Those who have stayed on Elon Musk’s X social media platform (formerly Twitter) and have opted to pay for premium plus, the service’s highest tier, will pay 40% more going forward.
The pricing change, which was announced and went into effect on Dec. 21, is happening across all countries and affects the highest tier of the three the company offers. Basic, which costs $3 a month, and premium, which is $8 a month, are staying the same price, but premium plus has jumped from $16 a month to $22. An annual subscription to premium plus has increased from $168 to $229 a year.
In a post about the changes, X says existing users will see the increase in the billing cycle after Jan. 20, 2025, but new users are already being charged the price hike.
X explained the changes, saying that premium plus is now completely ad-free, and premium plus subscribers will receive other enhancements including access to Radar, a real-time trends spotter, and higher limits for the company’s Grok AI service.
The price increase will also help pay for revenue sharing for content creators, the post says. “Your Premium Plus subscription fee contributes to this new, more equitable system where creator earnings are tied to the overall value they bring to X, not impressions of ads,” it reads.
The company did not immediately respond to an email from CNET asking for more information.
Since it was purchased by Elon Musk in 2022, the long-running social network has gone through tremendous changes, from a complete name change and rebranding to a restructuring of its staff, including rounds of layoffs. Some users have fled to newer, competing services such as Bluesky and Threads, which is owned by Meta.
