Twitter Blue Rolls Out Cheaper Annual Subscription

Twitter is dropping the price of its premium subscription service, Twitter Blue, but there's a catch. Users who want the lower price will have to stump up for an annual subscription. Twitter Blue has been central to Elon Musk's plans to increase monetization on the social media platform and turn the struggling company into something profitable. Blue was around long before Musk but wasn't that popular. Its first desirable feature was arguably the ability to edit tweets, which it gained shortly before Musk took over. However, the South African billionaire has said this feature won't be exclusive to Twitter Blue in the future and is instead focusing on a different set of perks.

The main perk that comes with Twitter Blue is "verification." Accounts subscribing to the service will get a blue checkmark that is almost identical to the one Twitter has been attaching to the accounts of notable individuals, entities, and companies, for several years. It's this feature that made the launch of the new Twitter Blue so problematic. Trolls seized on the opportunity to imitate notable accounts, which led to potentially embarrassing tweets from bad actors pretending to be a major pharmaceutical company, former president George W. Bush, or current president Joe Biden. Signups for the service were suspended, and Musk went back to the drawing board. Several rule changes were made, and verification now requires accounts to be of a certain age, but Blue is now back and there's a chance you can get it for less than $8 per month.

Before Elon Musk came along, Twitter Blue cost $5 per month. The new service came with a price increase, and a plethora of memes to ensure everyone knew about it. Most users who have subscribed pay $8 a month for Twitter Blue, but iOS users have to pay a higher fee. Because of the "Apple Tax" applied to various apps and services in the App Store, Apple users have to pay $11 per month. This may all change soon. Blue users may soon be able to get the service for less than $8 a month thanks to an annual subscription, but they won't be saving that much.

On a help page, first spotted by The Verge, the company lists various subscription options Blue users can opt for. American users can get the "web" service for $84 per year, which comes out at $7 per month. This is a savings of $1 per month or $12 annually. Unfortunately for Apple users, the annual subscription only seems to apply to "web" users. So they're still stuck paying a premium, and they don't seem to have a marginally cheaper bulk option. The annual subscription also seems to be available in the other countries where Blue is currently an option, with marginally different discounts. Subscribers in the U.K. will save around £7.00, Canadians save $15 CAD, Australians will save $1.75 AUD per month, New Zealanders also save $1.75 in their currency, and Japanese subscribers will save around ¥124 per month. While the savings are pretty minor, Musk will be hoping it, alongside Blue's other features, helps get a few more people on board.