Apollo and Other Reddit Apps Are Shutting Down: Here's Why

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 09 June 2023, 02:06 am

Apollo, one of the most beloved iOS apps used to browse Reddit, is shutting down later this month due to the company's recently announced new API pricing.

According to Apollo developer Christian Selig, the latest API pricing plans will make the app much more expensive to operate. For many years, Reddit has been home to thousands of communities where certain users can post or comment on various topics, including AI bots or applications.

However, starting on June 30, reddit users or redditors can no longer use Apollo as the popular third-party Reddit app will shut down on this day.

(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apollo Is Shutting Down Because of Reddit's API Policy

Christian Selig posted an update on the r/apolloapp, which confirmed the shutting down of the famed app that has operated without a fee for eight years.

Apollo can still be used until June 30, the final day of its operations, but after that, users who use the app for their Reddit experience will no longer be able to access it. This news comes after Reddit changed the price for using the company's Application Programming Interface or API.

The new pricing would reportedly cost Apollo $20 million annually to continue operating its business, which the indie developer could not afford. According to Selig, the price that Reddit gave him "was $0.24 for 1,000 API calls."

"I quickly inputted this in my app, and saw that it was not far off Twitter's outstandingly high API prices, at $12,000, and with my current usage, would cost almost $2 million dollars per month, or over $20 million per year," Selig wrote in his post on Reddit.

He added that going from a free API for eight years to "suddenly incurring massive costs" is not something he can feasibly do in only 30 days.

"That's a lot of users to migrate, plans to create, things to test, and to get through app review, and it's just not economically feasible. It's much cheaper for me to simply shut down," Selig added.

Reddit's API Charges: Other Apps to Shut Down Too

While Apollo may be one of the most famous apps to shut down because of the price change, it is not alone, The Verge reported.

The rif is fun for Reddit (previously Reddit is Fun), ReddPlanet, and Sync also announced Thursday that they would also be shutting down on June 30. Some of the biggest communities in Reddit even reportedly plan to go dark for two days in protest.

Reddit's Case Similar to Twitter

Reddit's announcement of its change in its API access policy has shaken the world of the social news aggregator website, particularly to those who have developed apps and services over the years without a charge.

It was similar to Twitter's action to make more money by introducing new pricing tiers for those using its API. Twitter stopped offering free API access and launched a paid basic tier last February 9.