Snapchat Plus is a paid subscription that unlocks exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features not available on the free version of Snapchat. It covers everything from customisation tools and social insights to AI-powered features and streak recovery — across three plan tiers.
The service has grown significantly since its 2022 launch, with according to TechCrunch, Snapchat+ surpassing 25 million subscribers and driving Snap's direct revenue to a $1 billion annualised run rate.
Snapchat Plus vs. Free Snapchat — What Actually Changes?
Before getting into individual features, it helps to see the difference at a glance. The free app gives you the core Snapchat experience. Snapchat Plus layers paid-only features on top of that — it does not replace or alter your existing account in any way.
|
Feature Area |
Free Snapchat |
Snapchat+ Standard |
Snapchat+ Platinum |
|
App icon |
Default only |
30+ custom icons |
Same as Standard |
|
Story insights |
Basic view count |
Rewatch indicator, timestamps, view notifications, Story Boost |
Same as Standard |
|
Friend ranking |
Standard best friends |
Solar System, Extended List, Friends in Chat |
Same as Standard |
|
Ads |
Full ads |
Full ads |
No Sponsored Snaps, Story ads, or Lens ads |
|
AI tools |
Basic My AI |
AI Captions, Creative Tools, Generative Wallpapers |
Same as Standard |
|
Streak tools |
Standard only |
Streak Restore, Instant Streaks |
Same as Standard |
|
Snap replays |
Standard limit |
Replay Again, Replay Your Own Snaps |
Same as Standard |
|
Subscription badge |
None |
Optional black star badge |
Same as Standard |
In practice, most of what Snapchat Plus adds falls into two buckets: things that let you see more about how others interact with your content, and things that let you personalise the app more heavily. The ad-removal benefit is exclusive to the Platinum tier only.
All Snapchat Plus Features — Organised by Category
A quick note before going through the list: Snapchat labels many of these as experimental or pre-release. That means they can change, be removed, or eventually roll out to all users without notice. Feature availability can also vary by region.
Social and Friend Features
These features change how you see and interact with your friend list.
#1 Best Friend — Lets you pin one person as your top BFF. Their chat stays at the top of your list. Only you can see this pin; the other person does not get any notification.
Friend Solar Systems — Assigns each of your eight closest friends a planet in a visual solar system. Your closest friend gets the planet nearest to you. You can also see which planet you are in someone else's solar system by tapping their Best Friends badge.
Extended Best Friends List — Expands the number of friends shown in your Best Friends ranking beyond the standard limit.
Friends in Chat — Shows which friends are currently present in a shared group chat.
Friend Snapscore Change — Sends you a notification when a friend's Snapscore increases. You enable this per friend through their Friendship Profile.
Snapscore Multiplier — This is one of the less-explained Snapchat Plus features. It increases the rate at which your own Snapscore grows, meaning regular Snap activity earns you points faster than it would on a free account. Snapchat does not publish the exact multiplier value.
Story and Content Features
This category is where Snapchat Plus arguably adds the most visible value for people who post regularly.
Priority Story Replies — Your replies to other people's Stories show up more prominently in their reply feed.
Story Rewatch Indicator — Shows the 👀 emoji on your Stories when one or more friends have watched them more than once. It shows a count of how many people rewatched — not who specifically.
Story Boost — Gives your Story more visibility in friends' feeds for 24 hours. You get one boost per week. Unused boosts expire, so it is worth using it within the week.
Story Timestamps — Lets you see exactly when someone viewed your Story, not just the total count.
Story View Notifications — Notifies you when specific friends view your Story.
Custom Story Expiration — Standard Stories disappear after 24 hours. With this, you can set a custom duration — anywhere from one hour to one week.
Replay Again — Lets you replay a friend's Snap more than once after it has already been opened.
Replay Your Own Snaps — Lets you rewatch Snaps you have sent, after the recipient has opened them.
Customisation Features
A large portion of Snapchat Plus features sit in this category. None of them affect how others interact with you — they are purely personal changes to how the app looks and feels.
Custom App Icon — Choose from 30+ alternative icons to replace the default Snapchat ghost on your home screen.
Custom App Themes — Change the overall colour theme of the app interface.
Chat Wallpapers — Set a background image for individual chats, either from Snap's library or your own camera roll.
Generative Chat Wallpapers — AI-generated wallpapers created based on a prompt you provide, used as a chat background.
Custom Chat Colors — Change the colour scheme within a specific chat conversation.
Custom Notification Sounds — Assign different notification tones to different friends, so you can tell who sent you a Snap without checking your phone.
Custom Ringtone Sounds — Similar to notification sounds but applied to incoming calls within Snapchat.
Bitmoji Backgrounds — Gives your Bitmoji avatar a special background style — options like gold, beach, and others.
Exclusive Bitmoji Pet and Car Options — Unlocks additional Bitmoji accessories not available on free accounts.
Generative Profile Backgrounds — AI-generated images that appear on your profile, created from a text prompt.
Post View Emoji — Choose an emoji your friends see after they open your Snap.
AI-Powered Features
Free Snapchat already includes My AI, the built-in chatbot. Snapchat Plus extends this with additional AI tools. What's often overlooked is that these are not standalone apps — they are capabilities layered into existing features like captions, creative tools, and profile customisation.
AI Captions — Automatically generates captions for your Snaps using AI, beyond what standard auto-captions can do.
AI Creative Tools — A set of generative tools that lets you modify or enhance your Snaps using AI-generated effects and edits.
Create a Bio for My AI — Lets you write a custom persona or background for your My AI chatbot, changing how it introduces itself and responds.
Home Tab — A customised home screen experience available to Snapchat Plus subscribers.
Streak and Engagement Features
Streaks matter a lot to a certain type of Snapchat user. Snapchat Plus adds a few tools here that directly address one of the most common frustrations on the platform — accidentally losing a streak.
Streak Restore — Lets you recover a streak that was lost due to missing a day. There are limits on how frequently this can be used; Snapchat does not publish an exact number publicly.
Instant Streaks — Allows a streak to count as active immediately at the start of the day, rather than requiring a Snap to be sent and opened first.
Lightning Snaps — Sends Snaps faster than the standard send speed, reducing the delay between tapping send and delivery.
Perks and Extras
Snapchat+ Badge — A small black star (✪) that appears next to your display name on your profile. It is turned off by default; you need to manually enable it in your Snapchat+ membership settings.
Gift Snapchat+ — Lets you buy a 12-month Snapchat+ subscription for a friend who is not currently subscribed. It is a one-time purchase. If the recipient already has a subscription, the gifted period starts after their current one ends.
Peek a Peek — Shows you a 👀 emoji in your Chat feed when a friend is currently looking at a shared one-on-one or group chat. This only appears if you are actively looking at your Chat feed at the same time.
Promo Codes — A sign-up method introduced for Snapchat+ that lets you subscribe using a promotional code rather than paying directly through the app stores.
Snapchat Plus Plans — Standard, Lens+, and Platinum Compared
Snapchat+ is not a single plan. As of 2025, there are three distinct tiers, and not all of them are available in every region. The subscription has expanded steadily — as reported by Bloomberg, Snapchat+ was already positioned as the company's main bet for generating revenue beyond advertising, a trajectory that continued through the Platinum and Lens+ tier launches.
|
Plan |
What It Includes |
Ad Experience |
Most Relevant For |
|
Snapchat+ Standard |
All exclusive and experimental features listed above |
Full ads remain |
Users who want features and customisation |
|
Lens+ |
Exclusive AR and GenAI Lenses not available on free accounts |
Full ads remain |
Users focused on creative lens content |
|
Snapchat+ Platinum |
All Standard features |
No Sponsored Snaps, no Story ads, no Lens ads |
Users who primarily want to reduce ads |
The key distinction most people miss: buying the Standard plan does not remove ads. If that is your main reason for considering a subscription, Platinum is the only tier that addresses it — and even then, some ad formats may still appear in specific contexts.
To see which plans are available in your region, go to your Snapchat profile → Settings → Snapchat+.
How Much Does Snapchat Plus Cost?
Snapchat does not publish a single global price because the cost varies depending on your country and which app store or payment method you use. Prices shown at the time of subscribing are the prices you will be charged.
What is consistent across regions: a 7-day free trial is available when signing up for the first time. This is a reasonable way to test which features you actually use before committing to a paid plan. After the trial, billing starts automatically unless you cancel before it ends.
To see accurate, up-to-date pricing for your location, go to Profile → Settings → Snapchat+ inside the app.
Is Snapchat Plus Worth It?
This depends entirely on how you use Snapchat.
Users who post Stories regularly and want to track engagement — rewatches, timestamps, view notifications — will likely find the Standard plan genuinely useful. The streak tools are also valuable for users who actively maintain streaks and occasionally miss a day.
Casual users who open Snapchat a few times a week will probably notice very few of the features in daily use. Most of the customisation options are nice-to-have rather than functionally different.
Users who subscribe specifically to avoid ads should only consider the Platinum plan, and even then should check what ad formats it covers in their region before subscribing.
The 7-day free trial makes the decision easier — it is worth running through the feature list during the trial period to see what you would actually use.
How to Sign Up for Snapchat Plus
- Open Snapchat and go to your Profile
- Tap the Snapchat+ banner card (visible if the service is available in your region)
- Choose a plan and subscription term
- Select a 7-day free trial if prompted
- Complete payment via Apple ID, Google account, or a linked debit or credit card
- Restart the app if Snapchat+ features do not appear immediately
If you do not see the Snapchat+ banner in your settings, the service may not be available for your account or in your country.
How to Cancel Snapchat Plus
You can cancel at any time. Your access continues until the end of the current billing period, and the subscription will not auto-renew after cancellation.
Cancelling on iPhone
- Go to Settings on your iPhone
- Tap your name at the top
- Select Subscriptions
- Tap Snapchat+
- Tap Cancel Subscription
Cancelling on Android
- Open the Google Play app
- Go to Subscriptions
- Select Snapchat+
- Tap Cancel Subscription and follow the on-screen steps
What Happens to Your Features After You Cancel?
All Snapchat Plus features remain active until the end of your paid period. After that, your account reverts to the standard free experience. Features like Streak Restore, Story Boost, and custom app icons will no longer be accessible. Any streaks or social data accumulated during your subscription are unaffected — you just lose the ability to use the paid tools going forward.
Gifted subscriptions run independently and are not affected by the gifter cancelling their own plan.
Conclusion
Snapchat Plus adds exclusive features across customisation, social insights, AI tools, and streak management — across three plan tiers. Standard gives you the full feature set; Platinum adds ad removal; Lens+ focuses on AR content. A 7-day free trial is available before any payment is taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Snapchat Plus remove ads?
Only the Platinum plan removes ads — specifically Sponsored Snaps, Story ads, and Lens ads. The Standard and Lens+ plans do not remove any ads. Always check which ad formats Platinum covers in your specific region before subscribing.
Is Snapchat Plus available in every country?
No. Snapchat Plus is available in a limited number of countries. The quickest way to check is inside the app: go to Profile → Settings → Snapchat+. If the banner does not appear, it is not available for your account or region.
What does "experimental" mean for Snapchat Plus features?
Snapchat labels many Plus features as experimental or pre-release. This means they may be changed, removed, or eventually released to all users without advance notice. The feature set is not guaranteed to remain fixed.
Is Snapchat Plus the same as Snapchat Premium?
No. "Snapchat Premium" is not an official product. The correct name for Snapchat's paid subscription is Snapchat+. The confusion likely comes from other platforms using the word "Premium" for their subscription tiers.
Does Snapchat Plus include a free trial?
Yes. A 7-day free trial is available when signing up for the first time. Billing begins automatically after the trial ends unless you cancel before that date.
