For those of you who subscribed to X Premium, formerly Twitter Blue, to get an ad-free experience, you may have been disappointed. The more you pay, the better, but the base plan still has ads; there is no complete removal of ads.
Premium Plus: New Pricing Structure
December 21, 2024, the price for Premium Plus in the US has increased by a hefty 40%, with new rates as follows:
- Monthly Plan: Jumped from $16 to $22.
- Annual Plan: Increased from $168 to $229.
Existing subscribers are offered brief reprieves to postpone the new pricing until the post-Jan 20, 2025 billing cycle renews.
Global Price Hikes
The price surge isn’t an American story alone. International markets are experiencing even steeper increases, with some regions seeing massive percentage jumps:
- Nigeria: It jumped from ₦7,300 per month (365.75%) to ₦34,000 monthly.
- Turkey: The increment from the prices was from ₺300 to ₺770 per month (156.67%) increase.
Such stark regional differences could put off subscribers in the affected areas, and damage subscription numbers.
What you get Premium Plus
What additional does the steeper price tag provide? According to X, Premium Plus subscribers will enjoy:
- Ad-Free Experience: No interruption of scrolling through free ads.
- Priority Customer Support: The faster resolution of issues and faster response to inquiries.
- Advanced Grok AI Models: Enhanced AI tools letting you access more content creation and engagement.
- Radar Tool: Particularly useful for marketers and businesses, this is a robust feature for keyword monitoring, trend tracking and post-count analytics.
X writes that these upgrades are justified because they’re valuable to power users, creators of all sorts, and people who depend on the platform to contribute and learn.
Revenue for Creator Support
X also sees the price increase as a mechanism to fuel its creator program that rewards users for publishing content of high quality and interest. X wants to incentivize creativity and create a thriving ecosystem of influencers, thought leaders and businesses by prizing subscription revenue.
Is Premium Plus Worth It?
Whether you subscribe or stay subscribed depends on how much you want the extra perks. However, the $22-per-month cost will look steep for the layperson, given that the basic Premium tier doesn’t exceed $3.
The new features might just be worth the investment for creators, marketers, and heavy platform users.
Conclusion
Premium Plus price jump brings a raft of new features, the massive rise may alienate some market users with radical increases. Inaction could all change after reading X’s strategy, which is focused on turning Premium Plus into a premium offering for dedicated users who use the platform for a professional or creative purpose.
What you get depends on what you need and whether or not the extra perks are worth the price. For others, it’ll be an essential upgrade, promising an ad-free, analytics-rich experience that will be enticing. For others, the cost may feel like an expensive extra in an already crowded subscription economy.
Ethan Cole is a tech aficionado dedicated to exploring the latest innovations and gadgets, providing reviews and insights to keep you updated in the tech world.
