Snap Monetisation: Can Creator Subscriptions Drive Growth?

Snap Inc. is moving into 2026 by combining new creator monetisation tools with improved financial performance, following a year marked by revenue growth and margin expansion.

The parent company of Snapchat reached 946 million global monthly active users in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, which represents a 6% increase year-over-year.

Engagement on Spotlight, the short-form video feed within the app, continued to climb, while the number of US Snapchatters posting to Spotlight rose 47% year-over-year.

Creator monetisation tools launch

Against this backdrop of user growth, the company is expanding how creators can earn on the platform.

On 17 February, Snap announced Creator Subscriptions, a product designed to deepen fan engagement and unlock scalable creator revenue.

Alpha testing begins on 23 February with a select group of US-based Snap Creators, with plans to expand to additional Snap Stars in Canada, the UK and France in the weeks ahead.

The product introduces a premium layer across Stories, Chat and replies. Subscribers receive exclusive content, including subscriber-only Snaps and Stories, priority replies to a creator's public Stories and an ad-free experience within that creator's Stories feed.

Creators can set their own monthly pricing within Snap-recommended tiers.

The company says that the launch builds on existing monetisation offerings, such as the Unified Monetisation Programme and Snap Star Collab Studio, and forms part of its broader creator-first monetisation ecosystem.

Financial results show growth

The addition of subscriptions complements growth in the "Other Revenue" category at Snap, which increased 62% year-over-year to US$232m in Q4.

Snapchat+ subscribers also grew 71% year-over-year to reach 24 million during the quarter.

In early February, Snap reported fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results reflecting stronger profitability and cash generation.

Fourth quarter revenue rose 10% year-over-year to US$1.716bn, while full-year revenue increased 11% to US$5.93bn.

Net income in Q4 reached US$45m, compared with US$9m in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 30% year-over-year in the quarter to US$358m.

In a statement accompanying the results, Evan Spiegel, Chief Executive Officer, discussed the strategic direction.

"Our Q4 results began to reflect the impact of our strategic pivot toward profitable growth, translating into revenue diversification and meaningful margin expansion," Evan says.

"This progress reflects our commitment to building a more financially efficient and profitable business while continuing to invest in the future of augmented reality and the consumer launch of Specs," Evan adds.

Snap also announced that its board has authorised a stock repurchase programme of up to US$500m of its Class A common stock, funded from existing cash and cash equivalents.

Addressing social media safety

In an interview with CNBC in early February, Evan addressed discussion around potential social media bans for under 16s.

He says one of the challenges is "really helping people understand how different Snapchat is", noting that research often groups it with other platforms.

"The studies that look at Snapchat specifically show that Snapchat actually has a positive impact on people's well-being because it connects them with their friends and family," Evan says.

Evan adds that a blanket ban "could actually be quite harmful to young people who are at a formative stage of their life and really need to be able to connect and build relationships with their friends when they're not physically together in person".

With Creator Subscriptions launching in alpha on 23 February and full-year revenue reaching US$5.93bn, Snap enters 2026 with expanded creator monetisation tools and improved profitability metrics.