How to Quote Tweet in Twitter (X), and What a Quote Counts As
A repost adds one to someone else's post. A quote is a new post of yours, with its own views, likes and replies. The difference decides where the attention goes.
How to quote tweet in Twitter, now X: tap the repost icon (the two arrows) under the post, choose Quote, type your comment and tap Post. Your text sits on top and the original post appears embedded underneath. It works the same way on iPhone, Android and the web, and you can also paste a post's link into a new post to embed it.
A quote post, still widely called a quote tweet, is a new post of yours that carries someone else's post inside it. That is the part people miss. A plain repost puts the original in your followers' timelines and adds one to its repost count. A quote creates a separate post with its own view count, its own likes and its own replies, and the original gets a link back from it in its list of quotes.
The two buttons sit in the same menu, so they look like variations of one action. On X they are two different counters, and they send attention in different directions.
A repost is a vote for someone else's post. Nothing new is created. The original post travels further, and the repost count under it goes up by one. The original author keeps all of the views, likes and replies that the repost brings in.
A quote is a new post. X treats it like anything else you publish: it gets its own impressions, its own likes and replies, and it can travel on its own through the For You timeline. The original post gains a quote in its list, and some of the people who see your quote will tap through to it, but the conversation that forms under the quote belongs to the quote.
That changes how a quote should be read, from both sides. For the person quoting, a quote is a way to add context and get credit for it. For the person being quoted, a quote can bring more reach than a repost, because a new audience sees the original through someone else's commentary. It can also be public disagreement with a link attached. The count under a post that shows reposts is only half the story; the quotes list tells you what people said when they shared it.
This is also why accounts that care about how a post looks at a glance pay attention to the repost count specifically. It is the visible measure of how many people passed a post along unchanged, and it's the number that Twitter retweets add to. It is not a measure of the conversation, which happens in replies and quotes.
How do you quote a tweet?
The steps are the same across X's apps. Since X renamed retweets to reposts in 2023, the menu uses the new word, but the action didn't change.
- Find the post you want to quote and tap the repost icon, the two arrows under the post.
- Choose Quote from the menu. Repost would share it unchanged.
- Write your comment in the box. The original post appears as an embedded card under your text.
- Add an image or a poll if you want, where your app offers it, and tap Post.
How do I quote a tweet on iPhone?
In the X app for iPhone, tap the two-arrow icon under the post and pick Quote from the sheet that opens. On some versions, pressing and holding the icon opens the same options. Android works the same way. If you don't see Quote, the post may be from a protected account: X doesn't let you repost or quote posts from protected accounts to a public audience.
Quoting by pasting the link
There is a second way that works everywhere. Copy the link of the post you want to quote, start a new post, write your comment and paste the link at the end. X turns the link into the same embedded card. This is handy on the web or when you already have the link from somewhere else.
Quote vs repost: what each one does to the numbers
Here is the comparison in plain terms, as X works in September 2026:
- Repost: no new post. The original's repost count goes up by one, and the original appears in your followers' timelines with your name above it. All views, likes and replies stay on the original.
- Quote: a new post on your profile. It has its own views, likes, reposts and replies. The original gains one entry in its list of quotes.
- Undo: a repost can be removed with Undo repost. A quote is deleted like any post of yours.
- If the original is deleted: a repost disappears with it. A quote stays on your profile, but the embedded card shows the post is unavailable.
Which one brings the original author more reach?
It depends on who is sharing. A repost from an account with a large following puts the original in front of that following with no friction. A quote puts it in front of the same people with a reason to look, which can mean more taps through to the original, or more attention on the quote and less on the original. X's ranking treats the quote as a separate post competing for the same timeline space, as how the X algorithm ranks posts explains, so a quote that starts a good conversation can outrun the post it quotes.
How to see quote tweets on a post
X has moved this entry point more than once, so the path depends on your version of the app. As of 2026 the list lives with the post's activity or engagements, not under a separate number in the timeline.
On the web, open the post and look for the option to view the post's activity or engagements, either under the post's action buttons or in the three-dot menu at the top right. The screen that opens separates the interactions into tabs, and Quotes is one of them, next to reposts and likes. In the mobile apps, open the post and tap the engagement row, or press and hold the repost icon to find the same screen.
The quotes list shows quotes from accounts you are allowed to see. Quotes from protected accounts you don't follow won't appear, and some users report the list isn't always complete, so treat it as a strong sample rather than an audit.
Can you stop people from quoting your posts?
Not directly. X lets you limit who can reply to a post, but that setting doesn't stop quotes; people who can't reply can still quote. If a quote crosses into harassment, the tools are the ones you would use for any post: mute, block or report. Blocking an account stops it from seeing and interacting with your posts while logged in, but a quote already published stays up unless it breaks X's rules.
Do quote tweets count as engagement?
For the original post, a quote is an interaction, and it shows up in the post's activity alongside reposts and likes. For the quote itself, everything counts from zero: it has its own impressions, and the likes and replies it collects belong to it.
That means a heavily quoted post can have modest likes and a long quote list, and the attention is spread across many separate posts. If you measure a post by the numbers under it alone, you miss that. X engagement rate covers how X adds up interactions and why its rate is calculated on impressions, and what is an impression on X explains the denominator.
When to quote and when to repost
Repost when you have nothing to add and want the original seen exactly as it is. It is the more generous action toward the original author, because every view and reply lands on their post.
Quote when you have something to add: a correction, context your followers need, a reason the post matters to them. A quote with only an emoji or a single word tends to do worse than a repost, because it asks readers to open the embedded card to understand it.
If you're the one being quoted, read the quotes before the reply count. Quotes are where people explain what they think of your post to their own audience, which makes them the most honest feedback X gives you.
And if what you care about is the visible signal under the post, the repost count is the one a stranger reads as how far a post has traveled. That number is what Twitter retweets change. They move the count and put the post in more timelines; they don't write quotes, and they don't create the conversation that makes a quote list worth reading. For the view count on the same post, Twitter views is the separate service, and the rest of the X catalogue is on the X services page.
Questions people ask about quoting on X
How do I quote a tweet on Twitter?
Tap the two-arrow repost icon under the post, choose Quote, write your comment and tap Post. The original appears embedded under your text as a card.
What is the difference between a quote and a repost on X?
A repost shares the original unchanged and adds to its repost count. A quote is a new post of yours with the original embedded, and it has its own views, likes and replies.
How do I see who quoted my post on X?
Open the post and go to its activity or engagements view, then pick the Quotes tab. On mobile you can also press and hold the repost icon. X has moved this entry point more than once.
Can I quote a post from a private account?
No. X doesn't let posts from protected accounts be reposted or quoted to a public audience, so the Quote option won't appear for them.
What happens to my quote if the original post is deleted?
Your quote stays on your profile with your text, but the embedded card shows that the original post is no longer available.
Does limiting replies stop people from quoting my post?
No. Reply settings control who can reply. People who can't reply can still quote the post, so muting, blocking or reporting are the tools for unwanted quotes.
Keep reading
- Twitter retweets — The repost count is the visible measure of how far a post traveled unchanged, and it's the number Twitter retweets add to.
- How the X algorithm ranks posts — Why a quote competes for timeline space as a post of its own.
- What counts as an engagement on X — How X adds up interactions, quotes included, and divides by impressions.