Greenville, Texas, library hits two link cap after Meta charges $50 for eight monthly posts
City and nonprofit administrators report that Facebook is restricting free link sharing despite previous assurances that public agencies would be exempt from the new pricing tiers.
By Natalia Costa ·
Daniel Starks, the communications manager for Greenville, Texas, manages nearly a dozen official Facebook pages for a city of approximately 35,000 residents. His team recently discovered that the page for the city library was limited to adding links to only two posts per month. Both of those slots were already filled. To post more links, the city now requires a Meta One subscription costing at least $50 per month, according to Starks.
The library page was previously verified by Meta and is categorized as a government building. Starks noted that more than half of the city’s digital communication involves directing residents to information on its website. Fearing that other city pages would face similar restrictions, he instructed staff to move URLs into the comment sections of posts rather than the main body text. 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.
Small nonprofits are encountering the same barriers. Bethany English, co-president of the East Side Pawject in Indianapolis, manages a page with just under 1,000 followers that organizes pet food pantries. Last week, she found she could not add a website link to a post about an upcoming event because her two free monthly links were exhausted. An "expert" plan that allows 20 links per month would cost her organization $150. English is considering using dedicated Facebook events or asking board members to share links from their personal profiles, which are currently exempt from the restrictions.
Meta has tested paid linking features for nearly a year. The company first introduced these limits through Meta Verified before incorporating them into its AI-focused Meta One plans. The $14.99 monthly tier does not include extra Facebook link sharing. The $49.99 tier permits eight links per month, the $149.99 tier allows 20, and only the $499.99 tier offers unlimited links.
Jeff Bannister, marketing manager for the North Carolina nonprofit SparkPoint, described the cost of eight links for $50 as "crazy." He said the return on investment for many small organizations "seems almost negative." Bannister is exploring ways for local nonprofits to share information directly to reduce reliance on the platform, though he noted that much of Transylvania County still uses Facebook for community updates.
Confusion over the rules remains high among page administrators. Some users can post links in comments while others cannot, and Meta’s help center pages do not explicitly state that the link restriction is a temporary test. David Diskin, president of California Freethought Day, was notified of the limit earlier this month, just days before an annual civic engagement event in Sacramento. He was quoted prices of $40 per month for eight links, $119 for 20, or $399 for unlimited. Meta lifted the restriction for his page this week without explanation. "It wasn't until after our big fundraiser had passed that they fixed the problem," Diskin said.
A Meta spokesperson stated that the company is testing whether link sharing should be part of the Meta One subscription. In an update on October 23, 2026, the spokesperson explained that pages must list "nonprofit" in the category section of their Facebook page for the company’s systems to recognize them. It is not yet clear why organizations that state their status elsewhere or use Meta’s fundraising tools are not automatically identified as exempt.
