Facebook vs. X vs. Instagram: What's the Difference?

Facebook vs. X vs. Instagram: An Overview

Social media helps billions of people worldwide stay connected. Facebook, X Corp (formerly Twitter), and Instagram (which is owned by Meta) are among the most successful social media brands. The three sites appeal to different demographics. Facebook has broad appeal across ages. Instagram users tend to be younger, and X is favored by affluent college graduates.

Facebook

There are nearly eight billion people on the planet, and 2.9 billion of them use Facebook at least once per month as of April 2024. With nearly a third of the world's population connected over a single social network, it's worth asking: who isn't Facebook's target market?

To say that everyone is its target market is not an understatement. Facebook had 193.8 million monthly active users in the United States as of April 2024. There are some slight differences when digging into the demographics.

For example, 76% of Facebook users were women compared with 59% of men. And the platform, as is with all social media, is more popular with younger adults. About 75% of users were between 30 and 49. Facebook is not as popular with the youngest age bracket, 18 to 29, where about 67% use Facebook. A larger percentage (58%) of those 65 and over use Facebook when compared to X and Instagram.

Facebook users are not distinguished by their ethnic background; however, those making $30,000 and $100,000 are its most prominent users.

This popularity is perhaps why Meta's initial public offering (IPO) was one of the most anticipated in financial history. It went public in May 2012 at a valuation of $104 billion, which was the third-largest IPO in the U.S. at the time.

Facebook made two significant acquisitions following its public debut. It bought Instagram in 2012, paying roughly $1 billion in cash and stock. Facebook acquired messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, which appreciated to $22 billion in value thanks to a rise in Facebook's shares.

X

About 22% of adult Americans use X. More men than women use X: 26% to 19%. Like with Facebook, users skew younger, especially among 18- to 29-year-olds. In this age group, 42% report they use X compared to 6% in the 65 and over age bracket.

Adults with higher household incomes use X more. For example, 29% of adults with an annual income of $100,000 or more confirm they use the platform compared with one in five who have incomes between $70,000 and $99,000. One in five with incomes of less than $30,000 claim to use X as well.

The company went public in November 2013 and achieved a valuation of $25 billion on its first trading day.

On Oct. 27, 2022, after months of back and forth with the company's board, billionaire Elon Musk completed his $44 billion deal to take it private. The parent company changed its name in April 2023.

Instagram

Young people cannot seem to survive without Instagram. The social network for photo and video sharing is especially popular among 18- to 29-year-olds. In this age group, 78% say they use Instagram. Usage drops off significantly for older Americans. In the 30 to 49 age group, approximately 58% use the platform. For those 65 and over, approximately 15% use Instagram; a much higher number than the same age bracket for X.

More women than men say they use Instagram: 54% to 39%. More users are typically college-educated.

Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion. The purchase was met with skepticism because the photo-sharing site was just two years old and didn't have any significant revenue at the time.

But that changed. In 2018, Bloomberg analysts estimated the platform was worth $100 billion. Because Instagram is an app, it has helped Meta shift from web browsers to mobile devices.

Special Considerations

Not only are the demographics different for these social media platforms but so are the style, goals, and point of them. For example, Instagram is primarily a visual social media platform. It is used to share photos and videos. X, on the other, is primarily a text-based platform.

Facebook is an amalgamation of the two but also contains many other features, such as messaging, marketplaces, and groups. While all three overlap in their function to a degree, they all have very distinct purposes that cater to different individuals in terms of what these individuals are seeking from social media.

The Bottom Line

Facebook, X, and Instagram are three of the most popular social media platforms in the world. All of them serve different purposes and cater to different interests and people; however, generally, younger people use social media than older people.