Snapchat is an image and video messaging app, developed by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown in 2011.
Its unique selling point was that photos and videos sent to friends would only be viewable for a set duration of 1 to 10 seconds, although Snapchat has removed these limitations.
A number of additional features have also been added, the first of which was Stories. This allowed users to post photos and videos to a feed for 24 hours. The feature was notoriously cloned by Facebook’s Instagram.
Memories, launched in 2016, was another step towards saving images for longer. When an image is saved or uploaded to Stories, the user is reminded of the event a year later.
Part of the reason for adding new features was to find ways of generating revenue. In 2014, Snapchat only made $3.4 million revenue, while losing over $500 million a year. It added mobile payments in 2015 in the United States, in a partnership with Square.
It also debuted augmented reality glasses, known as Spectacles, in 2016. While the debut received significant media attention, the glasses never caught on with the wider public, but Snapchat relaunched them once and aims to be a big part of the growing AR industry.
Snapchat has added original video series to the app, in the form of Snapchat Originals. ABC, BBC, Buzzfeed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and NBCUniversal have all been tied to Snapchat Originals, although only a few have launched since it debuted in 2018.
The search for new forms of social interaction came as Snapchat’s growth started to stagnate, with daily active users decreasing from 191 million in Q1 2018 to 186 million in Q4 2018. This sent the company’s stock tanking, from a high of $27.09 at IPO in 2017 to $4.92 on 21 December, 2018.
It started to see some recovery when its usage increased, especially in other parts of the world such as India, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, although Apple’s ad tracking changes alongside a downturn in online advertising in 2022 has led to another stock selloff.
That said, it seems unlikely that Snapchat is on the brink of failure, as it continues to grow in users each quarter. Snapchat has found a market, especially in teenagers, but has struggled to win over older users and is far behind Facebook on the revenue generation front. Augmented reality may change that however, a field Snapchat has devoted a lot of resources into.
We have collected data and statistics on Snapchat. Read on below to find out more. Want to dive deeper? Check out our social app report.
Snapchat Key Statistics
- Snapchat annual revenues were flat in 2023, reporting $4.6 billion for the second year in a row
- Snapchat has not recorded an annual profit, it made a net loss of $1.3 billion in 2023
- Over 397 million people use Snapchat daily, 26% are based in the US
- Snapchat has seven million subscribers to its premium service
Want to learn more about the most popular social apps? Our Social App Report includes financials, usage, demographics and benchmarks on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Social App Report 2024
Snapchat Overview
| Title1 | Title2 |
|---|---|
| 8 July 2011 | |
| Santa Monica, California | |
| Evan Spiegel (CEO, co-founder), Bobby Murphy (CTO, co-founder) | |
| Public (NYSE: SNAP) | |
| Social |
Snapchat Revenue
Snapchat revenue growth stagnated in 2023, as it reported the same annualized total of $4.6 billion.
Snapchat quarterly revenue 2015 to 2024 ($mm)
Snapchat annual revenue 2015 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 0.4 |
| 2017 | 0.8 |
| 2018 | 1.1 |
| 2019 | 1.7 |
| 2020 | 2.5 |
| 2021 | 4.1 |
| 2022 | 4.6 |
| 2023 | 4.6 |
Sources: Company data, Social App Report
Snapchat Profit
Snapchat net loss decreased in 2023 to $1.3 billion. It has not a profitable quarter since Q4 2021.
Snapchat annual net loss 2015 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Net income / loss ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | -370 |
| 2016 | -514 |
| 2017 | -1175 |
| 2018 | -1254 |
| 2019 | -1032 |
| 2020 | -945 |
| 2021 | -489 |
| 2022 | -1428 |
| 2023 | -1322 |
Sources: Company data, Social App Report
Snapchat Users
Snapchat reversed its user stagnation in 2019 and has continued to add users every quarter since, although the majority of new users are from outside the US.
Snapchat daily active users 2014 to 2024 (mm)
Snapchat users 2014 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 57 |
| 2015 | 86 |
| 2016 | 143 |
| 2017 | 173 |
| 2018 | 188 |
| 2019 | 203 |
| 2020 | 238 |
| 2021 | 293 |
| 2022 | 347 |
| 2023 | 397 |
Note: Values are daily active users in Q2 of each year. Source: Company data
Snapchat Users by RegionÂ
In 2021, Snapchat users from the rest of the world (primarily India) surpassed US users. Over 200 million Snapchat users are from outside the US and Europe.
Snapchat users by region 2014 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | North America | Europe | Rest of World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 30 | 18 | 9 |
| 2015 | 40 | 29 | 18 |
| 2016 | 61 | 46 | 36 |
| 2017 | 75 | 57 | 42 |
| 2018 | 80 | 61 | 47 |
| 2019 | 83 | 64 | 56 |
| 2020 | 90 | 71 | 77 |
| 2021 | 95 | 78 | 120 |
| 2022 | 99 | 86 | 162 |
| 2023 | 101 | 94 | 202 |
Note: Values taken in Q2 of each respective year. Source: Company data
Snapchat Users by CountryÂ
As mentioned above, India makes up 36% of all Snapchat users. The app is popular in France, its largest European market.
Snapchat users by country 2023 (mm)
| Country | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| India | 200 |
| United States | 106 |
| Pakistan | 30 |
| France | 27 |
| United Kingdom | 23 |
| Saudi Arabia | 22 |
| Germany | 19 |
| Iraq | 17.7 |
| Egypt | 17.2 |
| Mexico | 16 |
| Turkey | 15.4 |
| Nigeria | 15.1 |
| Canada | 12 |
| Algeria | 7.8 |
| Australia | 7.8 |
| Russia | 7.7 |
| Netherlands | 6.9 |
| Brazil | 6.8 |
| Morocco | 6.6 |
| Philippines | 5 |
Sources: Hootsuite, We Are Social
Snapchat+ SubscribersÂ
Snapchat had seven million users subscribe to its premium service in March 2024, which gives them access to new features early and an AI selfie maker.
Snapchat+ subscribers 2022 to 2024 (mm)
| Date | Subscribers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 |
| April 2023 | 3 |
| September 2023 | 5 |
| March 2024 | 7 |
Sources: Company data
Snapchat Valuation
Snapchat was valued at $25.5 billion at IPO in 2017, but dropped to $16.1 billion value by 2019. In 2021, the company’s market cap shot up more than 350% to $90.9 billion, it has since declined by 79% to $18.7 billion in 2023.
Snapchat valuation 2013 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Valuation ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.8 |
| 2014 | 10 |
| 2015 | 14.8 |
| 2016 | 17.5 |
| 2017 (IPO) | 25.5 |
| 2018 | 18.5 |
| 2019 | 16.1 |
| 2020 | 19.4 |
| 2021 | 90.9 |
| 2022 | 38.3 |
| 2023 | 18.7 |
Note: Valuations post-IPO taken on April of respective year. Sources: Crunchbase, Yahoo Finance
Snapchat vs Social Apps: Users
Snapchat has struggled to reach the levels of other messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but it is very popular with teenagers.
Social app active users 2023 (bn)
Want to learn more about social apps? Check out our Social App Report
Snapchat FAQ
How long does the average Snapchat user spend the on the app?
The average Snapchat user spends 30 minutes on the app, according to Snapchat. Previous estimates range from 27 to 50 minutes
How often do Snapchat users open the app per day?
In 2019, users opened Snapchat 30 times a day on average (TechCrunch)
How many snaps are sent a day?
In 2020, four billions photos were sent on Snapchat on average everyday
What are the age demographics of Snapchat?
61 percent of Snapchat users are female (Hootsuite, We Are Social)
How many lenses have been created on Snapchat?
Over one million lenses have been created as of Q1 2021
What percentage of US teens use Snapchat?
82 percent of US teens use Snapchat once a month and 36 percent say it is there favourite social platform (Marketing Charts)
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