Twitter/X is selling ‘rare’ usernames for thousands—and sometimes millions—of dollars

Twitter/X has a unique problem.

After the departure of users following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media site (and again following his short stint with the The President administration), the site has a surplus of unused user names. Now it’s looking to capitalize on that.

The company has opened a waitlist for what it’s calling the “handle marketplace,” where it will sell abandoned and inactive usernames. But there’s a slight catch: To make a bid for one, you’ll likely need to be a Premium+ or Premium Business subscriber to the site.

Some handles will be effectively free, included in the cost of the subscription. But for “rare” handles, X is warning users the price tag could be steep. 

“Rare handles,” the company wrote in an FAQ about the marketplace, “may be priced anywhere from $2,500 to over seven figures, depending on demand and uniqueness.” It’s unclear if usernames X took away from active users (including @music and @sports) will be included in the sale.

Two types of “‘inactive’ handles will be made available,” the company said. “Priority” usernames will include “full names, multi-word phrases, or alphanumeric combinations.” Handles that have “short, generic, or culturally significant names” will be deemed “rare.”

If you’re considering signing up for a Premium+ or Premium Business subscription just to grab the name you want, then cancelling—much like streaming subscribers do when hot series roll out—you’re likely to be disappointed. If the username you choose is classified as “Priority,” you’ll only be allowed to keep it as long as you’re a subscriber. Once you cancel or downgrade, you’ll revert to your current username.

A Premium+ subscription on X.com costs $40 per month or $395 per year. Business subscriptions run from $2,000 per year (or $200 per month) to $10,000 (or $1,000 per month).

X has been looking for ways to boost revenues since Musk took over in 2022. While the company as a whole has not reported any financials, its U.K. division made a financial filing in April showing a 66.3% drop in revenue in the year following Musk’s takeover. Research firm EMarketer, however, projects that X’s U.S. digital ad revenue will jump 17.5% to $1.3 billion this year from $1.1 billion in 2024.

The distribution of “Rare” handles will be handled differently. The company says there will be “public drops” for some, which will be given away for free “based on merit,” with multiple users allowed to apply. The handle will be awarded based on the user’s engagement and “past contributions.” Users will not, seemingly, have to be a Premium+ or Premium Business subscriber to take part in these disbursements.

Other rare handles, though, will be sold at “fixed” prices via invitation and will require a subscription. The price, X says, will be “determined by a number of factors, including popularity of word, character length, and cultural significance.” Once purchased, buyers of these handles will keep them even if they cancel their subscription. Examples of Direct purchase usernames included @one, @fly, and @compute.

X said it’s hoping the handle marketplace will extend beyond the X world. “We are establishing a new standard for social media handles—a framework we hope the broader industry will adopt, similar to how Community Notes has influenced online transparency,” it wrote.

X’s sale of inactive usernames has been rumored for months. In April, a user spotted the framework for the “handle inquiry” process. Reselling usernames was something Musk began discussing as early as January of 2023, however, as part of his campaign of purging the site of inactive accounts.

X might stand alone right now in terms of reselling usernames, but it’s not the only company that’s thinning out inactive users. Google, in 2023, announced plans to do away with inactive Google accounts, deleting Gmail, Google Chat, Google Drive and other services that hadn’t been accessed for a long period of time (generally two years), saying those were more likely to be compromised by hackers.

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