X API cost calculator
The X API is pay per use: each request is charged, from $0.015 to create a post to $0.005 per post read. Set your volume to see a monthly estimate and your headroom under X's rate limits.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing uploaded
- No sign up
Estimated cost for a 30 day billing cycle
$76.95
Excludes lines X does not price
Tightest: largest burst per account in 15 minutes, 6% of the limit.
Publishing
Reading
Usage against X's limits
- Posts per account per day6 / 2,400 · <1%
X's own account limit, whatever app you use. Limit: posts per x account, per day.
- Largest burst per account in 15 minutes6 / 100 · 6%
A whole thread goes out within minutes. Limit: create post, per user, per 15 minutes.
- Posts created by your app per 24 hours18 / 10,000 · <1%
All accounts together. Limit: create post, per app, per 24 hours.
- Mention checks per account in 15 minutes1 / 300 · <1%
Checks count against the limit even when nothing is new. Limit: mentions timeline, per user, per 15 minutes.
- Media uploads by your app per 24 hours3 / 50,000 · <1%
All accounts together. Limit: media upload, per app, per 24 hours.
- Post reads per billing cycle7,800 / 3,000,000 · <1%
Other post reads plus mentions. Limit: post reads on pay per use, per billing cycle.
Itemised estimate
Rates as published on 30 September 2026. Unit prices are editable.
| Item | Quantity | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posts createdSingle posts and thread posts without a link · X line: Post: Create | 386 × | $ | $5.79 |
| Posts created with a link25% of posts · X line: Post: Create (with URL) | 129 × | $ | $25.71 |
| Media uploads1 a day per account · X line: Media upload | 90 × | $ | not priced |
| Alt text on uploadsOne metadata request per upload · X line: Media Metadata | 90 × | $ | $0.45 |
| Mentions readNew mentions, billed as post reads · X line: Posts: Read | 1,800 × | $ | $9.00 |
| Other posts readSearch, timelines, lookups of posts · X line: Posts: Read | 6,000 × | $ | $30.00 |
| Users readProfile lookups · X line: User: Read | 600 × | $ | $6.00 |
| Estimated total, excluding unpriced lines | $76.95 | ||
Media upload: no price on X's pricing page, so it is left out. Enter a rate if your console shows one.
An estimate, not a bill. X does not charge twice for the same resource within one UTC day, so repeated reads may cost less.
Edit the limits
Figures checked 30 September 2026 from X's developer documentation and Help Center: X API pricing, X API rate limits, Understanding X limits.
How to use the calculator
- No. 1
Describe your publishing
Set accounts, posts, threads, link share and media uploads.
- No. 2
Describe your reading
Set mention checks, new mentions and other posts or profiles read.
- No. 3
Check the limits
Each bar compares your volume with a published X limit.
- No. 4
Read the estimate
The invoice prices each line; type over any unit price that differs.
How X API access works
- 1
Sign in and create an app
Sign in at console.x.com, accept the developer agreement and create an app. See X's getting access guide.
- 2
Buy credits
No subscription. You prepay credits, per X's pricing page.
- 3
Each request draws them down
Writes are charged per request. Reads are charged per resource returned.
- Spending cap per billing cycle
- Optional auto recharge
- 3 million post reads per cycle on pay per use
- Above that: Enterprise
Published prices, checked 30 September 2026
| X line item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Post: Create | $0.015 |
| Post: Create (with URL) | $0.200 |
| Media Metadata | $0.005 |
| User Interaction: Create | $0.015 |
| DM Interaction: Create | $0.015 |
| Interaction: Delete | $0.010 |
| Bookmark | $0.005 |
| X line item | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Posts: Read | $0.005 |
| User: Read | $0.010 |
| Following/Followers: Read | $0.010 |
| DM Event: Read | $0.010 |
| Like: Read | $0.001 |
| Owned reads (your own data) | $0.001 |
Source: X API pricing, docs.x.com . X lists no separate price for media uploads and does not define "with URL"; the calculator leaves the first blank and applies the second to posts with a link.
What counts as a post and what counts as a read
Each example is one account over a 30 day cycle.
- Each post is one request
- A thread of six posts is six create requests.
- 150 posts×$0.015=$2.25
- Posts with a link are their own line
- X lists Post: Create (with URL) separately, at a much higher price.
- 150 posts×$0.200=$30.00
- Reads count per resource returned
- A call that returns 20 posts is 20 post reads, not one.
- 6,000 posts×$0.005=$30.00
- Your own data is cheaper
- Owned reads of your own posts, mentions or followers.
- 600 mentions×$0.001=$0.60
Rate limit windows, explained
Prices decide what you pay; limits decide how fast you can go. X's rate limits page sets a limit per endpoint over a window, usually 15 minutes or 24 hours.
Per user
One bucket per X account, using its own token.
Per app
One bucket for everything your app sends. It can fill while each account is fine.
Every response carries three headers
x-rate-limit-limitx-rate-limit-remainingx-rate-limit-reset
Go over and X answers with HTTP 429. The reset header is a Unix timestamp.
| Endpoint | Per app | Per user |
|---|---|---|
| Create a post | App: 10,000 per 24 hours | User: 100 per 15 minutes |
| Delete a post | App: Not listed | User: 50 per 15 minutes |
| Upload media (/2/media/upload) | App: 50,000 per 24 hours | User: 500 per 15 minutes |
| Mentions timeline (/2/users/:id/mentions) | App: 450 per 15 minutes | User: 300 per 15 minutes |
| Recent search | App: 450 per 15 minutes | User: 300 per 15 minutes |
| Look up users (/2/users/by) | App: 300 per 15 minutes | User: 900 per 15 minutes |
| The authenticated user (/2/users/me) | App: Not listed | User: 75 per 15 minutes |
Separate from the API: X's help center describes a limit of 2,400 posts per account per day, split into smaller intervals, whichever app posts.
How to stay within the X API limits
Design around the limits from day one. Never get around them by splitting one workload across extra apps or accounts.
Queue every write
Let a worker send posts at a steady pace.
Read the headers
Slow down before x-rate-limit-remaining hits zero.
Back off on 429
Wait for the reset time, then longer each retry.
Never retry a post blindly
A timed out create may have worked. Check first.
Poll less, cache more
Repeat reads are free only within the same UTC day.
Set a spending limit
So a bug in a loop cannot drain your credits.
Kairo Post publishes through the official X API from durable queues, respects rate limits across every worker and never repeats a public action on retry. Build on the same rules with the Kairo Post API and webhooks, or see all tools.
X API cost questions
How much does the X API cost?
Is there a free tier of the X API?
How many posts can I publish through the X API?
Do I pay again if I read the same post twice?
What are owned reads?
What happens when I hit a rate limit?
Can I set a spending limit?
Does this calculator call the X API?
Written by Jonas Ben, founder of Kairo Post. Updated .
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