X, the social network owned by Elon Musk, made significant changes to its API pricing and access limits today. The company introduced new rates, updated limits, and added annual plan options. These changes impact how developers can use X’s API, including the cost of access and the limits placed on usage.
X API pricing increase: Everything you need to know
The price for the Basic API tier has doubled, increasing from $100 to $200 per month. With this increase, X has also promised enhanced features for the Basic plan. Developers using the Basic tier will see higher limits and have access to new endpoints like “reposts_of_me” and a community search feature.
We are changing our Self Serve X API with new pricing options and limits. Below are the highlights. 🎉
~ Launching Annual Subscriptions: available at discounted rates!
~ Basic: will increase from $100 to $200 monthly with higher limits and new endpoints
~ Free: Introducing…
— Developers (@XDevelopers) October 30, 2024
Despite these announcements, the comparison page and the plan purchase page for the API still list the old limits. This discrepancy might be an oversight, and the company has not yet responded to inquiries for clarification. It’s expected that these pages will be updated to reflect the announced changes.
The increase in pricing comes at a time when many developers are already feeling the financial strain of maintaining access to essential tools. The move from $100 to $200 per month could be seen as a barrier for small developers or startups who rely on X’s API to build or enhance their products. The increased costs may push some developers to reconsider their relationship with the platform, especially if the promised improvements do not translate into tangible benefits.
The added endpoints for the Basic tier are intended to give developers more functionality, but they are not without limits. The “reposts_of_me” endpoint, for example, will allow developers to better track how their content is being reshared across the platform. The community search feature could help apps and services provide more targeted content, which might improve user engagement. However, the real impact of these features will depend on how well they are integrated and whether they provide enough value to justify the increased cost.
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Changes to free and paid plans
The X Developer account announced the introduction of an experimental read API for the free tier. However, this change comes with a catch: post limits for the free tier have been reduced from 1,500 to just 500 posts per month. The experimental read API will also be limited, allowing only 100 requests.
These changes make the free tier much less attractive for developers who previously relied on it for basic functionality. The reduction in post limits and the introduction of a capped read API mean that developers will now have fewer opportunities to experiment with and build on the X platform without committing to a paid plan. The free tier’s new limitations could force many smaller developers to either pay for API access or look for alternatives.
On the other hand, the introduction of annual plans for the Basic and Pro API tiers offers a slight cost-saving advantage for developers willing to commit for the long term. The Basic annual plan costs $2,100, while the Pro annual plan costs $54,000, offering discounts compared to paying month-to-month. This could be appealing to developers or companies who have already integrated X’s API into their workflows and expect to continue using it for the foreseeable future.
The Pro tier, priced at $54,000 annually, is clearly targeted at larger organizations or high-volume users. The features included in this tier provide significantly higher API limits and access to premium tools. However, the hefty price tag means that it is out of reach for most small to medium-sized developers. For many, the decision to subscribe to the Pro tier will likely come down to whether the increased functionality and support can justify such a high annual expense.
Top-up restrictions
Earlier in the year, X offered a top-up option for developers to increase their API request limits. Developers on the Basic tier could purchase up to 10 top-ups per month, while Pro users were limited to five. However, the company has now restricted the number of top-ups to just two per month for both Basic and Pro tiers. This change limits the flexibility developers previously had in scaling their API usage.
Top-ups were an important tool for developers dealing with occasional spikes in demand. By limiting top-ups to two per month, X is effectively reducing developers’ ability to handle surges in activity without upgrading their entire subscription plan. This could have significant consequences for apps or services that see unpredictable traffic patterns and need more flexibility in their API usage.
For some developers, this change may mean that they will need to upgrade to a higher tier or rethink how they manage API requests. The reduced flexibility could lead to increased costs for developers who need occasional extra capacity but do not consistently need the higher limits provided by a more expensive subscription. It also makes it more challenging for developers to manage unexpected growth or increased user activity without incurring substantial additional costs.
Featured image credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
