X (Twitter) API Pricing 100x Cheaper Than Official Pay-As-You-Go
Official X API now bills $0.005 per post read ($5.00/1k) and $0.010 per profile read ($10.00/1k) on their credit consumption model. TwexAPI provides equivalent public social data from $0.05 per 1,000 reads ($0.00005/read) — reducing your monthly data bill by 99% to 99.5%.
Official Pay-As-You-Go vs TwexAPI Credits
Select your resource workload and adjust the slider to see exact dollar savings.
Official X API Pay-Per-Use Pricing in 2026
The official X API is pay-per-use: it bills every post and user profile returned, and has no free plan. Rates below are from X's official pricing page.
| Operation | Official price | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Read a post | $0.005 per post | $5.00 |
| Read a user profile | $0.010 per profile | $10.00 |
| Read followers or following | $0.010 per user | $10.00 |
| Read a DM event | $0.010 per event | $10.00 |
| Trends | $0.010 per trend | $10.00 |
| Read likes, mutes or blocks | $0.001 per resource | $1.00 |
| Read your own data (qualifying endpoints) | $0.001 per resource | $1.00 |
| Post counts (recent / full archive) | $0.005 / $0.010 per request | $5.00 / $10.00 |
| Create a post | $0.015 per post | $15.00 |
| Create a post with a URL | $0.200 per post | $200.00 |
| Send a DM, follow or other interaction | $0.015 per request | $15.00 |
Monthly read cap
Pay-per-use is capped at 3 million post reads per billing cycle. Higher volumes need an Enterprise contract, which has no public price.
Free credit
There is no free plan. Saving your first payment card and completing your first credit purchase earns $20 in credits, and X matches your first auto-recharge up to $50.
Legacy plans
Third-party reports say the Basic and Pro monthly plans introduced in 2023 were moved to pay-per-use during 2026.
Source: X API pricing (official)
X API Pricing Tiers in 2026: Free, Basic, Pro and Enterprise
X's pricing page now lists only pay-per-use, and points to Enterprise above the read cap. Here is where each older tier stands in 2026.
| Tier | Price | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-per-use | $0.005 per post read, $0.010 per user read | The current default; capped at 3 million post reads per billing cycle |
| Free | $0 | Not listed on X's pricing page |
| Basic | $100/month (launched 2023) | Not on X's pricing page; third-party reports say it moved to pay-per-use in 2026 |
| Pro | $5,000/month (launched 2023) | Not on X's pricing page; third-party reports say it moved to pay-per-use in 2026 |
| Enterprise | No public price | Needed above 3 million post reads a month; contact X sales |
What Does Tweet Search Cost on X API Pay-Per-Use?
X bills per resource returned in the response, so search is charged per post, not per request: $0.005 for every post returned. A search that returns 100 posts costs $0.50. Requesting the same resource again within the same UTC day is not charged again, which X calls a soft guarantee. When you only need volumes, the counts endpoints bill per request: $0.005 for recent and $0.010 for the full archive.
| Search workload | Official X API | TwexAPI |
|---|---|---|
| One search returning 100 posts | $0.50 | ~$0.005 |
| Monitor a keyword: 1,000 posts a day (~30,000 a month) | $150/month | ~$1.50/month |
| Research export: 100,000 posts | $500 | ~$5 |
| AI dataset: 1,000,000 posts | $5,000 | ~$50 |
TwexAPI figures use a typical 5 Credits per post at 100,000 Credits per $1.
Official Credit Consumption vs TwexAPI
Item-by-item breakdown matching the official X Developer Platform credit consumption table.
| Resource / Operation | Official X Unit Cost | Official Cost / 1k | TwexAPI Cost / 1k | Your Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Posts: Read Charged per tweet resource fetched | $0.005 / item | $5.00 | $0.05 | 99.0% Cheaper |
User: Read Charged per user profile fetched | $0.010 / item | $10.00 | $0.05 | 99.5% Cheaper |
Following / Followers: Read Charged per follower/following connection | $0.010 / item | $10.00 | $0.05 | 99.5% Cheaper |
Trend: Read Fetching trending topics and viral metrics | $0.010 / item | $10.00 | $0.05 | 99.5% Cheaper |
Community / List: Read Public list feeds and community discussions | $0.005 / item | $5.00 | $0.05 | 99.0% Cheaper |
Free Starter Balance Free API testing on account creation | No free plan | $20 credit after saving a card (~4,000 reads) | 20,000 Credits | ~4,000 Free Reads |
Credit Expiration Balance rollover policy | Subscription quotas reset monthly (lost if unused) | Most one-time packs never expire | Based on plan terms | |
Authentication & Setup Friction to make first request | Developer app review, manual approval & complex OAuth 1.0a / 2.0 | Simple Bearer Token | Instant (10 Seconds) | |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the official X (Twitter) API Pay-As-You-Go pricing?
The comparison uses $0.005 per post read ($5.00 per 1,000 posts) and $0.010 per profile or follower read ($10.00 per 1,000). A typical TwexAPI read uses 5 Credits, or approximately $0.05 per 1,000 reads at the published conversion. Actual costs depend on the endpoint and plan; check the official developer portal for current X pricing.
What about the official $100/mo Basic and $5,000/mo Pro plans?
These are legacy subscription tiers shown for historical context. The calculator compares estimated usage costs using the listed per-resource rates. TwexAPI offers monthly subscriptions and one-time Credit packs, so you can choose a plan based on your workload.
Do purchased TwexAPI credits expire?
Most one-time Credit packs never expire. Mini is valid for one day, while subscription Credits refresh each billing month. Check the validity of your chosen plan before purchasing.
Is TwexAPI affiliated with X Corp or Twitter?
No. TwexAPI is an independent third-party provider focusing on public data research, developer tool integrations, and AI agent connectors. All trademarks, names, and logos belong to their respective owners.
How do I get started with TwexAPI?
Create an account with email or Google to receive 20,000 starting Credits without a credit card. At a typical 5 Credits per read, this covers about 4,000 test reads. Actual usage varies by endpoint.
How much does the X API cost per month?
There is no fixed monthly fee on pay-per-use. X charges $0.005 per post read, $0.010 per user read and $0.015 per post created ($0.200 if it contains a link). For example, reading 100,000 posts costs $500 on the official API, or about $5 with TwexAPI at a typical 5 Credits per read.
Is the X API free in 2026?
No. X’s pricing page lists no free plan; saving your first payment card and completing your first credit purchase earns $20 in API credits. TwexAPI gives 20,000 free Credits, about 4,000 reads, without a credit card.
Is there a monthly limit on the official X API?
Yes. Pay-per-use accounts are capped at 3 million post reads per monthly billing cycle. Higher volumes need an Enterprise agreement, which has no public price.
How much does tweet search cost on the X API pay-per-use plan?
X bills $0.005 for every post a search returns, not per request, so a search that returns 100 posts costs $0.50 and monitoring 1,000 posts a day costs about $150 a month. The same posts with TwexAPI cost about $0.005 and $1.50.
What are the X API pricing tiers in 2026?
X’s pricing page lists only pay-per-use, capped at 3 million post reads a month, with Enterprise above that at no public price. The Basic ($100/month) and Pro ($5,000/month) plans from 2023 are not on the pricing page, and there is no free plan.
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