Twitter Blue Pricing to Be Lowered for Web Users to $7, App Store Subscribers to Pay $11: Report

Twitter plans to change the pricing of its Twitter Blue subscription product to $7 (roughly Rs. 600) from $7.99 (roughly Rs. 700) if users pay for it through the website, and $11 (roughly Rs. 900) if they do so through its iPhone app, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person briefed on the plans.

The move was likely a pushback against the 30 percent cut that Apple takes on revenues from apps on its operating system, the report said, with lower pricing for the website likely to drive more users to that platform as opposed to signing up on their iPhones.

It did not mention whether pricing would change for the Android platform as well.

Last week, Musk accused Apple of threatening to block Twitter from its App Store without saying why in a series of tweets that also said it had stopped advertising on the social media platform.

In the first quarter of 2022, Apple was the top advertiser on Twitter, spending $48 million (roughly Rs. 390 crore) and accounting for more than 4 percent of total revenue for the period, the Washington Post reported, citing an internal Twitter document.

Among the list of grievances tweeted by Musk was the up to 30 percent fee Apple charges software developers for in-app purchases.

He also posted a meme suggesting he was willing to "go to war" with Apple rather than paying the commission.

The fee has drawn criticism and lawsuits from companies such as Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, while attracting the scrutiny of regulators globally.

The commission could weigh on Musk's attempts to boost subscription revenue at Twitter, in part to make up for the exodus of advertisers over content moderation concerns.

Musk later met Apple chief executive Tim Cook at the company's headquarters and later tweeted that the misunderstanding about Twitter being removed from Apple's App Store was resolved.

Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

© Thomson Reuters 2022