X makes it 1,900 percent more expensive to post links

Source: The Verge

Pricing Change

Posting links to X through custom social media software just got a lot more expensive. On Monday, X significantly increased the cost of posting a URL via the X API, which third‑party tools use to hook into the platform. It now costs $0.20 per link when a link is posted, up from $0.01.

Impact on Publishers

Any change that makes posting links more expensive is likely to make X even less attractive to publishers, especially given the widely held suspicion that linking news articles can lower a post’s reach. The issue surfaced in a recent spat between Nate Silver and X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, who claimed that links are “not deboosted.”

A recent study from Nieman Lab analyzing posts from 18 large media outlets found that links “do seem to hurt news publishers” on X. Read the full analysis here.

Techmeme’s Response

The price hike is already affecting a notable X account in the tech world: the news aggregator Techmeme. Until Sunday, Techmeme’s posts on X featured short headlines summarizing news and linking to the source. After the change, the link was replaced with a message:

“Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!”

Techmeme explained the shift, stating, “The cost for posting links using X’s API increased today by 1900%,” in a tweet on Monday. The account also pointed to the Nieman Lab study.

X’s Product Lead Reaction

Nikita Bier pushed back, arguing that the cited study’s issue is that X posts need something for people to react to so the algorithm can “get signal,” and that the accounts referenced in the study were “habitual headline + link posters with no additional content.” In a reply to Techmeme founder and CEO Gabe Rivera, Bier said:

“I am telling you directly: there is no code that is deboosting links.”

Bier also offered to “pay personally for the API price bump,” with the aim of “reducing search spam attacks.”

Rivera, speaking to The Verge, expressed doubt that the API price hike will fix X’s spam problem long term. He noted that users can still find Techmeme via its website, RSS feed, and newsletter, and added, “And we post links to Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon.”