X raises API link posting costs by 1,900 percent

Social network X has increased the cost of posting links through its API from $0.01 to $0.20 per link, a move the company said is designed to combat spam and vectors of misuse. The price for posting through the API also rose from $0.01 to $0.15 per post. The change has already prompted some publishers to alter their behavior. Tech news aggregator Techmeme stopped including links to original articles in its X posts this week, instead directing readers to visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context. Techmeme said the price increase was one reason for the change, and cited a Nieman Lab study noting that posts with links on X receive lower engagement. X head of product Nikita Bier refuted the study, saying the accounts analyzed were habitual headline-plus-link posters that posted no additional context. He told Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera that there is no code that is deboosting links and suggested posting screenshots of reactions alongside links. Rivera said the API changes would force news sites to pay hundreds of dollars or post manually. He argued that sites automating link posts through the API would now face monthly costs in the hundreds of dollars. X has previously made changes to how links appear on the platform, cutting headlines from link previews a few years ago before reverting the change after several weeks.