On Wednesday, Meta announced new subscription tiers for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. The offerings, which had been in testing for some time, provide exclusive and additional perks to power users and creators who want more from the family of Meta apps.
Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus subscriptions each cost $3.99 monthly, while the new WhatsApp Plus subscription costs $2.99 monthly. Subscribers of Instagram Plus get expanded Story features, such as the ability to see how many people have rewatched a Story. Apart from the “Close Friends” list, which is available to all users, subscribers will be able to create unlimited audience lists for Stories, extend a Story beyond 24 hours, spotlight a Story once a week, search Story viewers to find a specific user, and much more. Subscribers of Instagram Plus will be able to post directly to their profile and Highlights without having them on their followers’ feeds. There is also a load of customisation options on the app and animated reactions.
For Facebook Plus, the features are similar to the ones available on Instagram Plus, with additional features tailored to the app. WhatsApp Plus subscribers will enjoy features such as custom ringtones, premium stickers, app theme variations, additional pinned chats, and many more.
Meta also plans to begin testing additional offerings for its AI, businesses, and creators. All of these new offerings will be under an umbrella called Meta One. In an announcement Reel, Meta’s head of product, Naomi Gleit, added that “more fun features” will be added in the future.
Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that the subscription offerings will not replace its Meta Verified, which is mainly for providing verification to accounts, avoiding impersonation, and additional support.
While Meta AI will remain free for casual users, Meta will test two plans – Meta One Plus ($7.99 per month) and Meta One Premium ($19.99 per month). Both plans unlock additional AI features for power users, while the Premium Plan will provide deeper reasoning for complex tasks. Two other plans for creators and businesses – Meta One Essential ($14.99 per month) and the expensive Meta One Advanced plan ($49.99 per month) will also be tested.
