Report: Snapchat Subscription Service Sees Best Month Ever

Snapchat’s premium subscription service has reportedly just enjoyed its best month ever.

The social media platform’s Snapchat+ offering recorded more than $20 million in revenue in November for the first time, TechCrunch reported Friday (Dec. 8), citing data app intelligence provider Apptopia.

Subscription revenue rose by double digits in almost every place Snapchat+ has gone live, the report adds.

As TechCrunch noted, this milestone places Snapchat+ well ahead of X’s Premium service, which last month recorded $6.2 million in in-app revenue.

Snapchat had announced in September that Snapchat+ had more than 5 million subscribers, up from 3 million five months earlier. The Apptopia data shows that the subscription plan took in more than $31 million in consumer spending before app store commissions, and was up 23.4% month over month.

Last month saw reports that Snapchat was testing ad-free subscriptions to drive recurring revenues, becoming the latest social media company to take that path.

The new ad-free tier, being tested in Australia and Norway, costs three times the amount of the standard Snapchat+ subscription.

As PYMNTS noted at the time, the move is part of Snapchat’s broader push to try out new subscription options, as users recently spotted code in the app showing the company was testing a “Friends & Family Plan” for its subscription program.

“Since we launched [Snapchat+], we’ve reached more than 5 million subscribers in the period. So, we’ve had really nice momentum there,” Snapchat parent company Snap’s CFO Derek Andersen said on an earnings call in October. “[It’s] becoming a much more meaningful contributor. … [We’re] really pleased with what we’re seeing there in terms of uptake and what that’s contributing to the business, both from a top line and margin perspective.”

Elsewhere on the subscriptions front, recent PYMNTS Intelligence finds that, when it comes to offering promotional materials to subscribers, less can be more.

“Decision Guide: How Retail Subscription Merchants Can Win and Retain High LTV Customers,” created in collaboration with sticky.io, found that 28% of loyalists — the 30% of subscribers that make up 79% of merchant revenues — said that they would cancel their subscription if they got excessive promotional materials.

“While promotions are essential for attracting new customers, bombarding loyal subscribers with constant offers can lead to frustration and ultimately result in cancellations,” PYMNTS wrote.