Tasks/Engineering

Which tool for replacing the X (Twitter) API?

People look for X API alternatives because of price. X ended its Free, Basic ($200 a month) and Pro ($5,000 a month) plans in 2026 and moved everyone to pay-per-use: reading 100,000 posts now costs $500, and reading 100,000 profiles $1,000. Unofficial services collect the same public data for a fraction of that by scraping X or reusing logged-in sessions. Before you choose, be clear on the trade-off. The official X API is the only route X's developer terms permit; the alternatives below are not affiliated with X, collecting data through them conflicts with X's terms, X can break or block them at any time, and posting through an unofficial service means handing over your own X login. They suit research, monitoring and prototypes; they do not suit regulated companies, products that must post, or anything that cannot survive a sudden outage. Prices checked November 14, 2026 on each vendor's site, US dollars.

Analyst verdictX API8.0

The official X (Twitter) API now costs $0.005 per post read ($5 per 1,000) and $0.015 per post created ($0.20 with a link), pay-per-use from prepaid credits, with no free tier and a 3 million post-read monthly cap; it is the only option X's terms allow and the only one that can post. For reading public data cheaper, TwitterAPI.io charges $0.15 per 1,000 tweets through a simple REST API, Apify's top X scraper $0.40 per 1,000 with no code, and Bright Data $1.50 per 1,000 records at enterprise scale, but all three are unofficial and carry account, legal and reliability risk.

Updated 2026-11-144 tools rankedEditorial, not sponsored
Ranking · Updated 2026-11-14

X (Twitter) API pricing in 2026 and the 3 best alternatives

01
Best for compliance and posting

X API

The only route X permits, with full write access: $0.005 per post read, $0.015 per post created, no subscription, capped at 3 million post reads a month before Enterprise.

8.0Credit plans
02
Cheapest for developers reading at volume

TwitterAPI.io

A REST API and MCP server for public X data at $0.15 per 1,000 tweets, no X developer account needed and $1 of free credit; unofficial, and its posting endpoints need your X password.

7.6Credit plans
03
Best for no-code bulk exports

Apify

Run a ready-made tweet scraper from a form or a schedule and download a CSV, at $0.40 per 1,000 tweets on the top Actor; the X scrapers need a paid plan from $19 a month.

7.7Freemium
04
Best for enterprise-scale datasets

Bright Data

Public X posts and profiles at $1.50 per 1,000 records with proxies included, ready-made datasets, a 5,000-record free tier and a 2024 court win against X over public-data scraping.

7.5Paid
FAQ

Questions buyers ask

How much does the X (Twitter) API cost in 2026?

It is pay-per-use: $0.005 per post read ($5 per 1,000), $0.010 per user profile or follower read, $0.001 for reads of your own account's data, $0.015 to create a post and $0.200 for a post with a link. You buy credits upfront with no subscription or minimum, and pay-per-use is capped at 3 million post reads a month, above which X requires an Enterprise plan with no public price. Checked on docs.x.com November 14, 2026.

Is there still a free X API tier?

Not for new developers. X ended the Free tier when pay-per-use launched on February 6, 2026, giving recently active free users a one-time $10 voucher. Free scaled access remains only for apps X classifies as Public Utility Apps. New paying accounts can get $20 in credit when they first save a card and buy credits, plus a match of the first auto-recharge up to $50.

What happened to the Basic and Pro plans?

Both were retired. X migrated Basic ($200 a month) subscribers to pay-per-use after June 1, 2026 and Pro ($5,000 a month) subscribers after September 1, 2026. Any price list still quoting $200 or $5,000 a month is out of date.

What is the cheapest way to get Twitter data?

Among the services here, TwitterAPI.io at $0.15 per 1,000 tweets, then Apify's Tweet Scraper V2 at $0.40 per 1,000 (on a paid Apify plan), Bright Data at $1.50 per 1,000 records and the official X API at $5 per 1,000 posts. The three cheaper options are unofficial, so the saving comes with the risk that X blocks them or that using them breaches X's terms.

Is it legal to use an unofficial Twitter API?

Scraping public data is not automatically illegal in the US: in May 2024 a federal judge dismissed X's lawsuit against Bright Data over scraping public posts. But X's terms of service prohibit collecting its data without permission, X can suspend accounts and block services, and privacy laws such as GDPR still apply to personal data you collect. If you need a licensed source, for a regulated company or an enterprise or academic review, use the official X API.

Can I post to X without the official API?

Some unofficial services, including TwitterAPI.io, offer posting by logging in to your own X account with your password and 2FA secret. That puts your account at risk of suspension and gives a third party full access to it. For any product or brand account, post through the official API ($0.015 per post) or through a social media scheduler that uses it.

Which option is best for AI agents?

Both the official X API and TwitterAPI.io offer an MCP server, so agents can search X directly. Use TwitterAPI.io for cheap read-only research and the official API when the agent must post or the data must be licensed.

Considering the cheapest option? Our TwitterAPI.io review.

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