Meta, X, and Snapchat Roll Out Summer Discounts on Premium Subscriptions

Meta, X, and Snapchat are offering special summer discounts on their premium subscription packages.

Meta, X and Snapchat are all in the process of implementing special promotions during the summer, with discounts prices on their paid subscriptions in an attempt to encourage the summer season of sign-ups.

Meta Verified: Big Discounts, Modest Expectations

Meta has reduced the price in the initial month for its “Meta Verified” service offering what is believed to be an enticing discount in order to draw new customers. The price hike will return after the trial period has ended this move is indicative of Meta’s continuing efforts towards diversifying revenue sources beyond advertising.

In Australia, for instance early adopters are able to enjoy huge discounts on rates in accordance with a blog post by Jonah Manzano. The campaign is clearly targeting those who aren’t quite ready to commit.

Despite a lack of buzz, Meta’s paid-tier has seen some popularity as indicated in its performance report. Since its introduction in the second quarter of 2023, the company has generated an estimated of $358 million from “Other” revenue. 

Based on the typical subscription cost ($13/month) it could mean that 9 million people have subscribed. It’s a decent income stream, but it’s hardly a huge drop in the bucket when compared the Meta’s $31.5 billion in ad revenues for the quarter.

Snapchat: Quietly the Most Successful?

Snapchat+, however dominate the premium subscriptions market. Snapchat has grown to 15 million paid users with a revenue of around $150 million in revenue per quarter. In context, that’s nearly 10% of the company’s total revenue for the quarter ($1.36 billion in the first quarter of 2025).

Snapchat gives users an early introduction to new features and interface modifications. These are small advantages, but enough to draw the attention of the majority of its young and extremely active users.

For the duration of summer, Snap is offering a 50% discount for the first two months of a subscription. It is an aggressive offer likely to aim to increase trial use during the peak holiday season.

X Premium: Still Working to Build Momentum

There’s also X. Despite Musk’s lofty plans to transform X Premium into a core revenue engine by convincing hundres of millions of users to pay for accessing X, the adoption rate is slow. The current estimates suggest that the platform has 1.5 million paying customers, less than 0.5 percent of its users.

It was originally marketed as a method to decrease reliance on advertisements and avoid the requirements for content moderation associated with it, X Premium was intended to launch the new way of doing things. But it’s not working out.

X Premium is currently offering 30% off annual subscriptions to both its Premium Plus and Premium Plus plans.

The expense of creating xAI has led to increased prices for X Premium. With AI bots already available from OpenAI and Meta it’s uncertain whether it’ll be the draw Elon and the team are hoping for. Musk had set out to get many millions of users. What is the real number? Just a small fraction of that without a clear pathway towards mass adoption.

Subscriptions: Useful, Not Transformational

The summer promotions are specifically created in order to offer each platform’s highest level of service a boost in visibility. However, the bigger takeaway is that the paid subscriptions are a second source of revenue for the three businesses.

They are a great way to increase revenue, but they aren’t as big as all other things. With no significant value-add, or market shift, subscriptions won’t replace advertising dollars anytime in the near future.

Final Thought

Don’t count on these deals to fundamentally alter the strategy of monetization in Meta, X, or Snapchat. However, they could help bring an additional few users on the platform. For now, its already more than enough.