According to a post on X from the company’s developer account, they are now accepting applications from developers who wish to participate in this programme.
The company said, “We are expanding a closed beta to both new & power users who want to ship amazing apps on X.”
It added, “All selected users will receive a $500 voucher to build with the X API.”
X explained that the goal is to support developers by opening up its platform. It also plans to launch a completely redesigned developer experience with a new Dev Console. “Those selected will be the first to test it out,” the company said.
However, it also made clear that “only the best use cases & developers will be selected.”
The new API page on X shows the pricing for different types of actions, such as reading data, posting content, sending DMs, checking trends, or retrieving bookmarks. There is also a calculator on the page to help developers estimate the cost of their API usage.
This is different from the previous system, where every API request cost the same, as per TechCrunch.
With this usage-based model, X could appeal to developers who want to build or connect apps with the platform.
However, it’s still uncertain whether X plans to eventually phase out its older, tiered pricing model.
This new beta programme comes two years after X changed how it charges for API access. In early 2023, X began blocking third-party apps. Then, in February 2023, it announced that free access to the API would end, which led to many apps shutting down.
By March 2023, X introduced a basic API plan at $100 per month (now raised to $200), along with a $42,000 monthly enterprise option. A few months later, it launched a Pro plan for $5,000 per month. This gave developers access to one million tweets and 300,000 posts per month, plus the full archive search.
Still, many developers found these plans too expensive or limiting. To help with this, X later introduced “top-up” packs for apps that hit their limits.
Now, with a more flexible, pay-as-you-go approach, X might win back developers looking to build with the platform or connect their services to it.
