For years, social media companies have been offering free services, with billions of people using them in return for watching ads and providing some user data. But the global economic conditions and falling ad revenues have made even the largest social media giants shift their strategies, with many now offering subscriptions.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, Meta Verified has the costliest subscription in the social media space, ranging from $11.99 per month for the web and $14.99 for iOS and Android. That makes Meta`s subscription plan 36% more expensive than Twitter Blue and 150% more expensive than Reddit Premium.
Meta Verified is the Most Expensive but Offers the Least Features
Social media subscription plans offer different features, including vanity checkmarks, exclusive stickers, fewer ads, and increased reach. Still, some of them have a much better price-service ratio than others.
While Meta Verified is the most expensive of all available social media subscription plans, it offers the least features. Meta users get only four features for the price of $11.99 per month for the web and almost $15 per month for iOS and Android. The plan provides a blue verification badge, exclusive stickers on Stories and Reels, proactive account protection, and direct account support.
On the other hand, Twitter Blue costs 36% less than Meta`s subscription plan, or $11 per month for iOS and Android, and brings eight features for that price. Besides the blue verification mark, Twitter Blue subscribers can write up to 4,000-character tweets and edit them, use NFT profile pictures, and upload longer videos. Twitter`s subscription plan also provides priority ranking in conversations and custom app icons.
Snapchat+ probably has the best price-service ratio of all available social media subscriptions, bringing eight features for $3.99 monthly. The features include a Snapchat+ badge, Story re-watch function, priority in replies to Snap Star, custom app icons, wallpapers, and notification sounds, plus the ability to pin best friend and see “general direction of travel for where friends have moved recently.”
Social Media Users Still Not Sure if Subscriptions Are Worth Paying for
Although music and video streaming platforms Spotify and YouTube have millions of subscribers for their premium plans, which enable an add-free user experience, social media users are still unsure if subscription plans are worth paying for.
According to TechCrunch data, the number of people willing to pay for a social media subscription is still small, making subscription revenue just a footnote in the balance sheet.
Snapchat hit over 385 million users this year, and only 2 million, or 0.5%, are Snapchat+ subscribers. Twitter and Reddit both have over 400 million users, but their subscription plans count 1000 times less users than that.