Last updated October 1, 2026
Short answer: the official X API has no monthly tiers any more. It's pay-per-use. You prepay a balance in the X Developer Console and pay per resource: $0.005 per post read, $0.010 per user read, $0.015 per post created, and $0.200 for a post with a link. On twitr.sh the same reads cost $0.0012 per returned post or profile, with no developer account and no API key.
These are X's published per-use prices as of October 1, 2026 (docs.x.com). Reads are charged per resource returned; writes are charged per request.
| Operation | Official X API price |
|---|---|
| Posts: read | $0.005 per post |
| User: read | $0.010 per user |
| Following / followers: read | $0.010 per account |
| Likes: read | $0.001 per like |
| Lists, Spaces, Communities: read | $0.005 per resource |
| Trends | $0.010 per request |
| Post: create | $0.015 per post |
| Post: create with a link | $0.200 per post |
| Like, follow, repost, DM | $0.015 per action |
Two rules matter for budgeting. Pay-per-use accounts are capped at 3 million post reads per monthly billing cycle; above that you need an Enterprise plan. And X deduplicates within a UTC day, so reading the same post twice on the same day is charged once.
twitr.sh prices every call up front and returns the exact amount in the HTTP 402 challenge before you pay. One usage unit is $0.0012, and every paid call costs at least $0.0024.
| Operation | twitr.sh price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Read a tweet or profile | $0.0024 per call | Covers one item at the minimum charge |
| Search, timelines, followers, lists | $0.0012 per returned item | Per item; resultsLimit caps spend |
| Batch reads (up to 100 ids) | $0.0012 per item | Per item |
| Follow check | $0.006 | Per call |
| Trends | $0.0036 | Per call |
| Real-time monitor | about $0.025 per hour | Prepaid hours, 21 event types |
| Post or reply | $0.036 | Same price with or without a link |
| Like, follow, repost, DM | $0.012 | Per action |
Side by side, per unit of work. Neither is cheaper at everything:
| Operation | X API | twitr.sh | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post read (in a search or timeline) | $0.005 | $0.0012 | twitr.sh, about 4× |
| User or follower read | $0.010 | $0.0012 | twitr.sh, about 8× |
| Single post lookup | $0.005 | $0.0024 | twitr.sh, about 2× |
| Like read | $0.001 | $0.0012 | X |
| Trends | $0.010 | $0.0036 | twitr.sh |
| Post without a link | $0.015 | $0.036 | X |
| Post with a link | $0.200 | $0.036 | twitr.sh, about 5× |
| Like, follow or repost | $0.015 | $0.012 | twitr.sh |
| Job | X API | twitr.sh |
|---|---|---|
| Read 10,000 posts from search | $50 | $12 |
| Look up 10,000 profiles | $100 | $12 |
| Export 50,000 followers | $500 | $60 |
| Watch one account for 30 days | Polling bills every post read | about $18 in prepaid hours |
| Publish 100 posts with links | $20 | $3.60 |
The official API wins if you mostly publish plain posts, read likes, or need an Enterprise contract. twitr.sh wins for read-heavy work, follower exports, monitoring, link posts, and anything an AI agent does on its own budget.
Send the request. twitr.sh answers with HTTP 402 Payment Required and the exact price. An agent's wallet signs a USDC payment (x402 on Base or Solana, MPP on Tempo) and retries the same request to get the data. People can sign in with Google and pay from a card-funded balance instead. See all tools and their prices, the docs, or how we compare with other X API alternatives.
The official X API is pay-per-use with no subscription. You prepay a balance in the X Developer Console and pay per resource: $0.005 per post read, $0.010 per user or follower read, $0.001 per like read, $0.015 per post created, and $0.200 per post that contains a link.
No. X's current pricing page lists only pay-per-use prices and an Enterprise plan for higher volumes. Pay-per-use accounts are capped at 3 million post reads per monthly billing cycle.
Not for reads. Every request draws from a prepaid balance. The cheapest way to try X data at small scale is a pay-per-call service with no minimum, where a single tweet lookup costs a fraction of a cent.
$0.0012 per returned tweet or profile, with a $0.0024 minimum per paid call. A 20-result search costs about $0.024, a follow check $0.006, trends $0.0036, a post $0.036 (link or not), and a like or follow $0.012. Real-time monitors are prepaid at about $0.025 per hour.
For reads, twitr.sh is about 4× cheaper per post and about 8× cheaper per user or follower. X is cheaper for reading likes ($0.001 vs $0.0012) and for plain posts without links ($0.015 vs $0.036). For posts with a link, twitr.sh is cheaper ($0.036 vs $0.200).
For the official API, yes: a developer account, an app, OAuth credentials and a prepaid balance. twitr.sh needs none of that. An AI agent pays per call from a USDC wallet, or a person signs in with Google and pays from a card-funded balance.
No. X deduplicates resources within a 24-hour UTC day, so requesting the same post again that day isn't charged again. twitr.sh charges per call, so cache results on your side if you re-read the same posts often.
Each request returns HTTP 402 Payment Required with the exact price. The caller signs a USDC payment (x402 on Base or Solana, MPP on Tempo) and retries the same request. The paying wallet is the identity, so there's no signup and no API key.