Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has slashed subscription pricing in India by up to 47%. This marks the company's first significant price adjustment in the country since introducing tiered subscription levels in 2023. The updated pricing structure now applies to all three plans - Basic, Plus and Plus+ - across both web and mobile platforms.
Under the new pricing model, the Basic plan costs 170 rupees per month or 1,700 rupees annually on web platforms, representing a 30% reduction from the previous 244 rupees monthly rate. The Plus plan has dropped to 427 rupees per month or 4,272 rupees annually, a 34% decrease from its former 650 rupees monthly charge. The top-tier Plus+ plan (which offers advanced features) is now priced at 2,570 rupees per month (26% reduction) or 26,400 rupees annually, down from 3,470 rupees monthly.
Mobile application pricing has also seen substantial reductions. The Plus plan on Android and iOS platforms has decreased from 900 rupees to 470 rupees monthly (47% reduction). Android's Plus+ plan has dropped from 5,130 rupees to 3,000 rupees, while iOS maintains a slightly higher rate of 5,000 rupees due to Apple's in-app purchase policies. The Basic plan remains unchanged at 170 rupees monthly across all platforms.
It is important to note that higher mobile application prices result from application store commissions through Google Play and Apple's App Store. X encourages users to subscribe via their website to avoid these additional fees. This price adjustment holds particular significance for Indian users, as the platform's user base in India exceeds 30 million according to estimates.
The timing of this development is notable, occurring just days after X's CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned citing disagreements about the company's strategic direction and growing focus on AI development. The platform currently faces multiple challenges including declining overall revenue. According to eMarketer data, X's U.S. advertising revenue is projected to increase 17.5% to $1.31 billion in 2025, with global ad sales expected to rise 16.5% to $2.26 billion. However, these figures remain below the $4.51 billion advertising revenue reported when the company was publicly listed in 2021. Notably, subscription revenue still constitutes only a small portion of the platform's total income.
