Reddit app Narwhal launches $4 per month subscription after API changes

Narwhal, a Reddit third-party app, comes with a $4 per month subscription to use the app. The developer is introducing this because of the API changes that Reddit implemented earlier this year. The subscription will be released in one to two weeks.

Narwhal creator det0ur shares details about the upcoming subscription a post on Reddit. The developer reports that the Reddit client, which is only available for iOS, will soon be available exclusively with the paid subscription. Users with such a subscription will not see advertisements in the app. The subscription will be available ‘in one to two weeks’, the developer confirms to a user. A more specific availability date has not yet been announced.

Developers behind third-party apps for Reddit have been forced to introduce paid subscriptions due to changes to the Reddit API. The platform now charges developers of such apps money for using that API. “Reddit is now charging a significant fee to use the API to run Narwhal,” det0ur wrote. “This fee is in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, per month depending on how many people subscribe. The sole purpose of this subscription is to cover the cost of using the API.”

Det0ur previously announced that it would introduce a subscription for Narwhal due to the API changes. The developer previously wanted to introduce different subscription options, which ranged from $3 to $12 per month and gave users a certain number of API calls. If their usage exceeded those calls, they could purchase additional calls. Ultimately, however, the developer opted for a simpler subscription, at a fixed rate of $4 per month.

Several Reddit applications have shut down in recent months due to changes Reddit made to its API. This includes, for example, Apollo, Sync and BaconReader. Some other apps, such as Relay and Now, now also have subscriptions to continue using their clients.