Twitter Spaces Statistics And Analysis In 2023

Social audio apps like Clubhouse pioneered the idea of live audio conversations as social networking. Twitter quickly jumped on board with a similar feature called Twitter Spaces in late 2020. However, adoption was initially slow. Now, Twitter Spaces is catching on as more brands and public figures leverage it to engage their audiences.

In this guide, we‘ll dive into the latest data and statistics on the growth, usage, and future potential of Twitter Spaces.

What Exactly is Twitter Spaces?

In a nutshell, Twitter Spaces enables live audio conversations on iOS and Android. Users can join in as listeners or request to speak. It‘s like tuning into a podcast or talk radio segment, except listeners can interact via text chat or by requesting the mic.

Twitter Spaces aims to capture the intimacy and spontaneity of in-person conversations in a digital format.Hosts can start rooms around any topic and speakers appear at the top so listeners know who is talking.

The Launch and Adoption Trajectory

Let‘s look at some key milestones for Spaces since its launch. This data tells the growth story.

December 2020 – Twitter begins testing Spaces internally with a small group of users
March 2021 – After months of beta testing, Twitter Spaces rolls out widely to all users with 600+ followers
May 2021 – Spaces opens up to all users with at least 600 followers
August 2021 – Hosting access expands to users with at least 500 followers
October 2021 – All people on iOS and Android globally can join and talk in Spaces regardless of follower count
May 2022 – Users can share direct links to Spaces which was not possible previously
June 2022 – Hosts can designate up to two co-hosts to help manage Spaces
July 2022 – Capacity increased to allow up to 50 speakers in a Space at once

One web traffic statistic also stands out regarding Twitter Spaces adoption:

Twitter Spaces received 2.8 million visits in March 2022, up from just 100,000 in July 2021 according to SimilarWeb data.

So based on these milestones, we can see meaningful progress from the small, closed beta in 2020 to opening access for all users throughout 2021 which spurred more growth in 2022.

Next let’s dig into some usage stats.

Twitter Spaces Usage Statistics

The following facts help size up how people are actually using Spaces so far:

Over 70% of Twitter‘s daily active users are on iOS, the platform where Spaces debuted first. This gave Twitter a strong base to build on.
As of January 2022, only 12% of US consumers were even aware of Twitter Spaces according to Edison Research. So mainstream consciousness still trails adoption among Twitter‘s own user base.
Twitter estimated that over 185K Spaces were created daily in October 2021 shortly after opening access for all users. They did not provide an update on that stat since then.
Between October 2021 and January 2022, there was a 22% increase in the percentage of US social media users accessing social audio features to reach 28.8 million people according to eMarketer. Twitter Spaces is a key driver but Clubhouse paved the way initially.
As of March 2022, 37% of Twitter users in the US had ever used social audio. For ages 18 to 34 that number rises to 53%.

So based on these figures, we can conclude that Twitter Spaces gained decent traction among existing Twitter addicts globally through 2021, even if general mainstream awareness still lags.

Adoption continues rising in 2022 based on the engagement numbers cited above. But Twitter certainly has room to boost awareness and drive more habitual usage through features optimizing the experience which we’ll discuss shortly.

How Twitter Spaces Stacks Up Against Clubhouse

Clubhouse stands as the social audio app that started it all. As the first mover, some advantages were inherent. But the door remains open for Twitter Spaces to compete by maximizing its own inherent strengths integrated with Twitter.

Let’s compare some Pros and Cons.

Clubhouse Pros

Strong niche popularity among tech entrepreneurs and thought leaders
Buzz drives intense scarcity and FOMO with growth throttled by invite-only system
Format drives intimacy, spontaneity, and diversity in conversations

Clubhouse Cons

Not scalable or sustainable long-term for the mainstream
Functionality gaps like lack of captions or ability to easily share discussions
Risk of losing steam now that Twitter and other major platforms offer social audio

Twitter Spaces Pros

Instantly taps into Twitter‘s highly engaged user base
Removes Clubhouse‘s exclusivity barrier to entry through open access
Inherent virality with visibility across Twitter feeds

Twitter Spaces Cons

Slower initial user growth trajectory compared to Clubhouse
Less buzz and urgency than Clubhouse in its heyday
Limited discovery within Spaces product itself makes participation more random

Considering these trade-offs, Spaces seems better positioned to sustain long-term as it evolves. But Clubhouse retains advantages in terms of buzz and format intimacy that can still be leveraged especially for exclusive high-profile conversations.

Who is Best Suited to Use Twitter Spaces?

As Spaces matures, who stands to gain and why? A few key user groups emerge:

Public figures and brands – organic reach to fans plus ability to bring on guests already popular with your audience
Communities forming around identities like race, religion or health conditions – connects people dealing with similar issues
Startups and entrepreneurs – hosts conversations highlighting causes and forming allies

Spaces offers a resonance and interactivity that text, images and traditional video cannot always achieve alone. The appetite clearly exists among younger generations especially.

But achieving consistently vibrant Spaces comes down to solidifying user habits and meeting certain content conditions as Twitter continues optimizing the format.

Major Improvements Still Needed for Twitter Spaces

While the user base and participation metrics we explored are encouraging, Twitter Spaces remains a work in progress.

Opportunity abounds for Twitter to tighten the experience. Here are a few much needed improvements on the radar based on public comments:

Discovery – help users find Spaces relevant to their interests rather than rely so much on alerts when followed accounts host Spaces
Podcast integration – BETTER leverage the Twitter user base obsessed with live commentary by letting them spin up Spaces off popular tweets
Creator monetization – Clubhouse gained traction initially through tips. Twitter needs to incentivize the best hosts through native payments and subscriptions
User profiles – audio presence and reputation will matter over time emphasizing the need to showcase relevant stats like followers, recurring show times, etc.

Delivering improvements across discovery, monetization and profile presence for audio formats will help Twitter get ahead over time.

What‘s on the Horizon and Final Takeaways

Reviewing Twitter Spaces adoption so far coupled with an analysis of strengths relative to Clubhouse leads us to a few closing takeaways regarding the future:

The foundations look promising in terms of removing barriers and steadily gaining buy-in among existing Twitter addicts
But mainstream momentum probably hinges on delivery of previously noted format and discovery improvements
Audio aligned with text platforms like Twitter may prove more viable than standalone social audio apps
Twitter Spaces early success is still about potential – but the audience scale makes that potential sky-high if Twitter executes

Twitter Spaces scratched the surface of an itch for more intimately conversational social media engagement. 2023 will test whether Twitter can retain and expand that interest over time by improving the user experience.

The metrics markers covered here suggest Spaces is headed generally in the right direction. But the window remains open for audio offshoots from competitive platforms like Facebook, Spotify and Reddit to enter the fray if Twitter growth stalls.