Twitter pulls a Netflix, cranking the prices on its optional monthly subscription
Last year inJune, Twitter announced a new subscription service called Twitter Blue, giving subscribers access to certain premium features on top of what free users get, such as the ability to undo tweets, customize the app icon, and compress threads in Reader mode. You had to shell out $2.99 every month to gain access to all of that, and as of Thursday, June 28th, the price is set to go up.
The microblogging platform on Thursday emailed existing Twitter Blue subscribersannouncingthat their monthly subscriptions will cost more soon — the current $2.99 rate will be spiked for the very first time by a substantial 66% to $4.99 per month. That price is starting to enter streaming video service cost territory, just a couple bucks shy of the cost of an ad-supported Hulu plan. Subscribers that stick with the rate hike will spend almost $60 a year to undo tweets, try new features early, and customize the app’s bloated navigation bar, amonga handful of other benefits. At a price like that, the value proposition for the added features on an otherwise free service becomes a question.
If you’re one of the “early adopters” of Twitter Blue, you’ll continue to be charged $2.99/month until October 2022, but after that, the price will be automatically adjusted to $4.99 (which will be localized to the regional currency). Twitter says that you’ll receive an additional notice at least 30 days before that happens, so you’ll have plenty of time to cancel if you’ll want out. Meanwhile, for new subscribers, the higher price has already gone into effect.
Not every country uses the US dollar, of course, and the price changes vary by market:
Price before hike
Price after hike
New Zealand
United States
As for why Twitter decided to bump up the pricing, things are a little unclear, but the email does say that “this change helps us continue to build some of the features you’ve been asking for” and “improve upon the current ones you already love.” Hopefully, by new features, Twitter means an edit button.
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