Apollo is going out of business due to Reddit’s new pricing
Apollo's demise makes clear that there are no invincible bonds between tech partners
On 30 June, Apollo, one of the most popular third-party Reddit clients for iPhone, will shut down as a result of Reddit’s new pricing plan. Apollo would face an annual cost of $20 million to sustain its operations, which is an unmanageable burden for an independent developer.
Christian Selig, the creator of the app, was among the first to raise concerns about the consequences of Reddit’s revised API pricing for third-party Reddit apps. Selig pointed out that even if Apollo switched to a subscription-only model, it would still incur losses according to the new API regulations.
Other app developers have expressed similar worries, and the backlash from the community has led to a widespread protest across the site. Several prominent communities are planning to go offline temporarily to convey a message to Reddit’s leadership.
Initially, Reddit unveiled its intentions to modify the pricing of its API in an interview with The New York Times. The adjustment was presented as a measure to prevent Reddit’s extensive online community from being exploited by companies that utilise AI systems to analyse vast amounts of internet data. While Reddit has clarified that the intention was not to eliminate third-party apps, it remains challenging to envision a scenario where the price hikes would not have a detrimental impact on these apps.
Following Selig’s conversation with Reddit regarding pricing, he appeared to come to the realisation that continuing to operate the app as a sustainable business would be impractical. He expressed astonishment at the cost, noting that 50 million requests amounted to $12,000, a figure that far exceeded his expectations.
Considering that Apollo had made 7 billion requests in the previous month, the projected monthly cost would reach approximately 1.7 million dollars, or 20 million US dollars per year. Selig expressed profound disappointment with this pricing structure, particularly since Reddit had assured that the pricing would be reasonable and different from the approach adopted by Twitter.
