Reddit app Narwhal has now confirmed the price after polling users' opinions. The developer says that thoughts of tiered subscriptions have been abandoned and that the app will instead have a single plan costing $3.99 per month.
This is the same as Now for Reddit, which also considered multiple tiers , although the Relay Android app will use usage-based pricing …
Background information
The disorder began in May when it was revealed that Reddit would demand $20 million a year for access to the API used by popular third-party app Apollo and others. The developer said the app would have to be shut down as a result.
Planned outcry from several dozen of the largest subreddits eventually turned into more than 8,000 subreddits shutting down. at least 48 hours.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has made it clear that he doesn't care about the opinions of Reddit users and has begun firing moderators of protesting subreddits while threatening others. Users have responded with one-star reviews of the official app, and ousted mods have said that replacement mods allow dangerous tips to be posted.
Narwhal for the Reddit app
Developer Rick Harrison initially appeared to have made some sort of deal with Huffman, but is now in the same position as everyone else: having to charge users for a subscription. to pay for API calls.
A usage-based model was one option considered, but users rejected it, in part because of its opacity—how could they estimate the number of API calls their app's usage would require?
Narwhal is going to start with a single subscription plan for $3.99 per month. No one needs to even think about what an API is, let alone what API calls they make. For less than Reddit Premium, everyone gets an ad-free, privacy-focused Narwhal that I'll continually improve over time.
Harrison says his goal is just to cover costs. .
Reddit now charges significant API fees to support Narwhal. This fee will amount to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands per month, depending on how many people sign up. The sole purpose of this subscription is to cover the cost of using the API.
The Verge reports that the developer was initially considering tiers ranging from $2.99 to $11.99 per month, and notes that Relay for Reddit on Android takes a complex, layered approach.
Relay will automatically direct you to a page where you can choose from six different pricing tiers to be charged monthly. : Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond or Ruby […]
For example, if you choose the Bronze plan, you will be limited to 1,350 API calls per month, which is an average. 45 calls a day, or usually about 30 minutes of editing on Reddit a day.
Some users are unhappy, with one saying it's like going back to the days of AOL Minutes in the early Internet.
What do you think? Do you prefer flat fees or tiered pricing? Or have you given up on third-party apps altogether? Please let us know in the comments.
