X is testing a pay-per-use pricing model for its API

After two years of introducing its developer program and pricing, X is expanding the closed beta of a pay-per-use plan for its API to more developers.

The social network is accepting applications from developers who want to be part of the program, the company’s developer account wrote in a post on X.

“We’re extending a closed beta to new and power users who want to ship amazing apps to X,” the post read.

X’s new API page shows the cost of different types of requests, such as reading, creating posts, DMs, trends, and pulling bookmarks. The page also includes a calculator that allows developers to estimate how much a bundle of API usage might cost. This differs from X’s old system, where all requests cost the same.

A section on the new API page compares the new pricing to the old tier-based system. It is not yet clear whether X eventually wants to get rid of the old plan-based system. We’ve asked X to clarify and will update this story when we hear back.

The closed beta comes two years after X launched its API pricing. In early 2023, the organization started Blocking third-party clients of the appAnd in February 2023, the company said it was Ending free access to its APIAs a result, various apps have stopped.

Then in March 2023, the social network launched A $100-per-month basic tier (which costs now $200 per month) as well as a $42,000-per month Enterprise level. A few months later, it launched A $5,000-per-month Pro Plan It gave developers the ability to fetch 1 million tweets per month and post 300,000 tweets per month, and gave them access to the entire archive search endpoint.

However, the plans proved inadequate or simply unaffordable for many developers. The company launched last year to reduce this Top-up packs for applications that hit their API level limits.

With this new usage-based plan, X can win back developers who wanted to integrate their app with the social network, or build applications that work with it.