Snapchat Tests Recent Ad-Free Subscription Tier

As expected, more social platforms are actually seeking to provide higher-priced, ad-free subscription offerings, as a way to align with evolving data privacy regulations within the E.U. , while also testing the waters on just how many individuals is likely to be willing to pay for an ad-free in-app experience.

Snapchat is the most recent to check the waters on this, with a brand new, dearer Snapchat+ tier that’ll remove most ads out of your in-app experience.

As you’ll be able to see in this instance overview, shared by Jonah Manzano, some Snap users are actually being offered a higher-priced Snapchat+ subscription tier, which removes all Story and Lens ads. Snapchat notes that subscribers should see sponsored places, in addition to paid promotions inside My AI responses, where it’s currently testing the very best ways to monetize its AI chat platform. But for essentially the most part, users will give you the option to eradicate ads within the app, all for the low price of $15.99 AUD per 30 days, which is similar to $US10.50.

(For comparison, the present Snapchat+ monthly package costs $US3.99, which approximates to the $5.99 AUD cost shown within the image above).

The choice is seemingly not available within the U.S. as yet, and should never be, given Snap’s reliance on ad revenue from the North American market.

As you’ll be able to see in these charts, Snap generates the overwhelming majority of its revenue from American and Canadian users, and based on these figures as a guide, it could look to charge the next amount for an ad-free tier within the U.S.

Nevertheless it wouldn’t must, necessarily. Given these are quarterly revenue numbers, that implies that Snap can be earning lower than $US3 per U.S. user per 30 days from ad exposure, which might mean that charging $US11 per 30 days for an ad-free option would greater than offset any related losses.

That very same calculation gets more complex for Facebook, which generates around $US6.30 per U.S. user/month based on ad revenue. But Snap’s ad business doesn’t usher in as much, which can provide more options on this front.

But still, the primary focus is probably going the E.U., and alignment with the most recent E.U. regulations around data usage, and the capability for European users to opt out of targeted ads in the event that they select.

Meta’s seemingly found a loophole on this latest requirement, because by giving users an ad-free opt-out, even at a price, that truly ticks off this element, as users can then stop Meta from using their data for ad targeting, as long as they pay for the privilege. Meta would likely prefer that users don’t actually pay for this, and just keep enabling it to run its ad business as an alternative. But by providing the choice, that ensures that Meta’s meeting the brand new E.U. requirements on this front.

Meta’s ad-free option, which is just available to E.U. users are present, costs the equivalent of $US10.60 per 30 days.

X can be now offering an ad-free “Premium” subscription, at $US16.99 per 30 days, while TikTok can be experimenting with an ad-free direct payment option along similar lines (pricing TBC).

And while it could appear to be this is an element of a broader trend towards getting users to pay to make use of their apps, meeting E.U. requirements is probably going the primary focus, as most platforms can earn lots more from ad exposure than they might from people paying for app access.

Because the reality is most individuals simply won’t pay, regardless of what the charge could also be.

We’ve already seen this with all of the assorted subscription options. Fewer than 0.5% of X’s users have signed as much as X Premium so far, while 0.67% of Snap users are paying for Snapchat+. Around 6% of LinkedIn users reportedly pay for LinkedIn Premium, while around 4% of YouTube users are signed as much as YouTube’s Premium/Music offerings.

Each of those does now provide a priceless supplemental revenue stream for every respective platform. But they’re also nowhere near generating what they carry in from ads.

And while each app might be interested to see what number of persons are willing to place their money where their mouth is, and pay to remove ads, the numbers would suggest that not many persons are going to care enough to sign on at a monthly cost instead.   

But, for those who really hate ads, possibly that is an option to think about, if and when each is definitely rolled out to all users.

Snapchat says that the ad-free Snapchat+ offering is “rolling out slowly and might not be available to you only yet”.

More info on Snapchat’s ad-free subscription plan here.