Snap Inc. has achieved a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, driven largely by the rapid expansion of its paid subscriber base, which has now crossed 25 million users. The milestone underscores the company’s strategic push to diversify revenues beyond advertising amid ongoing volatility in digital ad spending.

While advertising continues to contribute the majority of Snap’s revenue, the parent company of Snapchat is increasingly leaning on subscriptions as a more stable and predictable growth lever. This shift comes as several major brands tighten marketing budgets, particularly on smaller and mid-sized digital platforms.

Snap’s flagship paid offering, Snapchat+, has evolved into a broader subscription ecosystem. The company has rolled out additional products such as Lens+, Snapchat Platinum, and tiered Memories storage plans. Lens+ unlocks advanced AI- and AR-powered creative tools, including exclusive generative AI lenses and unlimited access to the Imagine Lens, an open-prompt image generation feature. Meanwhile, premium Memories plans provide more than 5GB of cloud storage, with higher tiers designed for power users.

The expansion of premium tools also reflects Snap’s ambition to compete more aggressively with Meta Platforms in the emerging wearables and immersive technology space, where augmented reality is expected to play a pivotal role.

In parallel, Snap is broadening monetization avenues for creators. From February 23, it has begun testing Creator Subscriptions in the US, allowing fans to pay for exclusive content, priority interactions, and ad-free viewing within Stories.

During the latest quarter, Snap reported 474 million daily active users, up 5% year-on-year, though down by 3 million sequentially highlighting the ongoing challenge of sustaining engagement growth in an increasingly competitive social media landscape.