13 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: An Update Regarding Reddit’s API
I think there's a tricky balance problem when it comes to pricing like that - either it's a separate subscription (possibly included as part of the existing "reddit premium") but ultimately requires users to have two separate subscriptions - one for reddit and one for Apollo Pro/Ultra for example - or developers would need to pay for their API usage and pass along the cost of doing so in their purchase/subscription price and in doing so might turn away potential customers with an increased cost.
What is most key in my mind though is that if reddit wants to charge more for API access, then the API needs to support all of reddit's features. No more can reddit introduce a new feature and make it available to their own app via a private API but not expose it to third-party developers to integrate into their own apps. Ideally, paying for an API should get you the exact same one the official app uses.
No matter the cost, I would never pay a dime if all I would get in return is the same API developers can use today with the very intentional limitations on available features.
Comment by Xaxxon at 18/04/2023 at 19:05 UTC*
3 upvotes, 2 direct replies
requires users to have two separate subscriptions - one for reddit and one for Apollo Pro/Ultra for example
Yep, and that's fine. You're asking for value from two companies and have to pay both.
It's like buying your grill and having to refill propane tanks to use it.
No more can reddit introduce a new feature and make it available to their own app via a private API but not expose it to third-party developers
Agreed
I would never pay a dime if all I would get in return is the same API developers can use today
Why? You're getting value from that and it has an actual cost to reddit to run. Why shouldn't they get paid? Either directly (subscription) or indirectly (ads)
edit: maybe you're talking about things like ios notifications or something that requires a push notification. I'm kinda on the fence about how that should be paid for, but I guess if it's not an extra-extra service fee from reddit for their app then they could also expose it for third party apps for people paying for a subscription.