# Which social media APIs are free to use?
URL: https://skedcast.com/developers/guides/free-social-media-api

A platform's own developer API can be free to call, and a third-party unified layer can have its own pricing on top of it. Those are two separate questions, and the answer differs by platform.

## Free API access, platform by platform
Platform | Is the developer API itself free?
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) | Free to register and call within rate limits. Permissions beyond your own assets go through Meta's app review.
X (Twitter) | X's API tiers and prices change often. Check X's developer portal for what a free tier includes today.
LinkedIn | Access to the posting APIs is granted through LinkedIn's partner programs. Check LinkedIn's developer documentation for current terms.
TikTok | Free to register. Using the Content Posting API requires TikTok's app review and terms.
YouTube Data API | Free within a daily quota. Google's quota page lists the default for a new project as 10,000 units a day for most calls, with a separate daily limit for video uploads, and Google can grant a project more. Read your own project's figures in the Google Cloud console.
Pinterest | Free developer registration and API access within documented rate limits.
Telegram (Bot API) | Free. There is no registration fee.
Bluesky (AT Protocol) | Free and open. The protocol has no gatekeeping fee.
Google Business Profile | No fee to call. Google grants access to the Business Profile APIs per project, so check Google's developer documentation for current terms.

## What a unified layer adds, and what it costs
Even where every platform API is free, building and maintaining a separate integration per platform is real, ongoing engineering cost: OAuth per platform, rate-limit handling, media processing to each platform's requirements, and webhook parsing. A unified API like SkedCast's doesn't make the underlying platforms cheaper. It replaces that integration cost with one plan and one contract.
SkedCast has a permanent Free plan. API keys and the REST API are included from Studio, and MCP access for AI clients from Solo. See the pricing page for the current plans. If your use case is a single platform at light volume, calling that platform's own free API directly may be simpler and cheaper. A unified layer earns its cost once you maintain more than one or two integrations, or need scheduling, approvals and analytics on top of posting.

## FAQ
**Q: Does API access cost extra?**
A: No separate fee. API keys and the REST API are included from Studio, and MCP access for AI clients from Solo. See the pricing page for the current plans.