acquisition can start with any follower count. Brand deals typically require 1,000+ engaged followers. The key Threads metrics and KPIs to focus on are engagement rate and reply depth, not follower count.
Is Threads bigger than X (Twitter)?
On mobile, yes. Threads averaged 143.2 million daily active mobile users in January 2026, surpassing X's 126.2 million. However, X still dominates web traffic (145.4 million daily web visitors vs Threads' 8.5 million). Combined mobile and web, X still has more total daily users.
Will Meta add creator monetization to Threads?
Possibly, but there is no announced timeline. Meta rolled out ads on Threads worldwide in January 2026, which gives it the ad revenue that creator payouts on other platforms are built on. Meta followed an ads-first, creator-tools-later path with Facebook and Instagram, so a similar move on Threads is plausible, but until Meta announces it, plan as if payouts won't come.
What type of content performs best on Threads?
Conversational, authentic, text-first content. Unlike Instagram (visual) or TikTok (video), Threads rewards written communication: opinions, insights, stories, frameworks, and genuine recommendations. Threads deprioritizes political content and conspiracy posts.
How does Threads compare to X for making money?
X has native monetization (ad revenue sharing and Subscriptions). Threads has higher engagement but no direct payouts. X is better for immediate platform income. Threads is better for organic reach, brand partnerships, and cross-platform growth. Most creators benefit from using both. See our X monetization guide, or compare every major network in our roundup of which social media platform pays the most.
Start Earning on Threads
Threads' growth, high engagement rates, and Meta's investment in ads signal that the platform is here to stay. The creators who build their presence now, while organic reach is high and competition is low, will be best placed if native monetization arrives.
Pick 2-3 methods that match your situation, post consistently, and treat Threads as a growth engine for your broader monetization strategy.
Use PostEverywhere to schedule Threads posts alongside all your other platforms, and manage everything from one dashboard. Plans start at $9/month with a 7-day trial.
Related reading:
Founder & CEO of PostEverywhere. Writing about social media strategy, publishing workflows, and analytics that help brands grow faster.
