Snapchat on Wednesday announced the launch of a new Snapchat+ tier called “Lens+.” The new tier costs $8.99 per month and, as its name suggests, is centered around giving users access to exclusive Lenses and AR experiences.
In addition to giving users access to the perks unlocked with the standard $3.99 per month Snapchat+ tier, Lens+ gives users the ability to use hundreds of Lenses that let you “play, create, and share Snaps” with others, the company says.
“We’re starting with Lenses built by Snapchat and select creators, including exclusive new AI video Lenses, a brand new Bitmoji Game Lens, and more — and we’ll be adding new AR experiences every week,” Snapchat explained in a blog post.
A Snap spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email that the company won’t be gating any Lenses that have previously been available for free.
In the coming months, select Lens creators will be able to monetize exclusive Lenses, the company says. This means that creators will be able to unlock a new way to grow their earnings on the platform. Snapchat did not share any details about what the revenue split will look like for creators.
Launched in 2022, Snapchat+ has over 14 million paid subscribers. The social network has attributed the paid subscription tier as a big driver of revenue growth.
In April, Snap reported first-quarter revenue of $1.36 billion, a 14% year-over-year increase. The company said at the time that the uptick was driven by the growth of its Snapchat+ subscription service, along with progress that it had made with its advertising solutions.
By launching another subscription tier, Snap is looking to grow its revenue even more by locking its more advanced Lenses and AR experiences behind a paywall. Of course, not everyone will want to pay to access these features.
It’s worth noting that Snapchat also offers a $14.99 per month Platinum Snapchat+ tier that gets rid of ads and gives you access to all of the perks in the standard Snapchat+ and Lens+ tiers.
