WhatsApp is quietly testing a paid subscription tier called WhatsApp Plus, offering mostly cosmetic customizations rather than meaningful new functionality.
The move, spotted by users including social media consultant Matt Navarra, mirrors similar optional paid plans already available on Instagram and Snapchat. According to a statement from Meta, the subscription aims to give users more ways to organize and personalize their messaging experience. Features include the ability to pin up to 20 chats instead of the current limit of three, custom chat themes, tailored ringtones and notification tones, and custom lists. A Meta spokesperson described it as an early test in select markets to gather feedback before any wider rollout.
Pricing details have not been officially confirmed, but reports suggest it could start at around €2.49 per month in Europe and as low as 229 Pakistani rupees (roughly $0.82) in Pakistan, with a one-month free trial offered to some testers. Importantly, the plan does not appear to include ad removal from the Status feature, where Meta began inserting advertisements last year.
This represents a cautious return to charging users directly after more than a decade. WhatsApp originally carried a one-dollar annual fee in some regions when it launched, but that model was abandoned in 2016 following its acquisition by Facebook (now Meta). Since then, the app has remained free for consumers while Meta has shifted its focus toward business messaging tools, including click-to-WhatsApp ads and paid interactions with companies. That pivot has paid off handsomely. During Meta’s Q4 2025 earnings, the family of apps saw revenue rise 54 percent year-over-year to $801 million, with WhatsApp’s messaging business cited as a key driver. The service itself crossed a $2 billion annualized run-rate in the same quarter.
Yet for a platform with more than three billion monthly users, WhatsApp Plus is unlikely to make a material difference to the bottom line in the short term. It is being tested with only a small subset of users, and the features on offer remain largely superficial—extra pinned chats and visual tweaks rather than deeper improvements to privacy, reliability, or core messaging capabilities. The absence of ad-free Status viewing is particularly notable, given growing user frustration with commercial content creeping into what was once a cleaner experience.
The test arrives at a time when Meta continues to balance its vast consumer base with pressure to diversify revenue beyond advertising. Similar cosmetic subscriptions on other social platforms have met with mixed results: they appeal to a small percentage of power users who value personalization, but rarely drive significant new income or retention. WhatsApp’s long-standing promise of simplicity helped it dominate global messaging, especially in emerging markets where data costs and device limitations matter. Introducing paid tiers risks subtly shifting that perception, even if the core app stays free.
Whether WhatsApp Plus evolves into something more substantial or remains a modest upsell will depend on user feedback from this limited experiment. For now, it feels like a low-risk way for Meta to explore additional revenue streams without alienating the billions who rely on the app for everyday communication. In an industry where free services increasingly come with hidden trade-offs, this approach at least keeps the barriers low—though it also highlights how even the most ubiquitous messaging tools are under pressure to find new ways to monetize attention.
