X is changing how it charges for API access

Third-party developers currently pay Elon Musk's X as much as millions of dollars per year to in order to access the platform's API.

However, it appears that Musk and company now want a cut of those developers' revenue instead.

X is now planning to change their API pricing scheme to a revenue share model, according to a number of companies and third-party developers that pay for X API access who reached out to Mashable.

X recently began sending out emails to paid subscribers of its Enterprise API plans, which start at $42,000 per month, informing them of the upcoming change. The new API pricing scheme is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. X has not yet shared final details about the change, such as exactly what percentage the revenue share model will be, with its customers.

"We are excited to announce that X is now part of xAI holdings, placing us at the forefront of the information revolution unfolding before us," reads the email obtained by Mashable. "In line with our renewed mission and vision, we will be conducting a comprehensive re-review of your use case from a fresh perspective. Additionally, effective July 1, 2025, we will discontinue our existing Enterprise API tiers and introduce a new streamlined v2 API tier accompanied by a new revenue-sharing pricing model."

In the email, X attributes the changing API subscription model to the "rise of Large Language Models (LLMs)" which have "fundamentally reshaped how we approach data, derive insights, and generate code."

"This shift from usage-based to value-based pricing reflects our commitment to leveling the playing field and fostering a fair, consistent ecosystem that drives growth and innovation for all," X said in the email.

Mashable reached out to X for comment on these upcoming API changes and will update this piece if we hear back.

X loses more app developers

However, some of X's API customers strongly disagree with the change. 

The popular no-code automation platform Make, which boasts more than 3 million users, officially removed X integration from its platform at the end of last month. Make tells Mashable that its decision to drop support for X is a result of these API changes.

"Our decision to remove X from our app's offering stems directly from X's revised API policies and pricing," Make VP of Market Strategy Darin Patterson said. "These new terms prevent us from continuing to offer an X integration that is both sustainable for us and provides the reliable value our customers expect.

"We’re disappointed to see that X’s commercial approach is driving a regression in what users can do with the platform," Patterson continued. "X has long been an important part of many users’ workflows, and it’s frustrating to see it become less open and accessible. If conditions change in the future, we’d be glad to explore bringing the integration back. Our commitment to offering a strong suite of other integrations remains through other platforms. We will continue focusing our resources on these to deliver the best possible value."

In addition to Make, Mashable heard from a popular social media management platform that they intend to drop X support, while another platform told us that they are waiting to see exactly what the revenue share details would be before making a final decision.

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As a result, some users of these third-party platforms have already shared their intent to stop posting on X.

"Our automation provider, http://Make.com, has deprecated support for X due to API changes," read a post on X from tech news outlet Six Colors. "This is probably our last post. Follow us on Mastodon or Bluesky or just via RSS. Bye!"

Little remains of Twitter's third-party ecosystem on X

Before Musk's acquisition of the company then-known as Twitter, the platform was beloved by third-party developers who created Twitter clients and other types of apps utilizing the company's generous free API tier. This encouraged app developers to integrate Twitter into their own platforms and, in turn, resulted in even more use of Twitter by its users.

However, just months after Musk's Twitter takeover, the company outright killed many popular third-party Twitter clients by suspending their access to the API. Shortly after that, Musk and company unveiled the end of its free API tier. Musk instituted new API plans with highly restrictive limits that forced most publicly-available third-party apps onto the company's new Enterprise API subscription, which ranged from $42,000 to $210,000 per month.

The new expensive API tiers led to a collapse in Twitter's third-party ecosystem. Many Twitter-based apps, including Twitterific and Tweetbot, announced their shuttering, unable to pay the new expensive API rates. Even major corporations like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo removed the Twitter integrations from their respective video game consoles as a result of the API changes as well. Musk's X would later introduce a "cheaper" $5,000-per-month Pro plan, below the Enterprise API tiers, but by then many apps had already shut down or removed X from their platforms.

Musk's X further squeezed its API subscribers, already paying tens of thousands of dollars per month, with new fees late last year. In October, X announced that in addition to the monthly API subscription, X would charge developers an additional $1 per month for each X account connected to their app. For example, if a social media scheduling service had 10,000 X users connecting their X account to their platform, the company would have to pay X an additional $10,000 per month.