$50: The new monthly fee for a third Facebook link that hits city libraries and small nonprofits

Daniel Starks received a notification on the Greenville, Texas, library's Facebook page this week. The alert stated the account could add links to only two posts per month, and both allowances had already been used. To share another URL, the city must purchase a Meta One subscription starting at $50 per month. The library page is verified as a government building, yet the restriction applies.

Starks oversees nearly a dozen city pages for a municipality of approximately 35,000 residents. More than half of the city's digital communication relies on directing residents to its website. Upon receiving the notice, Starks instructed staff to stop placing direct links in the main body of posts. Instead, URLs are now included in the comment sections. He also created a graphic to inform followers of the change. "When you have an official governmental entity that is trying to get out in some instances very, very, important information, and we're being paywalled by Facebook all because we're trying to post a link, that's a problem," Starks said.

Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, encountered a similar barrier last week. The small nonprofit organizes pet food pantries and maintains a Facebook page with just under 1,000 followers. The group uses the platform to help neighbors locate pantries, donate, and volunteer. English attempted to add a website link to a post about an upcoming event but found her monthly limit was exhausted. The "expert" plan, which permits 20 links per month, costs $150. English is currently considering creating dedicated Facebook events or asking board members to share links from their personal profiles, which are exempt from the restrictions.

Meta has experimented with paid linking for nearly a year. The feature was initially introduced under Meta Verified and is now part of the Meta One plans. The entry-level tier costs $14.99 per month and does not include extra Facebook link sharing. The $49.99 tier allows eight links per month, the $149.99 tier allows 20, and the $499.99 tier offers unlimited links.

Jeff Bannister, marketing manager at SparkPoint, a North Carolina nonprofit focused on public health in Transylvania County, called the $50 price for eight links "crazy." He described the return on investment as "almost negative." Bannister is exploring ways for local organizations to share information directly to reduce reliance on Facebook, though he noted that much of the county remains active on the platform.

Interviewees reported confusion regarding the specific rules. Some users can post links in comments while others cannot. Meta's help center pages do not explicitly state that the link restriction is a test. The company describes Meta One as unlocking specialized capabilities and AI features. However, adding a URL to a post is a basic function of Facebook that does not require AI tokens.

David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was notified of the limit earlier this month, days before the group's annual civic engagement event in Sacramento. He was quoted prices of $40 for eight links, $119 for 20, or $399 for unlimited. The restriction was lifted this week without explanation. "It wasn't until after our big fundraiser had passed that they fixed the problem," Diskin said.

A Meta spokesperson said the company is testing whether sharing links on Facebook should be part of the Meta One subscription. In an update on October 23, the spokesperson explained that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section of their Facebook page for the system to recognize their status. It remains unclear why organizations that state their status elsewhere or use Meta's fundraising tools are not automatically identified.

Meta will continue to evolve the experience based on feedback. The company has not announced a timeline for when the test will conclude or expand.