Summary:
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Snapchat is testing “Creator Subscriptions” for fans to pay for exclusive content from favorite personalities.
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Initial group of 15 creators will offer exclusive photos, videos, and subscriber-only Stories for paying fans.
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Creators can set monthly prices between $4.99 and $19.99, taking home approximately 60% of subscription revenue after fees.
Snapchat is making a big bet on its creators.
Snap announced Monday it is testing a new “Creator Subscriptions” feature that lets fans pay for exclusive access to their favorite Snapchat personalities — a move the company hopes will diversify its revenue as advertising headwinds and slowing user growth put pressure on the business.
The Los Angeles-based social media company is rolling out the feature to a small initial group of 15 creators, with roughly 10 more expected to join the U.S. test in coming weeks. Early participants include David Dobrik, Catherine Paiz, Harry Jowsey, Jeremiah Brown and Skai Jackson. Outreach is also underway in Canada, the United Kingdom and France.
Paying subscribers will receive exclusive content directly from creators — including photos and videos — along with access to a subscriber-only Story and the ability to send text replies that can appear at the top of a creator’s public Story.
Creators can set their own monthly price between $4.99 and $19.99. After platform fees, they’ll take home approximately 60% of subscription revenue.
“We want the next step in our long-term creator monetization journey to be one that’s really rooted in real relationships,” Jim Shepherd, Snap’s head of content partnerships, told CNBC.
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The launch comes as Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is pushing harder to build predictable income streams. The company reported 474 million daily active users last quarter — a drop of 3 million from the prior period. Its existing subscription offerings, Snapchat+ and Memories Storage Plans, grew 71% year over year to reach 24 million subscribers, but that hasn’t been enough to offset broader concerns.
Snap is entering a crowded space. Patreon, Substack and OnlyFans have built entire businesses around paid fan memberships, while YouTube and Meta have offered in-app subscription tools for years. YouTube gives creators 70% of membership revenue, while Meta currently lets creators keep 100% of subscription income after fees — a higher cut than Snap’s offering.
For now, Creator Subscriptions will only be available to iOS users. Android support has not been announced.
