Tweetbot 6 is now available for early access, but its new subscription model isn't to everyone's taste. Still, the new version has everything Tweetbot 5 did and lots more besides.
Tweetbot Changes Business Models
Tweetbot 6 is the latest version of one of the best third-party Twitter clients available, and a subscription to use it now costs $0.99/month, or $5.99/year.
"We are calling it early access because there are many new features on our roadmap to be built," the app's website says. Tweetbot 6 utilizes Twitter’s v2 API.
It's free to download the Tweetbot 6 app, but if you want to do anything more than scroll through your timeline, you will have to subscribe.
Download: Tweetbot 6 (Free, in-app purchases available)
Prior to this new update, the Tweetbot 5 client was a one-time purchase for iPhone and iPad, priced at $4.99. Now, you'll be charged monthly. Upset by this change? You're not the only one.
App developer Tapbots announced the release of Tweetbot 6 with this Tweet, and a number of users expressed their frustration in the replies.
Subscription? Will be a hard Goodbye 👋🏼 I really enjoyed our time together and was already about to send you some money for a premium Twitter client. But subscription? For real...? Bummer
— David (@iPod_David) January 26, 2021
Not everyone thinks this way, though.
There are Tweetbot users that believe the price is fair, and that a good service should be able to charge enough to keep the service available.
Upon opening Tweetbot 6 now, you'll find a screen that reads, "Consistent subscription revenue allows us to continuously improve Tweetbot."
If you just bought Tweetbot 5, there's a bit of good news. It has been confirmed that you can use Tweetbot 6 for a whole year before you have to subscribe like everyone else.
Tweetbot Is Still the Best Third-Party Twitter App
Tweetbot introducing a subscription model will hopefully make its newest version (and versions to come) even better.
As the app receives even more functionality as the developers plow the money back into the app, perhaps former users will realize that Tweetbot is worth paying for after all.
