X API Pricing in 2026: Pay-Per-Use Cost for Monitoring
Updated 2026-07-28 · 1322 Team
Short version: the current X API is credit-based and pay-per-use, not just the old Free/Basic/Pro table repeated across many comparison sites. Here are the published unit costs, the monthly cap, and when a monitored-account feed is the more practical shape.
Current published prices, in plain numbers
| Resource / rule | Published price | Monitoring impact |
|---|---|---|
| Post read | $0.005 per resource | Each new Post returned is billable |
| User read | $0.010 per resource | Profile hydration is metered separately |
| Repeat-read dedupe | Same resource once per 24h UTC | Repeat reads can be deduplicated for billing |
| Monthly Post-read cap | 2,000,000 | Applies to pay-per-use plans |
Source reviewed 2026-07-28: X API pay-per-use pricing. Prices and caps can change.
What determines the monitoring bill
The bill follows resources returned, not the number of names on a watchlist alone. One hundred quiet accounts can be inexpensive; a broad rule that matches a large conversation can produce many billable Posts. The 24-hour dedupe helps with repeated reads of the same resource, but it does not make each newly published Post free. Model your actual event volume and verify that your account can use the endpoint and rule capacity you need.
What the same job costs on a flat feed
1322 prices its X Starter feed at $250/month for 100 tracked accounts, with WebSocket delivery included and no per-Post meter on those tracked accounts. Other source families are separate subscriptions and can share the same delivery layer. This is not automatically cheaper than every official-API workload: it is built for the narrower job of continuously watching a fixed account list with predictable billing. Full breakdown: Twitter API alternatives compared.
FAQ
How much does the Twitter (X) API cost in 2026?
The current X API is pay-per-use. X lists Post reads at $0.005 per resource, User reads at $0.010 per resource, and a 2 million Post-read cap per monthly billing cycle. Rates can change, so use X's pricing page as the source of truth.
How does X API deduplication work?
X says the same resource fetched again within the same 24-hour UTC window is charged once. That can reduce repeat-read cost, but a new post is still a new billable resource.
Is there a free Twitter API?
Do not plan a production monitoring system around an old Free-tier table. The current public pricing documentation presents credit-based pay-per-use access; X separately documents qualifying Public Utility access and promotional credits.
What is the cheapest way to monitor accounts in real time?
It depends on post volume, account count, delivery requirements, and whether you need only X. Sparse official-API usage can be inexpensive. A flat monitored-account stream becomes easier to budget when you need continuous push delivery, fixed watchlists, or several social platforms.
Does the X API support real-time streaming?
Yes. X documents Filtered Stream as near-real-time delivery. Access, rule limits, and billable resources depend on your developer account and the current platform terms; the retired v1 Streaming API should not be confused with the current v2 endpoint.
What are the X API rate limits?
There are endpoint limits in addition to the pay-per-use resource charges and the 2 million monthly Post-read cap. Check the current endpoint documentation before designing capacity around a fixed number.
Skip the read caps
Flat, push-based monitoring across six platforms. From $250/mo.