Meta is intensifying its focus on subscription services. On Wednesday, the social media giant announced the global rollout of consumer subscription plans for its flagship apps—Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp—alongside initial tests for new subscriptions aimed at businesses, creators, and Meta AI users. For just a few dollars each month, subscribers to Instagram Plus ($3.99/month), Facebook Plus ($3.99/month), or WhatsApp Plus ($2.99/month) will unlock extra features such as profile customization, super reactions, and story insights, among others. In an announcement, Meta's product head Naomi Gleit noted that "more fun features" will be added in the future. Meanwhile, Meta will begin testing other offerings, including professional plans for creators and businesses, as well as AI-focused plans for all users. These new tests will be branded as "Meta One," which will serve as the company's central hub for its subscription offerings going forward. The Plus plans do not replace Meta Verified.

Meta confirmed earlier this year that it was planning a subscription offering, with initial tests rolling out in the spring. The concept behind consumer-focused plans is to provide additional features for power users who want more from their social apps. It also allows Meta to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising by extracting more value from its existing audience of billions, given the limited growth opportunities for these apps, which have already achieved global saturation. The new "Plus" plans are tailored to each individual app: Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus focus more on social expression, while WhatsApp Plus emphasizes personalization and messaging. However, the company states that the new plans do not replace its existing offering, Meta Verified, which is centered on verification, impersonation protection, and extra support. (This could change over time, but for now, Meta is not discontinuing the older plans.)

For starters, the new Instagram Plus plan grants subscribers access to extra features, such as the ability to see how many people have rewatched your Story in aggregate, as well as the ability to create unlimited audience lists for Stories, beyond the "Close Friends" option. Users will also be able to spotlight a story once a week for additional views, extend a story beyond 24 hours, preview a story without appearing as a viewer, and search their story viewer list to see who is watching, among other capabilities. Users can also post directly to their profile and highlights without showing up on their followers' feeds. There are additional features like Super Heart animated reactions for Stories, custom app icons, customizable fonts for profile bios, and access to extra pins for your profile. These features are designed to better serve creators and those looking to grow their following and understand their audience, but they could also appeal to heavy users. Facebook Plus offers a similar set of features to Instagram Plus. WhatsApp Plus, however, provides other features like app themes, custom ringtones, additional pinned chats, list customization, premium stickers, and more.

AI plans and more, including those for creators and businesses

Alongside this launch, Meta says it will begin testing even more subscription plans, which is where things start to get complex. For Meta AI users, it will test two plans: Meta One Plus ($7.99/month) and Meta One Premium ($19.99/month), with the same features, but the Premium plan unlocks more capacity for higher-compute queries. This means the Premium plan would offer deeper reasoning for complex tasks (i.e., more of "thinking mode" in the Meta AI app or on the web). It would also provide more video and image generation capabilities across Meta's apps. Meta AI will remain free for more casual users, but these plans follow the same path as those from other AI model providers that charge for additional compute and heavier usage. The plans will later expand in the coming weeks with more benefits for those who use AI glasses, Meta says. The AI plans will start testing next month, initially in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia. Two other plans for creators and businesses will begin tests later this week, in markets including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Thailand, and Bangladesh. The Meta One Essential plan ($14.99/month) will offer the Verified badge, impersonation protection, and an enhanced linksheet where users can link out to their online presence across social channels and the web, similar to Meta Verified. The more expensive Meta One Advanced plan ($49.99/month) will include the Essential plan benefits, as well as the ability to be featured in the Facebook feed, appear higher in Facebook and Instagram search results, gain attention with a bold "Follow" button on Reels, and automatically send "follow" invitations to people who engage with your content. It can also help creators and businesses drive people to their website or shop through links in Instagram posts, Instagram Reels, and through enhanced Facebook and Instagram profiles with their expanded linksheets. These plans, not surprisingly, include better analytics, including deeper competitive insights on Instagram and custom audience insights on Facebook. Advanced plan subscribers will have access to optimized scheduling tools, tools to share access with other account moderators (without sharing a password), and notifications that alert you when others on Facebook or Instagram reuse your content so you can request a label crediting your original reel. Gleit acknowledged that Meta is still experimenting with these AI and professional plans for the time being, but aims to bring them all together under Meta One, where they will then continue to be updated and expanded over time.