Microsoft to implement sharp increases to the cost of Bing Search API

Today, Microsoft has announced that it will be raising the costs for developers utilising the Bing Search API starting from 1st May 2023, and the rise is quite substantial in a move that shows some similarities to what Twitter has recently announced.

Microsoft stated the following when talking about the price increases:

"The existing Microsoft Bing Search APIs will increase in price effective May 1, 2023. The price increase will apply to all markets. Starting May 1, 2023., you’ll be charged the new price for all Microsoft Bing APIs. We periodically assess the value and pricing of our services to meet market demands and align the pricing of our products and services with customer consumption trends and preferences. The new pricing model reflects more accurately the technology investments Bing continues to make to improve Search. The following tables reflect the new prices."

You can find the full pricing model below. However, Microsoft has not gone out of its way to emphasise the differences between the previous and new models, which is not surprising given that some tiers have increased by 1000 percent.

For example, the $1 tier, allowing for 250 transactions per second (TPS), and access to Bing Web Search, Image Search, News Search, Video Search, and Entity Search, as well as Autosuggest and Spell Check, is currently $7 per 25,000 transactions. This will eventually increase to $25. If you include the optional Bing Statistics Add-in, which costs $1 per 1,000 transactions at the moment, you will need to pay $10 come May.

Microsoft to implement sharp increases to the cost of Bing Search API