An independent researcher's data shows that out of the ~150K Twitter Blue subscribers in November 2022, just ~68,157 were still subscribed on April 30
The early birds cancel their subscriptions. — Twitter Blue's struggles since its launch nearly six months ago are more severe than previously revealed, new data suggests.
MashableMatt Binder
Context & Ripple Effects
Twitter Blue’s early uptake had already been questioned: an internal log recorded more than 140,000 sign-ups shortly after launch, while later reporting put paid US subscriptions at roughly 180,000 by mid-January. The new researcher dataset adds a retention measure to that arc, rather than another snapshot of sign-ups.
The researcher’s figures imply that fewer than half of the roughly 150,000 November subscribers remained by April 30, directly shrinking the recurring revenue base attached to that early cohort.
Twitter must treat the initial Blue launch as a retention problem as well as an acquisition effort; a large early sign-up number is less meaningful if cancellations persist.
Second-order effects
Low retention makes paid acquisition and promotion less efficient, because replacement sign-ups must offset cancellations before the subscriber base grows.
If recurring digital services continue to show large gaps between launch uptake and retained users, platforms will face stronger pressure to demonstrate cohort retention rather than report cumulative sign-ups.
For social platforms pursuing subscriptions, the durable test becomes whether paid features create continuing utility for broad users, not merely a short-lived response to a product relaunch.
The trend: Twitter Blue is one data point in the broader shift from subscription launch metrics toward retention and recurring-revenue accountability.
This already seemed obvious, but the data confirms Musk bet his business on the most annoying reply guys here https://mashable.com/... https://twitter.com/...
One of my frustrations as an (involuntary, non-paying) Twitter Blue member is that Blue actually delays the speed with which your posts go up as some kind of side effect of the edit feature. https://twitter.com/...
Oh. As attrition numbers go, these are *dire*, especially as your first subscribers are your diehards. There could be a “legacy twitter blue” effect here but...eeesh. https://twitter.com/...
new from me: More than half of Twitter Blue's earliest subscribers are no longer subscribed to the service that is, over 54% of the 150,000 users who first subscribed when Twitter Blue launched in November are no longer subscribing https://mashable.com/...
This is wild. Rough numbers. 68k * $8/mo * 12mo = $6.5M/yr Assuming 150k salary Blue pays for < 50 Twitter engineers. An app like Twitter should have hundreds. Reports show around 500. There's no way adverts are making the rest up. Lmao. https://twitter.com/...
My guess is many Musk fans / trolls have already unsubbed . There just isn't much value for them in Blue compared to (the still fairly little offered) a financially motivated use case. https://twitter.com/...
Over half of Twitter Blue's earliest subscribers are no longer subscribed 81,843 users, or 54.5%, of Twitter users who subscribed to Twitter Blue when it first launched in November are no longer subscribed to the service. LOL https://mashable.com/...