Threads
How the Threads algorithm works
Threads rewards reply-driving content within the first 45 minutes. Always attach an image — text-only posts reach about 40% less. Aim for 100-280 chars; longer posts lose reach.
By Tayyab, Founder
Where these numbers come from. This profile was built from the sources listed on this page, which include statements the platform made publicly.
- Stated by the platformMeta blog, August 2024
We never present an estimate as something a platform announced. Where we are the source, this page says so.
How the feed is assembled
The signals Threads weighs when it decides who sees a post, strongest first. Weights are shown against a like, which is the unit everybody has an intuition for.
- Shares and reposts4x a like
- Comments4x a like
- Saves2x a like
- Likes1x a like
The first-hour cliff
The single most actionable fact on most networks, and the one almost nobody explains concretely.
45 min
When the outcome is effectively decided
40%
Of your median engagement. Below this, the post has stalled
replies, shares
Signals that matter most in that window
If a Threads post has not reached 40% of your own median engagement by minute 45, it rarely recovers. That is why the window matters more than the day: a post published into a dead hour has already lost before anybody decides whether it was any good.
Best posting windows
Every hour of the week, as a multiple of a median Threads hour. On Pro and above we rank your posting slots against this curve and your own posting history; on Free and Starter the queue uses our regional best-time table without the personalised ranking.
TuesdayStrongest
11:00 to 13:00 UTC
2.03x
vs a median hour
Wednesday
13:00 to 15:00 UTC
2.03x
vs a median hour
Monday
10:00 UTC
1.89x
vs a median hour
Thursday
11:00 UTC
1.89x
vs a median hour
Times are UTC. Content Drifter schedules these in your own timezone.
Link policy
What Threads does to a post carrying an outbound link, and where we put yours instead.
Allowed
Links in the post body
-20%
Reach cost of a link in the body
in the post body
Where we place your link
Posting cadence and cooldowns
Posting more is not posting better. These are the ceilings the queue applies when it assigns slots, counted against your own calendar rather than UTC.
1h
Minimum gap between posts
6
Maximum posts per day
30
Maximum posts per week
Format mechanics
What Threads accepts, and which formats carry a reach advantage over a plain post.
Reach by format
- Video+50%
- Single image+40%
- Thread chain+30%
- Standard post0%
- Reply-20%
Hard limits
- Ideal length
- 100 to 280 characters
- Platform limit (enforced)
- 500 characters
- Hashtags for reach
- 0 ideal, 1 before it costs you, inline
- Hashtags allowed
- 5 by the platform
- Images per post
- 20
- Video
- up to 300s, 100MB
- Image formats
- jpeg, png
Threads supports tags but they barely surface. 0-1 is fine; more is dilution.
How Content Drifter applies this to your Threads posts
Each row pairs a number from this page with the thing the product does about it. This is the same record, not a marketing restatement of it.
Threads engagement peaks around 11:00 to 13:00 UTC on Tuesday, roughly 2.03x a median hour.
Add a post to the queue without picking a time and it takes the next open peak slot in your timezone, skipping slots already full. On Pro and above those slots are ranked against this curve and your own posting history.
Gold Slot schedulingVideo outperforms a plain post by about 50% on Threads.
Generation targets the formats that carry a lift on the network you are posting to, rather than producing one body and cross-posting it everywhere.
Per-platform publishingThreads rewards engagement in the first 45 minutes, and a post that starts flat rarely recovers.
On Agency plans with the boost engine switched on, we check the post at the 45 minute mark against your own median, so a stall is something you find out about while it can still be acted on.
The algorithm-aware enginePosting more than 6 times a day, or inside 1 hour of your last post, works against you on Threads.
The queue honours that spacing when it assigns slots, counting posts you already published as well as ones you have queued, so a bulk import or a busy week cannot bunch your posts together.
The queueThreads posts land best between 100 and 280 characters, against a platform limit of 500.
The pre-publish check reads the post against these rules and tells you which one it breaks, rather than handing you a score.
Pre-publish performance read
Recent Threads algorithm changes
Changes we have recorded and reviewed. Nothing appears here automatically.
We have not published a recorded change for Threads since our last check. Our canary compares engagement across our whole user base against a 28-day baseline every day, and a shift is reviewed by a person before it appears here, because saying in public that Threads changed something is a claim about somebody else’s product.
Threads algorithm questions
What is the best time to post on Threads?
Our strongest window is 11:00 to 13:00 UTC on Tuesday, which runs about 2.03x a median hour, followed by 13:00 to 15:00 UTC on Wednesday. Those are UTC. Content Drifter converts them to your timezone and schedules into them for you, so the number you are reading is the one it acts on.
What does the Threads algorithm reward most?
shares and reposts carry the most weight, about 4x a like in our model, then comments at 4x. Threads rewards reply-driving content within the first 45 minutes. Always attach an image — text-only posts reach about 40% less. Aim for 100-280 chars; longer posts lose reach.
Do links hurt reach on Threads?
Yes. We model a body link as costing about 20% of reach, and we place links in the post body instead.
How often should I post on Threads?
We cap at 6 posts a day and 30 a week, with at least 1 hour between posts. The queue applies these when it assigns slots, using your own calendar day rather than UTC, and counts what you have already published as well as what is queued.
Which post format performs best on Threads?
Video carries the largest lift in our model, roughly 50% above a plain post. Generation targets the format that wins on the network you are publishing to.
How long should a Threads post be?
Between 100 and 280 characters. Threads allows up to 500, which is what we stop you at. Hashtags work best at 0 and start costing you reach above 1, well below the 5 the platform permits.
Every network we publish to
The same page, rendered from the same kind of record, for each of the 9 networks.