Since acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk has made significant
changes to the platform's API, which allows third-party developers to integrate
X into their apps. The most notable change was the introduction of substantial
fees for API access, which was previously free for most developers.
Under Musk's leadership, many app developers found
themselves facing a staggering $42,000 per month fee to continue using X's API.
This change led to some companies, like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, removing
X integration from their apps, while others had no choice but to pay the
exorbitant monthly fee.
Now, it appears that X is implementing yet another fee for
third-party apps. According to Publer, a social media management app, companies
that are already paying tens of thousands of dollars per month for API access
will be charged an additional $1 per month for each account connecting to X's
API through their app.
This new monthly fee is in addition to the $42,000+ per
month that companies are already paying for the lowest-priced tier of X's
Enterprise API plan. Publer's founder and CEO, Ervin Kalemi, announced that due
to these additional costs, they can no longer support X for free users.
To put these fees into perspective, consider a social media
management company like Publer, which reportedly had a monthly revenue between
$125,000 and $140,000 at the beginning of the year. With the $42,000 per month
API cost, X already takes more than one-third of Publer's revenue.
If Publer has 14,000 paying customers, and each user
connects just one X account, the new per-account fees could cost Publer an
extra $14,000 per month or $168,000 per year. This is on top of the $504,000
per year the company already pays X for the lowest tier of API access.
Before Musk's acquisition, Twitter was known for its
thriving third-party app ecosystem. Developers created apps that provided users
with additional functionality, encouraging content creation, engagement, and
overall platform usage. However, since the introduction of API fees, many of
these apps have shut down, and the once-active developer community has become a
ghost town.
As X continues to squeeze developers for more money, it
remains to be seen how many will continue to put up with these increasing
costs. In contrast, other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram,
Threads, TikTok, and YouTube provide API access at no cost to developers.
Despite the challenges faced by third-party developers,
businesses and individuals can still establish a strong presence on X by
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platforms.
By utilizing an SMM panel like TopTierSMM, users can
maximize their reach and engagement on X, ensuring their content stands out in
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