Snapchat+ Hits 30 Million Paid Subscribers as Stock Drops

Snapchat+ subscribers and other paid plans at Snap have passed 30 million, the company said in its third-quarter 2026 results. The milestone is up about 5 million since February, when Snap last highlighted crossing 25 million paid users.

However, investors still focused on softer advertising and slower daily user growth. Snap shares fell about 12% after the release, while the company posted revenue of $1.72 billion, up 14% year over year, and returned to positive net income of $56 million.

Which Plans Count as Snapchat+ Subscribers?

CEO Evan Spiegel told investors the 30 million figure covers Snapchat+, Memories Storage and Lens+. Snapchat+ launched in 2022 at $3.99 a month for early and exclusive features. Lens+ costs $8.99 a month for premium AR Lenses, and Snapchat+ Platinum runs $15.99 a month for an ad-free tier, with Memories storage also sold as a $1.99 add-on.

Meanwhile, Spiegel said AI-powered creative tools helped Lens+ beat internal expectations. Paid users are still a small slice of Snap's 977 million monthly active users, leaving room to grow. Other Revenue, which includes subscriptions, jumped 84% year over year in the quarter.

Why Did Snap Stock Fall After Strong Subscriptions?

Daily active users reached 495 million, only a modest step up from 493 million in the prior quarter and short of the roughly 499 million many analysts expected. Advertising growth also stayed below Snap's own targets. Direct-response ads improved, but upper-funnel brand ads declined year over year and weighed on overall growth, Snap's earnings release shows.

Spiegel said Snap will prioritize advertiser performance rather than optimizing the product only for daily opens. That stance sits next to a wider shift in social apps toward paid tiers and creator tools, from YouTube's experimental Tamba social layer to messaging upgrades on WhatsApp group chats.

What Does This Mean If You Use Snapchat?

If you already pay for Snapchat+, nothing changes overnight. The letter signals that Snap will keep pushing AI Lenses and storage limits as reasons to subscribe, the same pattern that followed last year's free Memories storage cap. For free users, expect more gated AR features before any hard paywall on core chat.

On the advertising side, Snap is rolling out tools such as Commerce Power Pack ahead of the holiday season. Those moves matter more for brands than casual snappers, yet they explain why subscriptions can surge while Wall Street frets about ads.

Our Take

Thirty million paid subscribers is a real consumer milestone, especially with Other Revenue up 84%. The market reaction shows Snap is still priced as an ad company first. Compared with generative media experiments such as ChatGPT's new GIF maker, Snap's bet is narrower: charge a slice of a huge camera audience for AR and storage. That looks sustainable, yet it is not large enough to offset a soft brand-ad quarter.

Source: TechCrunch coverage of the subscriber milestone and share move; Snap Inc. Q3 2026 financial results and prepared remarks.