On Wednesday, new Twitter API pricing structures were finally announced after dithering for several weeks. These three tiers include a basic free level that is primarily intended for content posting bots, a basic level that costs $100 per month, and an expensive enterprise level. According to the company, all levels of subscribers have free access to the Advertising API.
Twitter said that it would be phasing out older access levels, such as Standard (for v1.1), Essential and Elevated (for v2), and Premium, over the course of the next 30 days.
The Twitter API saga
The Twitter API debacle began when the company declared in February that free API access will soon come to an end. Elon Musk announced that the business will provide “good content”-producing bots a free tier in response to harsh criticism. Subsequently, it stated that the entry-level tier would cost $100 per month, but it made no mention of the amount of access. The company said on February 13 that the launch had been postponed for “a few more days.” After more than 45 days, the business at last disclosed information regarding the new APIs.
In response to the announcement, many users are rendering the new Twitter API pricing structures as a money grab scam. The vast price difference between the enterprise level and the other two levels has drawn a lot of attention as well. However, let’s take a look at each tier so you can judge for yourself.
Twitter API Free
Even though it provides significantly less than its predecessor, the corporation is continuing to offer a free tier with restricted functionality. Accounts can post up to 1,500 tweets each month under the new free tier, which is intended for bots and other “testing” reasons, but they cannot use any other features. That might provide some of Twitter’s infamous bot accounts with a lifeline, but with just roughly 50 tweets per day, it might be insufficient for those that post more frequently.
Twitter API Basic
Developers can post up to 3,000 tweets per month at the user level and 50,000 tweets per month at the app level with the new “basic” tier, which costs $100 per month. Also, it provides a monthly read restriction of 10,000 tweets, which is far fewer than what was previously provided.
Twitter API Enterprise
While details for the enterprise tier are still hazy, it is intended for companies who require a greater level of access. The enterprise tier will have “commercial-level access that suits your and your customer’s exact demands,” among other capabilities, according to Twitter’s developer page.
Companies can apply for enterprise access, but Twitter has simply provided the knowledge that there would be “monthly membership tiers” as far as cost goes.
Prior to the release of the v2 in 2020, Twitter provided developers with a variety of access tiers, including Essential and Elevated, that could grant them access to 500,000–2 million tweets each month. Now, app developers who fit that user group will need to sign up for the enterprise subscription.
What will happen to academics and researchers who now use Twitter’s API for their work is likewise a mystery. The business stated in a series of tweets that it was “looking for new methods to continue serving this community,” without going into further detail.
If you want to inspect the new tiers and their features further, you can go to Twitter’s API page right now and see for yourself. There are additional information and options to make contact with Twitter considering the API tiers. It is yet unclear whether Twitter will change anything with the API tiers after the backlash by the users but if they do, we’ll let you know. There are already some reaction to the latest changes by the company on the giant social media platform: Twitter For You tab is not so for you if you are not a Blue subscriber
