What Is Snapchat Plus? A Plain-English Guide to Snap's Paid Subscription

So, what is Snapchat Plus? Written as Snapchat+, it's Snap's paid subscription. It unlocks exclusive features, early access to experimental tools, and on the Platinum tier fewer ads. Think of it as the "power user" layer sitting on top of the free app.

Now let's get into what that actually means in practice.

What is Snapchat Plus, exactly?

Snap launched Snapchat+ in mid-2022. The pitch was simple: charge a small monthly fee, hand subscribers a set of perks the free app doesn't get, and use that as a second revenue line alongside ads.

As reported by TechCrunch, the service rolled out at $3.99 per month across the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. It worked.

Within months it had a couple of million subscribers, and the lineup has grown steadily since.

In practice, most people who pay for it fall into one of two camps.

Either they're heavy daily users who want more control over the app, or they want the new stuff before everyone else. Snap's own product leadership has said as much in past interviews the subscription is aimed at the people who already spend the most time on Snap.

What's often overlooked is that Snapchat+ isn't a single product anymore. It's a small family of plans.

The Snapchat+ tiers (what most guides skip)

Snap quietly expanded the subscription into a tiered structure. Depending on your country, you may see one, two, or all three of these in your settings.

Plan	Main appeal	Ads	Availability
Snapchat+ (Standard)	Full feature set + early access	Still shown	Widely available where Snapchat+ is supported
Snapchat+ Platinum	Removes Sponsored Snaps, Story ads, and Lens ads	Most ads removed	Select regions only
Lens+	Exclusive AR and generative AI Lenses	Ads still shown	Select regions only

A small detail worth knowing: Platinum removes most ads but not necessarily every promoted surface in the app. Snap has been careful with the wording on this, and that's deliberate ad placements can change.

Industry watchers tracking subscription apps generally treat this kind of tiering as the norm now. According to CNBC, Snap joined a wave of platforms Twitter, Telegram, and others experimenting with paid tiers as a way to diversify revenue beyond advertising. Spotify did it. YouTube did it. Snap is just following the same playbook.

Snapchat Plus features, grouped sensibly

The official feature list runs past thirty items, which gets messy fast. Grouping them helps.

Personalization

These are the ones people notice first. Custom App Icon (over thirty options to swap the home screen icon). Custom App Themes. Chat Wallpapers, including AI-generated ones.

Custom Chat Colors. Custom Notification Sounds and Custom Ringtone Sounds, so you can tell who's snapping you without looking. Bitmoji Backgrounds, plus exclusive Bitmoji pet and car options.

Friendship and social

#1 Best Friend lets you pin one person to the top of your chats quietly, they don't get notified. Extended Best Friends List. Friend Solar System, which assigns your eight closest friends to planets based on closeness.

Peek a Peek, which shows when someone's actively looking at your chat. Story View Notifications. Snapscore change notifications, so you can see when a friend's score moves.

Stories and snaps

Custom Story Expiration (run a Story for an hour or up to a week instead of the default 24 hours). Story Boost, which extends a private Story's reach for 24 hours you get one per week. Story Rewatch Indicator. Story Timestamps.

Replay Again and Replay Your Own Snaps. Post View Emoji, which displays an emoji after a friend views your snap. Priority Story Replies. Lightning Snaps, Instant Streaks, and Streak Restore the last one is genuinely useful if you've ever lost a long streak by mistake.

AI and creative

This is the newer corner of the subscription. AI Captions. AI Creative Tools. Generative Chat Wallpapers. Generative Profile Backgrounds.

The ability to write a custom Bio for My AI. These features arrive and evolve frequently, so what's listed today may shift in a few months.

Identity and status

Snapchat+ Badge, the small ✪ next to your name. Snapscore Multiplier, which speeds up how fast your score grows. Home Tab. And Gift Snapchat+, which lets you give a 12-month subscription to a friend who isn't already paying.

One honest caveat: not every feature lands in every region simultaneously, and Snap rotates some in and out. The in-app Snapchat+ menu is the only fully current list.

How much does Snapchat Plus cost?

Pricing isn't fixed globally. Snap charges different amounts based on country, device, and which plan you pick. The price displayed in your app under Profile → Settings → Snapchat+ — is the actual price you'll pay.

There's also a 7-day free trial on first sign-up in most regions, though it auto-converts into a paid subscription unless you cancel before it ends.

Teams running subscription apps generally find that pricing transparency varies by store policy, which is why Snap defers to the in-app number rather than publishing a single global rate.

Practical tip: open the app and check before assuming a price you read online is current.

Where is Snapchat Plus available?

Officially confirmed regions include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Snap has been expanding availability gradually, so the safest check is opening Profile → Settings and looking for the Snapchat+ row. If it isn't there, it isn't available for your account yet.

How to subscribe to Snapchat Plus

The flow is short:

Open Snapchat.
Tap your Bitmoji or profile icon (top left).
Look for the gold-tinted Snapchat+ banner at the top of your profile.
Tap it and pick a plan — monthly or annual.
Start the free trial if you're eligible, or confirm payment.

Payment runs through whichever store your phone uses Apple ID on iPhone, Google account on Android. You can also use a linked debit or credit card through those.

Once you're in, restart the app if you don't see the new options appear. Most features are toggle-based, so you can keep the ones you want and turn the rest off.

How to cancel Snapchat Plus

Cancellation isn't done inside Snapchat itself it goes through the store you paid through.

On iPhone: Open Settings → tap your name at the top → Subscriptions → Snapchat+ → Cancel Subscription.

On Android: Open the Google Play app → tap your profile → Payments and subscriptions → Subscriptions → Snapchat+ → Cancel.

After canceling, you keep your Snapchat+ features until the end of the current billing period. Then everything reverts to the standard free experience. If you don't cancel, the subscription auto-renews.

Conclusion

Snapchat Plus is Snap's paid subscription giving access to extra customization, identity perks, early features, and on the Platinum tier, fewer ads.

The right plan depends on what you actually want. Pricing varies by region the in-app menu is always the source of truth.

FAQs

Is Snapchat Plus the same as Snapchat Premium?

No. "Snapchat Premium" isn't an official product name. The official paid subscription is Snapchat+, with additional tiers like Snapchat+ Platinum and Lens+ available in some regions.

Does Snapchat Plus remove ads?

Only the Platinum tier does. It removes Sponsored Snaps, Story ads, and Lens ads. The standard Snapchat+ plan still shows ads in the app.

Is there a free trial for Snapchat Plus?

Yes most regions offer a 7-day free trial on first sign-up. It converts into a paid subscription automatically unless you cancel before the trial ends.

Can I gift Snapchat Plus to a friend?

Yes. The Gift Snapchat+ feature lets you buy a 12-month subscription for a friend who isn't already subscribed. It activates after any existing subscription on their account ends.

What happens to my features if I cancel?

You keep full access until the end of your current billing period. After that, your account returns to the standard free Snapchat experience. Your data and friends stay intact.