2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout - Images
Reddit has started overcharging for their API, effectively killing third-party apps like Apollo that make use of their API.
![Saved You A Click Video Games @SYACVG Reddit has started overcharging for their API, effectively killing third- party apps like Apollo that make use of their API. Also the official Reddit app sucks. Kotaku @Kotaku - 17h R Reddit is killing the best way to read the site: bit.ly/3MGwMnf 1:44 PM . Jun 1, 2023 · 91.5K Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/401/e19.jpg)
![Saved You A Click Video Games @SYACVG Reddit has started overcharging for their API, effectively killing third- party apps like Apollo that make use of their API. Also the official Reddit app sucks. Kotaku @Kotaku - 17h R Reddit is killing the best way to read the site: bit.ly/3MGwMnf 1:44 PM . Jun 1, 2023 · 91.5K Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/401/e19.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
Just got off a call with Reddit about the API and new pricing. Bad news unless I come up with 20 million dollars (not joking). Appreciate boosts.
![Christian Selig @ChristianSelig Just got off a call with Reddit about the API and new pricing. Bad news unless I come up with 20 million dollars (not joking). Appreciate boosts. apolloapp Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep 25K 3.3K reddit reddit.com r/apolloapp on Reddit: Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news... Posted by u/iamthatis - No votes and 18 comments 1:25 PM . May 31, 2023 1.4M Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/400/3f5.jpg)
![Christian Selig @ChristianSelig Just got off a call with Reddit about the API and new pricing. Bad news unless I come up with 20 million dollars (not joking). Appreciate boosts. apolloapp Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep 25K 3.3K reddit reddit.com r/apolloapp on Reddit: Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news... Posted by u/iamthatis - No votes and 18 comments 1:25 PM . May 31, 2023 1.4M Views](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/400/3f5.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!
![48.4k Posted by u/Toptomcat 4 days ago 816222 2 Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps! What's going on? A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users. On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader. Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface. This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free. What's the plan? On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love. The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action. What can you do? 1. Complain. Message the mods of r/reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message /u/reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on r/reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post. 2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at r/ModCoord- but please don't pester mods you don't know by simply spamming their modmail. 3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support! 4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. 3.3k Comments A Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/399/813.jpg)
![48.4k Posted by u/Toptomcat 4 days ago 816222 2 Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps! What's going on? A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users. On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader. Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface. This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free. What's the plan? On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love. The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action. What can you do? 1. Complain. Message the mods of r/reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message /u/reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on r/reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post. 2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at r/ModCoord- but please don't pester mods you don't know by simply spamming their modmail. 3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support! 4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. 3.3k Comments A Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/399/813.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps
![Posted by u/BuckRowdy 5 days ago 6 10 3 13.5k An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps and how that will impact moderators and communities. Please visit r/ModCoord, read this letter, and then sign on with your subreddit name and/or username if you support this initiative. Dear Reddit Community and Management, As active members, users, and moderators of numerous communities within Reddit, we come forward with concerns about recent changes to the platform's API pricing, especially as it relates to third party Reddit apps. The Situation Recently, Reddit has significantly increased its API pricing, rendering it increasingly unaffordable for third-party app developers to continue their services. The prohibitive cost threatens to make it difficult to mod from mobile, stifle innovation, limit user choice, and effectively shut down a significant portion of the culture we've all come to appreciate. Indeed, on May 31, 2023, when these changes were announced, every third party app developer on Reddit made essentially the same statement: "I will have to shut down the app." Apps can also no longer show ads which was a primary source of revenue. So not only do they have to pay exorbitant fees, they can't even mitigate those fees with ads. r/apolloapp • r/redditisfun ● r/Relayforreddit • r/GetNarwhal r/Bacon Reader • /r/Redd Planet /r/redditsync • /r/Infinity_For_Reddit /r/JoeyForReddit ● ● r/RedReader • r/pager • /r/BoostForReddit r/SlideforReddit The Impact on Moderators and Communities As moderators, we find ourselves at the intersection of Reddit's management and its user base, striving to facilitate respectful and meaningful dialogues in our communities. The recent API pricing change is detrimental to our efforts in several ways. Many of us rely on third-party apps to manage our communities effectively. Let's just rip the band-aid right off: in many cases these apps offer superior mod tools, customization, streamlined interfaces, and other quality of life improvements that the official app does not offer. The potential loss of these services due to the pricing change would significantly impact our ability to moderate efficiently, thus negatively affecting the experience for users in our communities and for us as mods and users ourselves. Concerns about NSFW Content and the New Policy Mature content, aka NSFW content, or 18+ content and subreddits are subject to new restrictions that make this type of content unavailable via the api. That means that if the other restrictions on third party apps were not present, they still would not be able to display that content. These changes render moderation of nsfw communities via automated processes or by a third party app null and void. If a moderation bot does not have access to this content, it cannot operate. Moderators of these communities can no longer use a third party app to mod even if they were still going to be financially feasible to run. Having access to only content in the subreddit that the bot moderates is not sufficient to prevent spam, karma farming, link-dumping, and the other types of behaviors that ruin subreddits and sometimes separate users from their money. Mature content has long been something we don't really talk about; like it's a second class citizen or something not to be discussed in polite company. But we all know that mature content is a big driver of traffic, otherwise spambots and onlyfans promoters wouldn't try so hard to monetize it. Spam in these communities will skyrocket with these changes requiring either an exponential increase in brute force human moderation, or a give-up attitude on the part of mods leaving communities overrun with spam. This also impacts communities other than mature content ones. Communities for art, chat communities for minors, and communities for nudist lifestyles are examples of non-"mature content" spaces that need their bots and mods to be able to see when a user is posting in mature content communities. The reasons given for this restriction indicate complying with legal requirements or helping content creators better control their content. But we see no reason that third party apps could not incorporate a similar process as reddit would use to display the content in their own apps. Their lack of discussion combined with the high level of restrictions indicates another reason might be at play. Indeed, past interaction and communication with admins would all but guarantee it. Communication Concerns One of the longstanding concerns with Reddit management is the lack of transparent and consistent communication, particularly with those of us who contribute significantly to the platform's functionality and growth: the moderators. Over the years, we've experienced abrupt changes with minimal to no notice, as reddit made changes or launched new features or tools with little to no notice, creating unforeseen repercussions and consequences in managing subreddits. Entire subreddits and initiatives have been formed over the years to address these concerns. And while there have been some improvements, the communication gap remains sizable and often leaves us — as unpaid moderators — scrambling to adapt and ensure our subreddits remain places where every user feels comfortable enough to comment without fear of attack or other negative engagement. Furthermore, inconsistencies between what is communicated by Reddit's management and the actual outcomes contribute to growing trust issues between mods and admins. Promises of advance notice of changes have repeatedly fallen through, further exacerbating our concern about this recent API pricing change. Our Plea We understand that Reddit, like any company, must balance its financial obligations. However, we believe that the longevity and success of this platform rest on preserving the rich ecosystem that has developed around it. We urge Reddit's management to reconsider the recent API pricing change, finding a compromise that allows third-party app developers to continue contributing to this platform's success. We ask for a solution that recognizes the vital role these third-party apps play and takes into consideration the negative impacts this decision might have on both users and moderators. A sustainable pricing model that encourages rather than discourages these apps' growth and innovation will only strengthen the Reddit community. Conclusion We've seen how, in the past, responses to big issues can be a bit vague. We totally get that when tough questions come your way, it's not always easy to be there with a quick answer. Likewise, we understand that putting yourself out there in public can be hard, but we feel it simply comes with the territory when these times arise. Unfortunately, these recent actions undertaken by Reddit come off as inconsistent with previous commitments, which makes it challenging to maintain trust between mods and admins. We are sincerely asking for an honest and direct response to this letter with tangible action that mitigates the issues raised here. We hope this letter will facilitate a meaningful conversation among Reddit's leadership, its diverse mods and users, and third-party app developers upon which many mods rely. We firmly believe a solution can be reached that would be mutually beneficial to all while helping reddit achieve its goals. Likewise, we hope reddit will consider that its unique strength is derived from its diversity of mods, users, and developers and the myriad tools used to engage with the platform. Thank you for your attention and understanding. Sincerely, The undersigned edit: Please consider crossposting this to your community or any space you think should be made aware of it. These changes will affect all users. 6.8k Comments Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/398/817.jpg)
![Posted by u/BuckRowdy 5 days ago 6 10 3 13.5k An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps and how that will impact moderators and communities. Please visit r/ModCoord, read this letter, and then sign on with your subreddit name and/or username if you support this initiative. Dear Reddit Community and Management, As active members, users, and moderators of numerous communities within Reddit, we come forward with concerns about recent changes to the platform's API pricing, especially as it relates to third party Reddit apps. The Situation Recently, Reddit has significantly increased its API pricing, rendering it increasingly unaffordable for third-party app developers to continue their services. The prohibitive cost threatens to make it difficult to mod from mobile, stifle innovation, limit user choice, and effectively shut down a significant portion of the culture we've all come to appreciate. Indeed, on May 31, 2023, when these changes were announced, every third party app developer on Reddit made essentially the same statement: "I will have to shut down the app." Apps can also no longer show ads which was a primary source of revenue. So not only do they have to pay exorbitant fees, they can't even mitigate those fees with ads. r/apolloapp • r/redditisfun ● r/Relayforreddit • r/GetNarwhal r/Bacon Reader • /r/Redd Planet /r/redditsync • /r/Infinity_For_Reddit /r/JoeyForReddit ● ● r/RedReader • r/pager • /r/BoostForReddit r/SlideforReddit The Impact on Moderators and Communities As moderators, we find ourselves at the intersection of Reddit's management and its user base, striving to facilitate respectful and meaningful dialogues in our communities. The recent API pricing change is detrimental to our efforts in several ways. Many of us rely on third-party apps to manage our communities effectively. Let's just rip the band-aid right off: in many cases these apps offer superior mod tools, customization, streamlined interfaces, and other quality of life improvements that the official app does not offer. The potential loss of these services due to the pricing change would significantly impact our ability to moderate efficiently, thus negatively affecting the experience for users in our communities and for us as mods and users ourselves. Concerns about NSFW Content and the New Policy Mature content, aka NSFW content, or 18+ content and subreddits are subject to new restrictions that make this type of content unavailable via the api. That means that if the other restrictions on third party apps were not present, they still would not be able to display that content. These changes render moderation of nsfw communities via automated processes or by a third party app null and void. If a moderation bot does not have access to this content, it cannot operate. Moderators of these communities can no longer use a third party app to mod even if they were still going to be financially feasible to run. Having access to only content in the subreddit that the bot moderates is not sufficient to prevent spam, karma farming, link-dumping, and the other types of behaviors that ruin subreddits and sometimes separate users from their money. Mature content has long been something we don't really talk about; like it's a second class citizen or something not to be discussed in polite company. But we all know that mature content is a big driver of traffic, otherwise spambots and onlyfans promoters wouldn't try so hard to monetize it. Spam in these communities will skyrocket with these changes requiring either an exponential increase in brute force human moderation, or a give-up attitude on the part of mods leaving communities overrun with spam. This also impacts communities other than mature content ones. Communities for art, chat communities for minors, and communities for nudist lifestyles are examples of non-"mature content" spaces that need their bots and mods to be able to see when a user is posting in mature content communities. The reasons given for this restriction indicate complying with legal requirements or helping content creators better control their content. But we see no reason that third party apps could not incorporate a similar process as reddit would use to display the content in their own apps. Their lack of discussion combined with the high level of restrictions indicates another reason might be at play. Indeed, past interaction and communication with admins would all but guarantee it. Communication Concerns One of the longstanding concerns with Reddit management is the lack of transparent and consistent communication, particularly with those of us who contribute significantly to the platform's functionality and growth: the moderators. Over the years, we've experienced abrupt changes with minimal to no notice, as reddit made changes or launched new features or tools with little to no notice, creating unforeseen repercussions and consequences in managing subreddits. Entire subreddits and initiatives have been formed over the years to address these concerns. And while there have been some improvements, the communication gap remains sizable and often leaves us — as unpaid moderators — scrambling to adapt and ensure our subreddits remain places where every user feels comfortable enough to comment without fear of attack or other negative engagement. Furthermore, inconsistencies between what is communicated by Reddit's management and the actual outcomes contribute to growing trust issues between mods and admins. Promises of advance notice of changes have repeatedly fallen through, further exacerbating our concern about this recent API pricing change. Our Plea We understand that Reddit, like any company, must balance its financial obligations. However, we believe that the longevity and success of this platform rest on preserving the rich ecosystem that has developed around it. We urge Reddit's management to reconsider the recent API pricing change, finding a compromise that allows third-party app developers to continue contributing to this platform's success. We ask for a solution that recognizes the vital role these third-party apps play and takes into consideration the negative impacts this decision might have on both users and moderators. A sustainable pricing model that encourages rather than discourages these apps' growth and innovation will only strengthen the Reddit community. Conclusion We've seen how, in the past, responses to big issues can be a bit vague. We totally get that when tough questions come your way, it's not always easy to be there with a quick answer. Likewise, we understand that putting yourself out there in public can be hard, but we feel it simply comes with the territory when these times arise. Unfortunately, these recent actions undertaken by Reddit come off as inconsistent with previous commitments, which makes it challenging to maintain trust between mods and admins. We are sincerely asking for an honest and direct response to this letter with tangible action that mitigates the issues raised here. We hope this letter will facilitate a meaningful conversation among Reddit's leadership, its diverse mods and users, and third-party app developers upon which many mods rely. We firmly believe a solution can be reached that would be mutually beneficial to all while helping reddit achieve its goals. Likewise, we hope reddit will consider that its unique strength is derived from its diversity of mods, users, and developers and the myriad tools used to engage with the platform. Thank you for your attention and understanding. Sincerely, The undersigned edit: Please consider crossposting this to your community or any space you think should be made aware of it. These changes will affect all users. 6.8k Comments Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/398/817.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023
![32.9k Posted by u/talklittle RIF Dev 6 days ago 142粥 12 RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023 10 I need more time to get all my thoughts together, but posting this quick post since so many users have been asking, and it's been making rounds on news sites. Summary of what Reddit Inc has announced so far, specifically the parts that will kill many third-party apps: 1. The Reddit API will cost money, and the pricing announced today will cost apps like Apollo $20 million per year to run. RIF may differ but it would be in the same ballpark. And no, RIF does not earn anywhere remotely near this number. 2. As part of this they are blocking ads in third-party apps, which make up the majority of RIF's revenue. So they want to force a paid subscription model onto RIF's users. Meanwhile Reddit's official app still continues to make the vast majority of its money from ads. 3. Removal of sexually explicit material from third-party apps while keeping said content in the official app. Some people have speculated that NSFW is going to leave Reddit entirely, but then why would Reddit Inc have recently expanded NSFW upload support on their desktop site? Their recent moves smell a lot like they want third-party apps gone, RIF included. I know some users will chime in saying they are willing to pay a monthly subscription to keep RIF going, but trust me that you would be in the minority. There is very little value in paying a high subscription for less content (in this case, NSFW). Honestly if I were a user of RIF and not the dev, I'd have a hard time justifying paying the high prices being forced by Reddit Inc, despite how much RIF obviously means to me. 6.4k Comments + Award 4 There is a lot more I want to say, and I kind of scrambled to write this since I didn't expect news reports today. I'll probably write more follow-up posts that are better thought out. But this is the gist of what's been going on with Reddit third-party apps in 2023. Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/397/220.jpg)
![32.9k Posted by u/talklittle RIF Dev 6 days ago 142粥 12 RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023 10 I need more time to get all my thoughts together, but posting this quick post since so many users have been asking, and it's been making rounds on news sites. Summary of what Reddit Inc has announced so far, specifically the parts that will kill many third-party apps: 1. The Reddit API will cost money, and the pricing announced today will cost apps like Apollo $20 million per year to run. RIF may differ but it would be in the same ballpark. And no, RIF does not earn anywhere remotely near this number. 2. As part of this they are blocking ads in third-party apps, which make up the majority of RIF's revenue. So they want to force a paid subscription model onto RIF's users. Meanwhile Reddit's official app still continues to make the vast majority of its money from ads. 3. Removal of sexually explicit material from third-party apps while keeping said content in the official app. Some people have speculated that NSFW is going to leave Reddit entirely, but then why would Reddit Inc have recently expanded NSFW upload support on their desktop site? Their recent moves smell a lot like they want third-party apps gone, RIF included. I know some users will chime in saying they are willing to pay a monthly subscription to keep RIF going, but trust me that you would be in the minority. There is very little value in paying a high subscription for less content (in this case, NSFW). Honestly if I were a user of RIF and not the dev, I'd have a hard time justifying paying the high prices being forced by Reddit Inc, despite how much RIF obviously means to me. 6.4k Comments + Award 4 There is a lot more I want to say, and I kind of scrambled to write this since I didn't expect news reports today. I'll probably write more follow-up posts that are better thought out. But this is the gist of what's been going on with Reddit third-party apps in 2023. Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/397/220.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is.
![+ 159k Posted by u/iamthatis Apollo Developer 6 days ago 131 11 134 6 2 12 116313321 (10/30 (F15 15 3 61010 3 4 200 X 1573 Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is. Announcement 23 Hey all, I'll cut to the chase: 50 million requests costs $12,000, a figure far more than I ever could have imagined. Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year. Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month, which is over double what the subscription currently costs, so I'd be in the red every month. I'm deeply disappointed in this price. Reddit iterated that the price would be A) reasonable and based in reality, and B) they would not operate like Twitter. Twitter's pricing was publicly ridiculed for its obscene price of $42,000 for 50 million tweets. Reddit's is still $12,000. For reference, I pay Imgur (a site similar to Reddit in user base and media) $166 for the same 50 million API calls. As for the pricing, despite claims that it would be based in reality, it seems anything but. Less than 2 years ago they said they crossed $100M in quarterly revenue for the first time ever, if we assume despite the economic downturn that they've managed to do that every single quarter now, and for your best quarter, you've doubled it to $200M. Let's also be generous and go far, far above industry estimates and say you made another $50M in Reddit Premium subscriptions. That's $550M in revenue per year, let's say an even $600M. In 2019, they said they hit 430 million monthly active users, and to also be generous, let's say they haven't added a single active user since then (if we do revenue-per- user calculations, the more users, the less revenue each user would contribute). So at generous estimates of $600M and 430M monthly active users, that's $1.40 per user per year, or $0.12 monthly. These own numbers they've given are also seemingly inline with industry estimates as well. 8 For Apollo, the average user uses 344 requests daily, or 10.6K monthly. With the proposed API pricing, the average user in Apollo would cost $2.50, which is is 20x higher than a generous estimate of what each users brings Reddit in revenue. - Christian While Reddit has been communicative and civil throughout this process with half a dozen phone calls back and forth that I thought went really well, I don't see how this pricing is anything based in reality or remotely reasonable. I hope it goes without saying that I don't have that kind of money would even know how to charge it to a credit card. This is going to require some thinking. I asked Reddit if they were flexible on this pricing or not, and they stated that it's their understanding that no, this will be the pricing, and I'm free to post the details of the call if I wish. (For the uninitiated wondering "what the heck is an API anyway and why is this so important?" it's just a fancy term for a way to access a site's information ("Application Programming Interface"). As an analogy, think of Reddit having a bouncer, and since day one that bouncer has been friendly, where if you ask "Hey, can you list out the comments for me for post X?" the bouncer would happily respond with what you requested, provided you didn't ask so often that it was silly. That's the Reddit API: I ask Reddit/the bouncer for some data, and it provides it so I can display it in my app for users. The proposed changes mean the bouncer will still exist, but now ask an exorbitant amount per question.) 13.4k Comments + Award à Share S Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/396/54a.jpg)
![+ 159k Posted by u/iamthatis Apollo Developer 6 days ago 131 11 134 6 2 12 116313321 (10/30 (F15 15 3 61010 3 4 200 X 1573 Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is. Announcement 23 Hey all, I'll cut to the chase: 50 million requests costs $12,000, a figure far more than I ever could have imagined. Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year. Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month, which is over double what the subscription currently costs, so I'd be in the red every month. I'm deeply disappointed in this price. Reddit iterated that the price would be A) reasonable and based in reality, and B) they would not operate like Twitter. Twitter's pricing was publicly ridiculed for its obscene price of $42,000 for 50 million tweets. Reddit's is still $12,000. For reference, I pay Imgur (a site similar to Reddit in user base and media) $166 for the same 50 million API calls. As for the pricing, despite claims that it would be based in reality, it seems anything but. Less than 2 years ago they said they crossed $100M in quarterly revenue for the first time ever, if we assume despite the economic downturn that they've managed to do that every single quarter now, and for your best quarter, you've doubled it to $200M. Let's also be generous and go far, far above industry estimates and say you made another $50M in Reddit Premium subscriptions. That's $550M in revenue per year, let's say an even $600M. In 2019, they said they hit 430 million monthly active users, and to also be generous, let's say they haven't added a single active user since then (if we do revenue-per- user calculations, the more users, the less revenue each user would contribute). So at generous estimates of $600M and 430M monthly active users, that's $1.40 per user per year, or $0.12 monthly. These own numbers they've given are also seemingly inline with industry estimates as well. 8 For Apollo, the average user uses 344 requests daily, or 10.6K monthly. With the proposed API pricing, the average user in Apollo would cost $2.50, which is is 20x higher than a generous estimate of what each users brings Reddit in revenue. - Christian While Reddit has been communicative and civil throughout this process with half a dozen phone calls back and forth that I thought went really well, I don't see how this pricing is anything based in reality or remotely reasonable. I hope it goes without saying that I don't have that kind of money would even know how to charge it to a credit card. This is going to require some thinking. I asked Reddit if they were flexible on this pricing or not, and they stated that it's their understanding that no, this will be the pricing, and I'm free to post the details of the call if I wish. (For the uninitiated wondering "what the heck is an API anyway and why is this so important?" it's just a fancy term for a way to access a site's information ("Application Programming Interface"). As an analogy, think of Reddit having a bouncer, and since day one that bouncer has been friendly, where if you ask "Hey, can you list out the comments for me for post X?" the bouncer would happily respond with what you requested, provided you didn't ask so often that it was silly. That's the Reddit API: I ask Reddit/the bouncer for some data, and it provides it so I can display it in my app for users. The proposed changes mean the bouncer will still exist, but now ask an exorbitant amount per question.) 13.4k Comments + Award à Share S Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/396/54a.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
An Update Regarding Reddit’s API
![0 Posted by u/KeyserSosa 2 months ago 2 An Update Regarding Reddit's API Updates Greetings all you redditors, developers, mods, and more! I'm joining you today to share some updates to Reddit's Data API. I can sense your eagerness so here's a TL;DR (though I highly encourage you to please read this post in its entirety). TL;DR: • We are updating our terms for developer tools and services, including our Developer Terms, Data API Terms, Reddit Embeds Terms, and Ads API Terms, and are updating links to these terms in our User Agreement. • These updates should not impact moderation bots and extensions we know our moderators and communities rely on. • To further ensure minimal impact of updates to our Data API, we are continuing to build new moderator tools (while also maintaining existing tools). • We are additionally investing in our developer community and improving support for Reddit apps and bots via Reddit's Developer Platform. • Finally, we are introducing premium access for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights. And now, some background Since we first launched our Data API in 2008, we've seen thousands of fantastic applications built: tools to make moderation easier, utilities that help users stay up to date on their favorite topics, or (my personal favorite) this thing that helps convert helpful figures into useless ones. Our APIs have also provided third parties with access to data to build user utilities, research, games, and mod bots. However, expansive access to data has impact, and as a platform with one of the largest corpora of human-to-human conversations online, spanning the past 18 years, we have an obligation to our communities to be responsible stewards of this content. Updating our Terms for Developer Tools and Services Our continued commitment to investing in our developer community and improving our offering of tools and services to developers requires updated legal terms. These updates help clarify how developers can safely and securely use Reddit's tools and services, including our APIs and our new and improved Developer Platform. We're calling these updated, unified terms (wait for it) our Developer Terms, and they'll apply to and govern all Reddit developer services. Here are the major changes: • Unified Developer Terms: Previously, we had specific and separate terms for each of our developer services, including our Developer Platform, Data API (f/k/a our public API), Reddit Embeds, and Ads API. The Developer Terms consolidate and clarify common provisions, rights, and restrictions from those separate terms, including, for example, Reddit's license to developers, app review process, use restrictions on developer services, IP rights in our services, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and more. • Some Additional Terms Still Apply: Some of our developer tools and services, including our Data API, Reddit Embeds, and Ads API, remain subject to specific terms in addition to our Developer Terms. These additional terms include our Data API Terms, Reddit Embeds Terms, and Ads API Terms, which we've kept relatively similar to the prior versions. However, in all of our additional terms, we've clarified that content created and submitted on Reddit is owned by redditors and cannot be used by a third party without permission. • User Agreement Updates. To make these updates to our terms for developers, we've also made minor updates to our User Agreement, including updating links and references to the new Developer Terms. To ensure developers have the tools and information they need to continue to use Reddit safely, protect our users' privacy and security, and adhere to local regulations, we're making updates to the ways some can access data on Reddit: • Our Data API will still be available to developers for appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform, which is designed to help developers improve the core Reddit experience, but, we will be enforcing rate limits. • We are introducing a premium access point for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights. Our Data API will still be open for appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform. • Reddit will limit access to mature content via our Data API as part of an ongoing effort to provide guardrails to how sexually explicit content and communities on Reddit are discovered and viewed. (Note: This change should not impact any current moderator bots or extensions.) Effective June 19, 2023, our updated Data API Terms, together with our Developer Terms, will replace the existing API terms. We'll be notifying certain developers and third parties about their use of our Data API via email starting today. Developers, researchers, mods, and partners with questions or who are interested in using Reddit's Data API can contact us here. (NB: There are no material changes to our Ads API terms.) Further Supporting Moderators Before you ask, let's discuss how this update will (and won't!) impact moderators. We know that our developer community is essential to the success of the Reddit platform and, in particular, mods. In fact, a HUGE thank you to all the developers and mod bot creators for all the work you've done over the years. Our goal is for these updates to cause as little disruption as possible. If anything, we're expanding on our commitment to building mobile moderator tools for Reddit's iOS and Android apps to further ensure minimal impact of the changes to our Data API. In the coming months, you will see mobile moderation improvements to: • Removal reasons - improvements to the overall load time and usability of this common workflow, in addition to enabling mods to reorder existing removal reasons. • Rule management - to set expectations for their community members and visiting redditors. With updates, moderators will be able to add, edit, and remove community rules via native apps. • Mod log - to give context into a community member's history within a subreddit, and display mod actions taken on a member, as well as on their posts and comments. • Modmail- facilitate better mod-to-mod and mod-to-user communication by improving the overall responsiveness and usability of Modmail. • Mod Queues - increase the content density within Mod Queue to improve efficiency and scannability. We are also prioritizing improvements to core mod action workflows including banning users and faster performance of the user profile card. You can see the latest updates to mobile moderation tools and follow our future progress over in r/ModNews. A I should note here that we do not intend to impact mod bots and extensions - while existing bots may need to be updated and many will benefit from being ported to our Developer Platform, we want to ensure the unpaid path to mod registration and continued Data API usage is unobstructed. If you are a moderator with questions about how this may impact your community, you can file a support request here. Additionally, our Developer Platform will allow for the development of even more powerful mod tools, giving moderators the ability to build, deploy, and leverage tools that are more bespoke to their community needs. Which brings me to... The Reddit Developer Platform Developer Platform continues to be our largest investment to date in our developer ecosystem. It is designed to help developers improve the core Reddit experience by providing powerful features for building moderation tools, creative tools, games, and more. We are currently in a closed beta to hundreds of developers (sign up here if you're interested!). As Reddit continues to grow, providing updates and clarity helps developers and researchers align their work with our guiding principles and community values. We're committed to strengthening trust with redditors and driving long-term value for developers who use our platform. Thank you (and congrats) and making it all the way to the end of this post! Myself and a few members of the team are around for a couple hours to answer your questions (Or you can also check out our FAQ). 2.4k Comments Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/601/395/090.jpg)
![0 Posted by u/KeyserSosa 2 months ago 2 An Update Regarding Reddit's API Updates Greetings all you redditors, developers, mods, and more! I'm joining you today to share some updates to Reddit's Data API. I can sense your eagerness so here's a TL;DR (though I highly encourage you to please read this post in its entirety). TL;DR: • We are updating our terms for developer tools and services, including our Developer Terms, Data API Terms, Reddit Embeds Terms, and Ads API Terms, and are updating links to these terms in our User Agreement. • These updates should not impact moderation bots and extensions we know our moderators and communities rely on. • To further ensure minimal impact of updates to our Data API, we are continuing to build new moderator tools (while also maintaining existing tools). • We are additionally investing in our developer community and improving support for Reddit apps and bots via Reddit's Developer Platform. • Finally, we are introducing premium access for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights. And now, some background Since we first launched our Data API in 2008, we've seen thousands of fantastic applications built: tools to make moderation easier, utilities that help users stay up to date on their favorite topics, or (my personal favorite) this thing that helps convert helpful figures into useless ones. Our APIs have also provided third parties with access to data to build user utilities, research, games, and mod bots. However, expansive access to data has impact, and as a platform with one of the largest corpora of human-to-human conversations online, spanning the past 18 years, we have an obligation to our communities to be responsible stewards of this content. Updating our Terms for Developer Tools and Services Our continued commitment to investing in our developer community and improving our offering of tools and services to developers requires updated legal terms. These updates help clarify how developers can safely and securely use Reddit's tools and services, including our APIs and our new and improved Developer Platform. We're calling these updated, unified terms (wait for it) our Developer Terms, and they'll apply to and govern all Reddit developer services. Here are the major changes: • Unified Developer Terms: Previously, we had specific and separate terms for each of our developer services, including our Developer Platform, Data API (f/k/a our public API), Reddit Embeds, and Ads API. The Developer Terms consolidate and clarify common provisions, rights, and restrictions from those separate terms, including, for example, Reddit's license to developers, app review process, use restrictions on developer services, IP rights in our services, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and more. • Some Additional Terms Still Apply: Some of our developer tools and services, including our Data API, Reddit Embeds, and Ads API, remain subject to specific terms in addition to our Developer Terms. These additional terms include our Data API Terms, Reddit Embeds Terms, and Ads API Terms, which we've kept relatively similar to the prior versions. However, in all of our additional terms, we've clarified that content created and submitted on Reddit is owned by redditors and cannot be used by a third party without permission. • User Agreement Updates. To make these updates to our terms for developers, we've also made minor updates to our User Agreement, including updating links and references to the new Developer Terms. To ensure developers have the tools and information they need to continue to use Reddit safely, protect our users' privacy and security, and adhere to local regulations, we're making updates to the ways some can access data on Reddit: • Our Data API will still be available to developers for appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform, which is designed to help developers improve the core Reddit experience, but, we will be enforcing rate limits. • We are introducing a premium access point for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights. Our Data API will still be open for appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform. • Reddit will limit access to mature content via our Data API as part of an ongoing effort to provide guardrails to how sexually explicit content and communities on Reddit are discovered and viewed. (Note: This change should not impact any current moderator bots or extensions.) Effective June 19, 2023, our updated Data API Terms, together with our Developer Terms, will replace the existing API terms. We'll be notifying certain developers and third parties about their use of our Data API via email starting today. Developers, researchers, mods, and partners with questions or who are interested in using Reddit's Data API can contact us here. (NB: There are no material changes to our Ads API terms.) Further Supporting Moderators Before you ask, let's discuss how this update will (and won't!) impact moderators. We know that our developer community is essential to the success of the Reddit platform and, in particular, mods. In fact, a HUGE thank you to all the developers and mod bot creators for all the work you've done over the years. Our goal is for these updates to cause as little disruption as possible. If anything, we're expanding on our commitment to building mobile moderator tools for Reddit's iOS and Android apps to further ensure minimal impact of the changes to our Data API. In the coming months, you will see mobile moderation improvements to: • Removal reasons - improvements to the overall load time and usability of this common workflow, in addition to enabling mods to reorder existing removal reasons. • Rule management - to set expectations for their community members and visiting redditors. With updates, moderators will be able to add, edit, and remove community rules via native apps. • Mod log - to give context into a community member's history within a subreddit, and display mod actions taken on a member, as well as on their posts and comments. • Modmail- facilitate better mod-to-mod and mod-to-user communication by improving the overall responsiveness and usability of Modmail. • Mod Queues - increase the content density within Mod Queue to improve efficiency and scannability. We are also prioritizing improvements to core mod action workflows including banning users and faster performance of the user profile card. You can see the latest updates to mobile moderation tools and follow our future progress over in r/ModNews. A I should note here that we do not intend to impact mod bots and extensions - while existing bots may need to be updated and many will benefit from being ported to our Developer Platform, we want to ensure the unpaid path to mod registration and continued Data API usage is unobstructed. If you are a moderator with questions about how this may impact your community, you can file a support request here. Additionally, our Developer Platform will allow for the development of even more powerful mod tools, giving moderators the ability to build, deploy, and leverage tools that are more bespoke to their community needs. Which brings me to... The Reddit Developer Platform Developer Platform continues to be our largest investment to date in our developer ecosystem. It is designed to help developers improve the core Reddit experience by providing powerful features for building moderation tools, creative tools, games, and more. We are currently in a closed beta to hundreds of developers (sign up here if you're interested!). As Reddit continues to grow, providing updates and clarity helps developers and researchers align their work with our guiding principles and community values. We're committed to strengthening trust with redditors and driving long-term value for developers who use our platform. Thank you (and congrats) and making it all the way to the end of this post! Myself and a few members of the team are around for a couple hours to answer your questions (Or you can also check out our FAQ). 2.4k Comments Award Share Save](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/601/395/090.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
Do we look like a bitch? | /r/dankmemes
![We happy? til Reddit is removing API access for 3rd party apps No, we not happy. MAKAN BAL CLECTRIE NERAL ELECTRICA](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/600/848/0b2.png)
![We happy? til Reddit is removing API access for 3rd party apps No, we not happy. MAKAN BAL CLECTRIE NERAL ELECTRICA](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/600/848/0b2.png)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
As of July 1st, all the 3rd party Reddit apps will get priced out of the market. For example the Apo...
![= Forbes Death By API: Reddit Joins Twitter In Pricing Out Apps Barry Collins Contributor Ⓒ I am a consumer tech expert writing about Windows, PCs, laptops, Mac, broadband and more. ¹9 Listen to article 4 minutes $ 5 99 Jun 1, 2023, 04:06am EDT ¹8 f ģ •||||| So this is how liberty dies](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/599/985/6ed.jpg)
![= Forbes Death By API: Reddit Joins Twitter In Pricing Out Apps Barry Collins Contributor Ⓒ I am a consumer tech expert writing about Windows, PCs, laptops, Mac, broadband and more. ¹9 Listen to article 4 minutes $ 5 99 Jun 1, 2023, 04:06am EDT ¹8 f ģ •||||| So this is how liberty dies](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/599/985/6ed.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout
Apollo who? | /r/dankmemes
![People using 3rd party apps Reddit 2 made with mematic Me who didn't even know those apps existed](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/002/598/693/f48.jpg)
![People using 3rd party apps Reddit 2 made with mematic Me who didn't even know those apps existed](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/002/598/693/f48.jpg)
2023 Reddit API Pricing Blackout