Instagram is testing paid subscriptions with a small group of creators

Image: Instagram

US Instagram users will soon be able to subscribe to a small number of creators and influencers to access exclusive content and features. In a blog post, the company says it’s launching a test of subscriptions today, with more creators being added in the coming weeks.

Fans will pay a monthly fee to access subscriber-only content from creators they follow, like exclusive Lives and Stories. Subscribers will also get a purple badge by their username that signals their status to the creator. Price tiers will range from $0.99 to $99.99 per month, and creators can select the price point for their subscriptions. Co-head of product Ashley Yuki told TechCrunch that Instagram will not take a cut of creators’ subscription revenues “until at least 2023.”

Ten creators are part of the early test, including basketball player Sedona Prince, Olympian Jordan Chiles, and astrologer Aliza Kelly.

“I’m excited to keep building tools for creators to make a living doing creative work and to put these tools in more creators’ hands soon,” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns Instagram, wrote in a Facebook post. Facebook also has its own version of a subscription program for creators.

In a video today, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says subscriptions are “one of the best ways” for influencers and creators to have a predictable income. Some creators have already been monetizing Instagram features like Close Friends by charging fans a fee off-platform for access to Stories. Instagram and Facebook aren’t the only companies to roll out subscription models to compete with platforms like TikTok; in 2021, Twitter introduced Super Follows, and some creators offer additional subscriber content off-platform on Patreon or Substack.