In 2022, Snap launched a paid subscription to its service called Snapchat Plus. It offered early access to features and priority support.

Here’s everything you need to know about the service, including what it is, why you might consider it, and how to subscribe.

What is Snapchat Plus?

Snapchat Plus is the paid version of Snapchat’s social network, which gives subscribers early access to experimental features like exclusive icons and pinning conversations. The company confirmed in January that more than 2 million people have paid for its service, which is a $3.99 per month subscription plan.

Snapchat Plus is currently available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. If you reside in any of these countries, you should be able to use the service on your iPhone or Android devices.

It is worth noting that Snapchat joins a growing list of social networks that have rolled out premium subscription services in recent times. Twitter launched its Twitter Blue service, WhatsApp announced WhatsApp Premium, and Telegram made Telegram Premium available.

👉 Bonus: How to get verified on Twitter? Tips to get successfully verified

👉 Bonus: How to get verified on TikTok in 2023? The essential guide

But Snapchat does not expect its subscription service to overtake ads as its main source of revenue.

Jacob Andreou, Snap’s SVP of Product stated as much in an interview with The Verge:

“The company doesn’t anticipate the new subscription service to be a significant revenue source. Ads are going to be at the core of our business model for the long future.”

So even if you pay for Snapchat Plus, you’d still receive ads on the platform.

What additional features do you get in Snapchat Plus?

Snapchat Plus subscription targets heavy users of the platform, or according to Jacob Andreou, the people who spend their most time communicating with their closest friends on Snap. These users get to try out new experimental features before regular Snapchat users see them.

Therefore, the features present in Snapchat Plus are expected to change over time. Going forward, “single-playerish” features (features that involve only one user) will likely remain exclusive to Plus subscribers. But features that rely on interactions will be released to general users too.

Currently, some additional features Snapchat Plus subscribers will get include:

• Priority story replies
  
• Pin a BFF
  
• Custom camera options
  
• Chat wallpapers
  
• Post view emoji
  
• Custom story expiration
  
• Ghost Trails
  
• Custom notification sounds
  
• Exclusive Bitmoji backgrounds
  
• Custom app icons

Priority story replies

As a Snapchat Plus subscriber, your replies to other users’ stories will be more visible to them.

Pin a BFF

As the name suggests, this feature allows you to pick one Snap user as your BFF, saving your conversation with this user at the top of your chats.

Only you can see this pin–your BFF will not receive any notification.

Custom camera option

You can also personalize the way you capture images and videos with new animated capture buttons.

Instead of tapping the old yellow circle over and over again, your capture button can be transformed into a fidget spinner, a football, or even a dancing heart.

Chat wallpapers

Chat wallpapers feature lets you choose the backdrop for your chats. You can use one of Snap’s pre-made wallpapers or a shot from your camera roll to set the stage for your chats.

Post view emoji

Post view emoji lets you pick an emoji you want your friends to see after they view your snaps.

🔥 Worth reading: Snapchat emoji meanings: What you need to know in 2023

Custom story expiration

Snapchat Plus subscribers can also set how long they want their stories to last, whether it is one hour or one week. This means you can keep engaging content visible for much longer.

Ghost Trails

Ghost Trails lets you see where your friends have been in the last 24 hours. There’s one (or two) catch though. You can only see Ghost Trails for friends who share their location with you and have access to Snapchat Plus in their country.

Custom notification sounds

You can also set different notification sounds for different friends so you can know who sent you a snap without looking at your phone.

Exclusive Bitmoji background

Despite not being a Snap-native feature, bitmoji is widely used on the platform. Snapchat Plus allows users to give their Bitmojis special backgrounds like gleaming gold or beach paradise.

Custom app icons

With custom app icons, you can change your homescreen Snapchat app icon with new standout designs. You have over 30 custom icons to select from.

Snapchat plus pricing details

Snapchat Plus costs $3.99 per month. This gives you access to the exclusive features mentioned above.

How to sign up for Snapchat Plus

As mentioned earlier, Snapchat Plus is only available in certain countries. If you don’t live in these countries, you will have to wait until the service expands to your country.

If you do however and you want to sign up for Snapchat Plus, here’s how to do so.

• Open Snapchat and go to your profile page by tapping your profile icon. If Snapchat Plus supports your territory, you’ll see a gold-tinted banner that advertises it. If you don’t see any banners, then Snapchat Plus isn’t in your country.
  
• Tap the banner and select the term of your subscription. You can get started with a 7-day free trial to test run the service.

Your payment method depends on the type of device you use. You can pay via Google account, Apple ID, or your linked debit or credit cards.

You can also turn each feature on or off. This means that you don’t have to use all of the service’s features. Choose which ones you want and turn the others off.

FAQs