Why X Premium costs more on iPhone than on the web

X sells the same subscription at two prices: one in the iPhone app, billed by Apple, and one on x.com, billed by X. Unlike most subscriptions we checked, every X tier costs more in the app.

The prices, side by side

US prices on 9 October 2026. The app prices are the ones Apple lists on the X App Store page under In-App Purchases; the web prices are the ones in the X Premium FAQ, which lists them as starting prices before any applicable tax.

Plan	In the iPhone app	On the web	Difference
Basic, monthly	$4.00	$3.00	+33%
Basic, yearly	$42.00	$32.00	+31%
Premium, monthly	$11.00	$8.00	+37.5%
Premium, yearly	$114.99	$84.00	+37%
Premium+, monthly	$50.00	$40.00	+25%
Premium+, yearly	$490.00	$395.00	+24%

The cheapest way to pay for Premium is yearly on the web: $84. The most expensive is monthly in the app: $132 over twelve months. Same subscription, $48 apart.

X says so itself

This is not a hidden markup. X’s help center states that prices differ on iOS and Android because of app store fees, and its advice is plain: “To get the lowest price, purchase your subscription via web.”

Apple takes a commission on subscriptions sold inside an iOS app. Most companies we checked absorb it: when we compared 22 subscriptions, 19 cost the same in the app and on the web. X is one of three that pass it on, with Claude and YouTube Premium.

How to check which one you pay

Open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions. If X Premium is on that list, Apple bills you at the app price. If it is not, X bills you on the web.

How to move to the web price

1. Cancel the Apple subscription in Settings, your name, Subscriptions. X asks for this at least 24 hours before the renewal to avoid another charge.
2. Keep your checkmark until the term ends. X says it stays until the end of the period you paid for.
3. Subscribe on x.com with the same account once that period ends.

Cancelling does not refund what you already paid. X says its subscriptions are non-refundable unless the law requires it, and that refund questions about app purchases go to Apple directly.

The trade you make

A subscription bought on x.com is billed by X, so it disappears from Settings, your name, Subscriptions. It keeps renewing, and the charge lands on your card without a reminder from your phone.

If you switch, write it down with its renewal date, and while you are at it, check what other subscriptions you have that never show up on your phone either. Kelo keeps that list on iPhone without connecting to your bank and warns you before each charge. Kelo is not affiliated with X.