Meta Begins Testing AI Subscriptions Starting at $7.99 per Month

Meta announced on Wednesday the global launch of paid subscription services on its three major applications: Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. At the same time, it started testing the Meta One subscription plan aimed at AI users, marking the company, which has long depended on advertising revenue, as it officially opens a subscription monetization channel.

The subscription system introduced this time is divided into six tiers. For ordinary consumers, Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus both cost $3.99 per month, while WhatsApp Plus costs $2.99, offering value-added features such as personalized profiles, super reactions, and story insights. For creators and business users, the Meta One Essential subscription costs $14.99 per month and includes a verified badge and impersonation protection; the Meta One Advanced subscription costs $49.99 per month, with additional priority display on Facebook's news feed and search.

What is more worth noting is the AI subscription tier. The Meta One Plus subscription costs $7.99 per month, and the Meta One Premium subscription costs $19.99 per month; both unlock stronger image and video generation capabilities, with the latter also providing deeper reasoning capabilities and higher computational quotas. The daily use of Meta AI remains free, with the paid plan targeting high-frequency users. AI subscriptions will first be tested in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia.

Pricing Targets Competitors

The entry price of $7.99 is lower than the $20 monthly fee of OpenAI ChatGPT Plus and Google Gemini Advanced, with Meta attempting to enter the consumer AI subscription market with a price advantage. Naomi Gleit, Meta's product chief, stated that more features would continuously be added in the future. Subscription business chief Helen Ma revealed that the company plans to expand all subscription tiers globally and will sell the usage rights of AI agents in the future.

Meta's revenue in the first quarter was $56.31 billion, with advertising revenue accounting for about 98%. Against the backdrop of increasing full-year capital expenditure guidance to $125 billion to $145 billion, the company urgently needs to find a return path for substantial AI infrastructure investment beyond advertising. Although subscription services are not likely to shake advertising's dominant position in the short term, they open up new possibilities for monetizing AI investments.

Market Response is Positive

On the day the news was announced, Meta's stock price rose by 3.3%, closing at $632.79, with trading volume higher than the daily average. Investors gave a positive response to the company's move to expand its sources of income, contrasting with the more than 8% drop in stock price due to the increase in capital expenditure.

Analysis suggests that the strategic significance of Meta's move is not only in the short-term contribution to revenue but also in sending a signal to the market: massive AI investment is being transformed into commercializable product forms. Whether the subscription model can be successful globally will become an important window for the market to assess the feasibility of Meta's AI strategy.