Meta Launches Paid Subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp With New AI Plans

Meta has officially launched new subscription plans for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp globally, marking a major expansion of its monetisation strategy beyond advertising while also introducing upcoming AI-powered premium services under a new “Meta One” ecosystem.

The company announced that users can now subscribe to Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus for $3.99 per month, while WhatsApp Plus will cost $2.99 monthly. These subscriptions unlock additional features designed for creators, power users and highly engaged social media audiences.

According to Meta, Instagram Plus includes advanced audience insights, extended Story durations beyond the standard 24-hour limit, unlimited custom Story audience lists, enhanced profile customisation tools, special animated reactions, profile pins, private Story preview options and visibility analytics showing how many users rewatched Stories.

Facebook Plus focuses on social engagement and content interaction features, while WhatsApp Plus introduces messaging personalisation options aimed at enhancing communication experiences.

Meta stated that these new subscriptions are separate from the existing Meta Verified service, which currently focuses on account verification, impersonation protection and customer support benefits.

Alongside the rollout, Meta also revealed plans to test more advanced AI-focused subscriptions beginning next month. These services will be branded under “Meta One” and will initially launch in markets including Singapore, Guatemala and Bolivia.

The AI subscription plans include Meta One Plus at $7.99 per month and Meta One Premium at $19.99 per month. Premium users will gain access to higher AI compute capacity, deeper reasoning capabilities for complex tasks, enhanced AI-generated video and image tools and expanded functionality across Meta’s apps and future AI hardware ecosystem, including smart glasses.

Meta said the AI plans are designed to compete directly with premium AI offerings from companies such as OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, which charge users for advanced compute-intensive AI features.

The company is also testing creator and business-focused subscription plans in selected countries including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Thailand and Bangladesh. These plans aim to help creators increase visibility, improve content reach, access advanced analytics and automate audience engagement across Facebook and Instagram.

The higher-tier Meta One Advanced plan includes features such as boosted feed visibility, higher ranking in search results, enhanced profile links, advanced scheduling tools, moderator management capabilities and automated follower invitations.

Meta’s head of product, Naomi Gleit, stated that the company plans to continuously evolve these subscription offerings while bringing all premium services together under the Meta One umbrella in the future.

The launch highlights Meta’s growing effort to diversify revenue streams as AI development costs rise and global social media growth slows. The move also reflects a wider industry trend where major technology companies are increasingly relying on paid subscriptions, premium AI access and creator-focused monetisation tools to generate sustainable long-term revenue.