Twitter releases new API plans with Free, Basic and Enterprise

Twitter has shared details about its new API access system. The company comes with several paid options. There will also be a limited free version for bots and testing purposes. Old versions of the Twitter API will stop working in 30 days.

Twitter confirms on its platform how the new API access system will work. The company comes with different subscriptions: Free, Basic and Enterprise. The free plan lets users post 1,500 tweets per month. It is not possible to read tweets via the free API. This subscription is mainly intended for bot accounts that post tweets on the website and for testing purposes.

According to the company, a Basic subscription is aimed at hobbyists and use in prototypes. This option allows users to read 10,000 tweets per month via the API, post 3,000 tweets at the user level and publish 10,000 tweets at the app level. Basic users get two app IDs. This option costs $100 per month.

The Enterprise plan is intended for companies that need more extensive access to the API. However, Twitter shares few details about this option. Twitter offers companies several Enterprise options, again in the form of monthly subscriptions. However, it is not known what these options will cost. Wired reported earlier this month that Enterprise plans may become available starting at $42,000 per month, but that has not been officially confirmed. It is therefore not clear whether these prices are final. Businesses must contact Twitter to purchase an Enterprise plan.

Old versions of the Twitter API will stop working in 30 days. The company previously offered more paid options, including a free Essential plan and Elevated options for developers, in addition to a more extensive free option. These gave access to 500,000 and 2 million tweets per month respectively, considerably more than the 1,500 tweets that Twitter now offers for free and the 10,000 tweets in the Basic subscription.

Twitter announced in February that it would discontinue its expanded free API access options. The company then said it would provide more details about its new API subscriptions ‘soon’. Third-party clients for Twitter were previously excluded in a new user agreement. It is unknown what the new system means for academics and researchers who use the Twitter API. The company says it is “looking at new ways to continue serving this community,” but has not yet shared any concrete plans.