Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) both offer valuable platforms for social media marketing, but they cater to different audiences and content strategies. Instagram, with its larger and more diverse user base and higher engagement rates, is better suited for visual content and reaching a broader audience. X, with its focus on real-time updates and news, is more suitable for quick communication and engaging with a specific niche. Both platforms have robust advertising options and data privacy policies, but lack transparency in their algorithms and crisis communication tools. Ultimately, the choice between the two depends on the specific goals and target audience of the marketing campaign.
| Attribute | X (formerly Twitter) | |
|---|---|---|
| User Demographics | Largest segments: 18-24 year olds (31.7%) and 25-34 year olds (30.6%). Nearly 84% of users are under 45. Over 2 billion monthly active users. US: 55.4% female, 44.6% male. 47% of U.S. users report earnings above $75,000 per year. | Approximately 611-650 million monthly active users; largest age group is 25-34 years old; 58% of users are under 35; predominantly male user base (60.9%); United States has the largest number of users; 12th most popular social network worldwide. |
| Content Format Variety | Photos (square: 1080 x 1080 pixels, landscape: 1080 x 608 pixels, portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels), videos (3 seconds to 60 minutes), reels (15-90 seconds), stories (24 hours), carousels, and guides. | Supports text, images, videos, and links; advertisers can use text, images, videos, carousels, and Moments; video posts up to 512MB and 140 seconds long; supported video formats include MP4, MOV, and H.264. |
| Engagement Rate | Average: 2.2% (2025). Varies based on follower count: 4.8% (1,000-5,000 followers), 1.2% (20,000-100,000 followers), ~1% (over 100,000 followers). Above 2.2% is considered good. | Average engagement rate varies; as of 2024, approximately 0.029% across all markets and industries; sports teams tend to have higher engagement rates; measured through likes, retweets, replies, shares, and clicks; median engagement rate decreased from 0.029% in 2024 to 0.015% in 2025. |
| Advertising Options and Targeting | Targeting based on location, demographics, interests, and behaviors. Options: saved audiences, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences. Interests based on user likes, interests, apps, and Facebook pages. | Offers promoted ads, follower ads, and trend takeovers; targeting options include demographics, interests, keywords, and behaviors; advertisers can target users based on gender, age, location, and device; custom audiences allow retargeting; uses AI and machine learning to enhance ad targeting and performance. |
| Algorithm Transparency | Details not fully transparent. Considers user interests and engagement. | Information not available. |
| Data Privacy Policies | Collects user data (names, passwords, content, metadata). Users can download data. Complies with GDPR and CCPA. Privacy settings control content visibility and followers. | Collects biometric data from X Premium users with consent; may collect and use personal information, such as employment and education history; may use collected data and publicly available information to train AI models; users can limit data processing in their account settings. |
| Content Moderation Effectiveness | Uses AI (CNNs) to detect inappropriate content. Flagged content reviewed by human moderators. Users can appeal decisions. | Introduced Sensitivity Settings and Enhanced Blocklist; Sensitivity Settings allow advertisers to align brand messaging with content sensitivity needs; Enhanced Blocklist prevents ads from appearing next to unsafe keywords. |
| API Accessibility | Instagram Graph API for Business and Creator accounts. Allows retrieving profile data, managing media, responding to messages, and integrating engagement features. Requires Meta's app review. | Offers an API for developers to integrate with the platform; allows real-time data access, automated content curation, and streamlined workflows; Zapier and Latenode can be used to connect X with other applications. |
| Integration with Other Platforms | Integrates with other social media and marketing platforms. Ads managed through Facebook Ads Manager. | Integrates with platforms like Facebook, Shopify, and CRM systems; enables automated cross-posting, data analysis, and improved communication; social media management tools like Buffer and Dlvr.it integrate with the X API. |
| Brand Safety Features | Offers tools to prevent ads from appearing next to inappropriate content. | Offers Sensitivity Settings and Enhanced Blocklists; partnered with Integral Ad Sciences (IAS) to provide brand safety and suitability solutions. |
| Crisis Communication Tools | Not available | Not available. |
| Customer Support Responsiveness | Users can contact support team for questions about Instagram's privacy policy. | Not available. |
| Price | Not available | Not available |
| Ratings | overall:Not available, performance:Not available | overall: Not available, performance: Not available |