How do you set up a Twitter for business account on X?
Create an ordinary X account for the company, fill in the profile, then convert it to a Professional Account. X's Professional Accounts help page says converting is completely free and that, for now, you can only convert an existing account, so you don't sign up for a business account separately. These steps come from X's help pages, checked 4 November 2026.
Sign up with a company email
On desktop, X's sign-up help page says to go to x.com/signup, click the sign-up button, enter a name and an email address or phone number, then click Next; X sends an email or a text message with a code to verify it. An email address can be linked to only one X account at a time, so use a shared company address rather than one already tied to a personal account.
Pick the handle
Your username is the handle people use to reply, mention and message you, and it forms your profile URL. The same page says usernames must be fewer than 15 characters, and you can change yours later if the new one isn't taken.
Complete the profile
Go to your profile and choose Edit profile, on x.com or in the iOS or Android app. X's profile help page recommends a 400x400 pixel profile photo and a 1500x500 header, and caps the bio at 160 characters. It also says the birth date must be that of the person operating the account. A name, bio and profile picture are required before you can switch to Professional. Our free X bio generator turns your role, audience and proof into five drafts, each counted against the 160 characters.
Switch to Professional
In the X app, swipe open the sidebar from the Home timeline and select X for Professionals, or scroll your profile settings to Switch to Professional. Select Get Started, choose a category (search if yours isn't listed), select Next, choose Business, then Next.
Finish the setup prompts
The last screen offers Customize your profile (turn on the category and Professional Profile), Pick Topics to follow, Promote a post, or Skip for now. Then pin your best post: open its menu at the top of the post, select Pin to your profile, and confirm.
To undo the switch, the help page says to go to your profile, select Edit Profile, then Edit Professional Profile, then Switch Account Type, and pick the account type you want.
What does a free X Professional Account include?
A category on your profile, Profile Spotlights, an analytics hub called Professional Home, and access to Quick Promote for X Ads, according to the same Professional Accounts page. Here is what each does, with our view for a small B2B team:
| Feature | What X's page says | Our view for B2B |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Category | Shows what kind of professional you are, on your profile | Turn it on; it takes a minute |
| Location Spotlight | Address on a small map, optional opening hours, and a contact button for a call, text, X DM or email | Useful if clients visit an office |
| Shop Spotlight | A product carousel at the top of the profile, for some qualifying accounts | Rarely relevant to B2B services |
| Professional Home | Analytics for the past 28 days and resources; first version on desktop, not yet available to all users | Check it weekly if you have it |
| Quick Promote | Promotes a post through X Ads | Only once you have an ad budget |
Two quirks on the page are worth knowing before you go looking for a feature. It says Professional Accounts offer four spotlights but names three (Location, Shop and Link). It labels Location Spotlight US only in one place and says it is available to professionals globally in another. The page also says X has no immediate plans to build Professional Account targeting.
Eligibility is short: no history of repeatedly breaking the X User Agreement, a complete profile, and an identity that is clearly yours; parody and fan accounts are not eligible. X's Professional Account policy adds that for conduct violations X may limit how far algorithmic recommendations carry your account to people who don't follow you, or pause or revoke Professional features and advertising.
Do you need Premium Business or a gold checkmark?
Only if a gold checkmark and priority support are worth at least $200 a month to you, or affiliate badges for your staff at least $1,000 a month, since Basic has no affiliates. The Professional Accounts page lists no checkmark among its tools. The gold checkmark comes with Premium Business, the paid plan that X's old Verified Organizations help address now redirects to (checked 4 November 2026). Prices before tax and fees, checked 4 November 2026; X gives the Premium Business prices for the US, and The X Subscription page gives list prices:
| Option | Price | What X lists | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Account | Free | Category, spotlights, Professional Home, Quick Promote | Every company account |
| Premium Business Basic | $200 a month or $2,000 a year | Gold checkmark, priority support, Premium+ benefits, Radar Basic; for a limited time, $200 a month or $2,500 a year of ad credit | You will spend on X ads anyway |
| Premium Business Full Access | $1,000 a month or $10,000 a year, plus $50 a month or $600 a year per additional affiliate | Adds affiliate badges for staff, VIP support, Radar Pro and the option to acquire handles, if available; for a limited time, $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year of ad credit | Several people post for the brand |
| Plus on The X Subscription, for the founder | $8 a month or $80 a year | A checkmark, creator tools and fewer ads on X, on a personal account | The founder is the face of the company |
Worked example. Northwind Ltd, a sample company, wants Full Access with its founder and two salespeople as affiliates. The page doesn't say whether any affiliate seat is included, so assume all three are charged. Monthly: $1,000 + (3 x $50) = $1,150 a month, or $13,800 a year. Annual: $10,000 + (3 x $600) = $11,800, which saves $2,000. On Basic, paying yearly costs $2,000 against $2,400 for twelve monthly payments, a $400 saving, but Basic has no affiliates. The ad credit only counts if you use it: credits on monthly plans must be activated and used within 30 days of issue, on yearly plans within 90 days, and unused credit is lost if you cancel, upgrade or downgrade.
Before paying, check the rules that catch small teams:
- Organisations only. Sign-up needs the matching X account, a current organisation email address and a current website domain. Personal accounts aren't allowed, with case-by-case exceptions for businesses built around a personal brand, and accounts that aren't organisations won't be refunded.
- The checkmark waits for review. You get Premium+ benefits once you pay, and the gold checkmark after X approves the account.
- Cancelling is immediate. The gold checkmark goes at once, affiliates lose their badges, and the rest of the billing period isn't refunded. You can't downgrade from Full Access to Basic; you cancel and subscribe again.
- The $8 plan can't go on the company account. The X Subscription's page for X Premium customers says only personal X accounts can be connected, not accounts managed by an organisation.
If you are weighing the founder's own checkmark instead, our post on what X Premium buys a small account works through that decision.
How do you give your team access without sharing the password?
Use X Delegate. The account owner invites colleagues as admins or contributors, and nobody else needs the password, according to X's Delegate help page (checked 4 November 2026). Set it up on x.com, logged in as the company account:
- Click Your account in the navigation bar.
- Select Security and account access, then X Delegate, then Invite a member.
- Type the person's name or @username, choose contributor or admin, and click Send invite.
- The invitee gets an email and an invitation in Delegate on x.com, and must accept it.
| Role | What X says it can do | Give it to |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Manage the password, phone number and login verification; invite admins and contributors; post, DM, schedule and delete posts | The founder, on the company email |
| Admin | Invite others, act for the account, view post analytics | One person who runs social |
| Contributor | Post, repost, DM, like, schedule and delete posts; can't manage the team | Everyone else who posts or answers DMs |
Three details from the help pages matter here. X says account owners are responsible for what admins and contributors post. Changing the password doesn't remove delegates, and X encourages owners to change it so only they know it. X Pro has its own teams feature with the same three roles and up to 200 members; its page says team features are only available in X Pro, while the Delegate page says invitations are set up on x.com. If the password was ever shared, X's teams page suggests removing anyone who shouldn't have access, changing the password and reviewing authorised apps at x.com/settings/applications.
Naming one person per type of DM is the same rule that keeps any shared inbox working; our guide to a shared inbox that doesn't drop enquiries explains why visibility isn't ownership.
Can a business account send automatic replies or DMs?
Only within X's automation rules (updated April 2026), which say advertisers, publishers and brands using auto-response campaigns must request approval from X first. That holds even though the Premium Business page pitches its higher post, DM and media upload limits for running auto-response campaigns.
The same rules set the bar for intent:
- An automated reply needs a clear sign the person wants one, such as replying to your post, sending you a DM, or mentioning your account in a way that asks for a response. A user following you is not, on its own, a sufficient sign.
- Being technically able to receive your DM, because they follow you or accept messages from anyone, doesn't necessarily mean someone expects automated DMs from you.
- Automated likes aren't allowed at all.
- Any AI-powered reply bot needs X's prior written and explicit approval.
The page also tells users they are ultimately responsible for actions taken with their account or by apps connected to it. For a business account with three delegates and a scheduling tool, that responsibility sits with the owner.
Should the company account or the founder do the talking?
Both can, if each has a distinct job. X's authenticity policy (April 2025) allows up to ten accounts for different, non-duplicative purposes, and lists accounts for your business among them. It does not allow cross-posting substantially similar content across your accounts (translations are fine), or running several accounts to engage with the same posts or amplify one of your own accounts.
| Job | Better from | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Launches, product updates, hiring posts | Company account | The Premium Business portal's Hiring tab can feature jobs on your profile |
| Opinions and replies in niche threads | Founder account | Only a personal account can take the $8 Plus checkmark |
| Cold first messages (message requests) | Either, depending on plan | Message requests per 24 hours: Free 7, Premium 35, Premium Plus 75, Premium Business 500 |
| Support and order questions | Company account | Delegates can answer without the password |
The message request caps come from X's Chat help page; our guide to the X DM limit explains how they sit alongside the 500-a-day DM cap. Write separate posts for each account rather than posting the same text from both.
If the founder account is where the daily posting and replying needs to happen, Siela's X Growth agent posts in your voice from your own X account on the cadence you set, and can show you every post first. This week: create or convert the company account, send the delegate invites, and fill in the access sheet above.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Twitter business account free?
Yes, the basic version is. X's help centre says converting an existing account to a Professional Account is completely free, and that gives you a category label, Profile Spotlights, Professional Home and Quick Promote. The paid layer is Premium Business, which adds the gold checkmark from $200 a month on Basic or $1,000 a month on Full Access in the US, as of 4 November 2026.
Can you create a new X professional account from scratch?
No. X's Professional Accounts page says that at this time you can only convert an existing X account. Sign up for an ordinary account with the company email first, add a name, bio and profile picture, and then run the Switch to Professional flow in the app. The conversion itself takes a few screens: category, then Business or Creator.
How do you switch an X professional account back to personal?
X says you can convert back at any time. Go to your profile, select Edit Profile, then Edit Professional Profile, then Switch Account Type, and choose the type you want from the menu. Professional tools such as Spotlights and Professional Home are tied to the Professional Account type.
What is the difference between a gold and a blue checkmark on X?
Gold marks an organisation on Premium Business, which also gives businesses a square avatar. In the Premium Business portal, affiliated people must be labelled as individuals with a blue checkmark, and affiliated organisations with gold. A founder can get a checkmark on a personal account through Plus on The X Subscription, at a list price of $8 a month.
Can I use the same email for my personal and business X accounts?
No. X's sign-up help page says an email address can be associated with only one X account at a time. Give the company account its own address that the business controls, so access doesn't leave with one person. X's authenticity policy allows up to ten accounts for different, non-duplicative purposes, including business accounts.
Can a business account earn money on X?
It can apply. X's Original Content Rewards page lists a Personal or Business Account as eligible, but not political or government organisations. The account also needs a qualifying subscription, at least 500 verified followers and 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the last 90 days, with replies excluded. Payouts are based on qualified impressions from Premium users.
Sources
- X Help Center: Signing up with X (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: How to customize your profile (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Professional Accounts (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Professional account policy (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Premium Business (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- The X Subscription docs: X Premium customers (updated 12 Oct 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- The X Subscription docs: Pricing (updated 11 Oct 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: How to use the Delegate feature (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: How to use the Teams feature on X Pro (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Automation rules (updated April 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Authenticity (April 2025; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: About Chat (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- X Help Center: Original Content Rewards (checked 4 Nov 2026)