Facebook charges $50 monthly for eight links, leaving government pages and small nonprofits to count their clicks

Resident-facing Facebook pages for a Texas city and a small Indianapolis pet charity have run out of their monthly link allotments. The pages, which identify as government and nonprofit entities, were told they must pay to add more URLs to their posts. The new costs range from $50 to $150 per month for basic access, a shift that contradicts earlier assurances from Meta that these sectors would not be affected.

Daniel Starks, communications manager for Greenville, Texas, oversees nearly a dozen city pages. The city has a population of roughly 35,000. His library page, which was previously verified as a government building, received a notice limiting it to two links per month. Both slots were used. To post additional links, the city would need to purchase a Meta One subscription starting at $50. Starks noted that more than half of the city's communication relies on directing residents to its website.

Starks instructed staff to place URLs in the comments section rather than the main post body to avoid the fee. He also created a graphic to inform followers of the change. He described the situation as a problem for an official entity trying to share important information while facing a paywall for a basic function.

Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, encountered a similar barrier last week. The group, which has just under 1,000 followers, organizes pet food pantries. English found her two monthly links were already used, preventing her from adding a website link to a post about an upcoming event. An upgrade to a plan allowing 20 links would cost her $150. She is considering using dedicated Facebook events or asking board members to share links from their personal profiles, which remain exempt from the restrictions.

Meta has tested paid link sharing for nearly a year. The feature is now bundled with its Meta One subscription tiers. The $14.99 tier includes no extra Facebook links. The $49.99 tier allows eight links per month, the $149.99 tier allows 20, and the $499.99 tier offers unlimited access. Jeff Bannister, marketing manager at SparkPoint, a North Carolina nonprofit, called the $50 price for eight links "crazy." He said the return on investment "seems almost negative" and is looking for ways to help local groups share information independently of the platform.

Confusion persists among users regarding the rules. Some pages could post links in comments while others could not. Meta's help center pages do not explicitly state that the link restriction is a test. A spokesperson said Meta is testing whether link sharing should be part of the subscription and will adjust based on feedback. On October 23, 2026, the spokesperson added that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section to be recognized by Meta's systems. It is unclear why other organizations using the status or Meta's fundraising tools are not identified.

David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was informed of the limit days before his annual event in Sacramento. He was quoted a monthly rate of $40 for eight links, $119 for 20, or $399 for unlimited. The restriction was removed this week without an explanation. Diskin said the fix came after his group's major fundraiser had already concluded.

The $50 tier for eight links appears to be the standard entry point for government and nonprofit pages hitting the cap. The city of Greenville and the East Side Pawject both face this baseline cost if they wish to maintain their current posting habits. The company has not provided a timeline for when the test will end or when the exemption for verified public sector pages will be fully implemented.