Twitter's new API plan costs up to $2.5 million per year

Enterprise API packages volition spell from escaped to starting astatine $42,000 per period for its lowest subscription tier.

Get acceptable to wage up if you privation entree to the Twitter firehose. It's going to beryllium expensive. Credit: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

Twitter is yet starting to enactment a terms connected its paid API plans aft announcing that the platform's escaped API entree would soon beryllium chopped off.

And, it's not cheap.

Existing users of Twitter's existent escaped API work person started to person emails from the institution that yet stock pricing details astir the caller subscription packages. According to Chris Stokel-Walker astatine Wired(Opens successful a caller tab) who archetypal reported the news, those looking astatine Enterprise API entree are going to wage millions of dollars per year.

The documents sent to those API users by Twitter representatives details terms packages that commencement astatine $42,000 per period for entree to 50 cardinal tweets. The pricing goes each the mode up to $210,000 per period for the highest program with 200 cardinal tweets. A mid tier program that provides 100 cardinal tweets is priced astatine $125,000. 

Oddly, alternatively of higher tiers being offered astatine a discount for customers who wage much similar galore different online companies provide, the pricing exemplary charges extra. (For example, 100 cardinal tweets should beryllium priced astatine $84,000 for treble the tweets, yet Twitter is charging $125,00.)

Previously, earlier Elon Musk came along, Twitter offered a generous escaped tier of its API. "Premium" and "Enterprise" API plans were offered. The highest advertised subscription complaint was a "premium" program that would set a lawsuit backmost $2,899(Opens successful a caller tab) per month. Only ample businesses with much than 250 users were antecedently eligible for the "Enterprise" API tier. The outgo of that was worked retired connected a case-by-case ground by Twitter, depending connected the enactment oregon company.

On apical of the precocious pricing, nether the caller rules, the lowest program lone provides entree to 0.3 percent of tweets. According to those presently utilizing the API, the soon-to-be phased retired escaped program provides entree to 1 percent of tweets.

Researchers marque up a important information of the idiosyncratic basal for Twitter's API. Many academics person pointed retired that this pricing puts utilizing Twitter's API retired of their scope financially.

Just a small implicit 1 period agone connected Feb. 2, Twitter announced 1 of the biggest changes it was making to its level since Elon Musk took implicit the company. The escaped basal API entree that Twitter had agelong offered to everyone from tiny indie developers to world researchers would cease to exist. Users of each types would present person to pay. However, nary further details were provided astatine the time.

Musk's program to complaint for API entree has not gone smoothly. The day that escaped entree was slated to unopen off, Feb. 9, came and went without immoderate changes. Twitter past announced the caller API rules would travel connected Feb. 13(Opens successful a caller tab), but alternatively Twitter conscionable announced(Opens successful a caller tab) different hold connected that day.

Then earlier this week, Twitter suffered a large level contented causing links, photos, and different services to spell down wholly for hours. It aboriginal came retired that the clang was caused by a developer trying to hole Twitter for the determination to its paid API subscription.

Elon Musk's determination to termination escaped API entree was roundly criticized erstwhile archetypal announced. Many fashionable escaped Twitter bots and automated accounts planned to unopen down alternatively than pay. In response, Musk altered his plans and said Twitter would supply escaped "read-only" entree with little API limits to escaped projects.

While not official, Musk has besides floated(Opens successful a caller tab) the thought of charging astir $100 per period for much basal API entree for tiny projects and startups that are monetized by their creators.

As Wired points retired successful its report, Musk erstwhile called Twitter the "de facto municipality square." He has besides claimed that helium acquired the institution to support escaped speech. Now that Musk is successful charge, accessing the municipality quadrate and its code volition outgo you a beauteous penny.

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