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Twitter’s new API pricing mechanisms were introduced on Wednesday after the company dragged its feet for weeks. The free tier is designed primarily for automated content posting, whereas the basic tier costs $100 per month and the enterprise tier costs significantly more. The Advertising API is included at no extra charge with any subscription plan, according to the firm.
During the next 30 days, Twitter will phase out older access tiers like Standard (for v1.1), Essential (for v2), Elevated (for v2), and Premium.
Today we are launching our new Twitter API access tiers! We’re excited to share more details about our self-serve access. 🧵
— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) March 29, 2023
The Twitter API drama began in February, when the company stated it would be eliminating free API access in a matter of days. Elon Musk, in response to widespread criticism, announced that the business would offer a free tier to bots that produce “positive content.” Later on, it stated that the entry-level plan would cost $100 per month, but didn’t specify what features would be included. The release date was pushed back a “few more days,” the business announced on February 13. After more than 45 days, the business released details on the updated APIs.
The newly introduced API option smells like an attempt to milk customers dry. Log in with Twitter, and 1,500 monthly post requests are included in the free tier. You can expect to receive 50,000 post requests and 10,000 read requests per app per month with the “for hobbyists or students” plan. If a developer needs access to more data, they will have to pay the astronomical sum of $42,000 per month for corporate access.
Prior to the release of v2 in 2020, Twitter provided developers with a range of access levels, from a minimum of 500,000 tweets per month up to a maximum of 2 million tweets per month via tiers such as Essential and Elevated. Developers whose apps fall within that usage group must now upgrade to the more expensive corporate subscription.
Upon trying to subscribe to the new basic tier, some developers found out they had reached their quota.
I was willing to pay $100/month for the Twitter API
But, that's only 10,000 tweets which can't support Tweet HP
This might be the end of the road 😢 pic.twitter.com/P9rYLKbLIW
— Remote Joe (@remotejoeclark) March 29, 2023
Last month, Twitter chose to shut down its free API access, and many researchers and academics were concerned that this would hinder student initiatives and the platform’s openness as a result of data.
Twitter has mentioned that it is “working at new ways” to serve the academic community in its latest announcement, but it has not provided any details about the specific problems it is trying to address. The firm further explained that they are working to define an academic usage tier, but in the meanwhile, researchers can sign up for their services at the free, basic, or enterprise levels. For educational institutions, the free and basic plans may not be adequate, while the enterprise plan may be too expensive.
Twitter has alienated the programming community with its actions in recent months. Several developer-related projects, like the Twitter Toolbox for app discovery, were discontinued or put on indefinite hold by the firm in the past year. Without providing any explanation, the corporation abruptly cut off all outside business relationships in January. Subsequently, without warning, it altered its developer conditions to forbid the creation of competing Twitter clients.
