Snapchat isn’t just a place for quick Snaps between friends anymore. Over the last few years, it has quietly transformed into a creator-focused platform, one that now competes directly with TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for creator attention and ad revenue. And the shift has been huge.
According to Snap’s latest earnings reports, the app now reaches over 900 million monthly active users globally, with daily users watching over 7 billion videos every day.
That massive audience has opened the door to something creators long wanted, real earning potential. Many influencers are now turning their daily Stories into steady income, and some have even scaled their Snapchat presence into full-time careers.
Fueling a large part of this movement is the Snap Stars Program, Snapchat’s verified creator initiative and its flagship revenue-sharing system.
And in 2025, the program is more advanced, more competitive, and more rewarding than ever.
What Is the Snap Stars Program?
The Snap Stars Program is Snapchat’s official verified creator program, a system designed to highlight top creators, increase their visibility, and give them access to revenue-sharing tools.
While Snapchat introduced the concept back in 2022, the program has evolved significantly since as the platform doubled down on creator-led storytelling and ad-supported content.
How the Program Has Evolved
When Snap Stars launched, it functioned mostly as a recognition badge with limited monetization. Today, it has grown into a full ecosystem with:
- Ad revenue sharing on Public Stories.
- Exclusive creator analytics.
- AI-powered lenses and AR monetization.
- Branded content tools
- And enhanced distribution through Spotlight and the Discover feed.
Snapchat’s push came at a strategic moment. With TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels, check out this blog post for the details, expanding their own payouts, Snapchat needed a competitive model.
The company began restructuring Story-based monetization, a format most rival platforms barely focus on, turning one of its biggest strengths into a creator income engine.
Why Snapchat Built the Program
Snapchat’s user base is extremely engaged. As you can see here, over 75% of 13–34 year-olds in the U.S. use it regularly, and its AR features generate over 250 million interactions every day. But the platform was losing creators to competitors offering clearer, more stable monetization.
Snap Stars was built to reward creators who consistently show up and tell engaging stories, while also giving Snapchat a way to retain its top talent on the platform. At its core, the program encourages high-quality, public-facing content by spotlighting creators who publish regularly and perform well.
At the same time, it also opens new ad inventory inside creator Stories, allowing Snapchat to monetize this attention and share a portion of that revenue back with the creators driving it.
What Being a Snap Star Includes Today
Creators in the program receive a package of exclusive benefits:
- Verification Badge (the star emoji).
- Boosted Visibility on Public Stories, Spotlight, and Discover.
- Access to Revenue Sharing for Story ads.
- Advanced Analytics Dashboard.
- Branded Content Tools for deals and disclosures.
- AR Lens Monetization Access (in beta for 2025).
This combination helps creators grow faster and monetize more reliably than non-verified accounts.
What Are the Requirements to Join Snap Stars?
Snapchat keeps its Snap Star criteria private, but by studying verified creators and platform behavior, we can see clear patterns in what the app looks for in 2025. The requirements have become more selective over time, but the foundation hasn’t changed.
While follower count isn’t everything, most accepted creators have a strong audience, meaningful engagement, and a visible presence both on and off the platform.
Consistency is one of Snapchat’s biggest priorities. Snap Stars are public-facing creators, so the platform wants people who post regularly, maintain recognizable content themes, and show a long history of public storytelling.
Authenticity is equally important, Snapchat does not approve anonymous pages, repost channels, or meme-only accounts. The program highlights real people with original voices, not recycled content from TikTok or YouTube.
And because Snap Stars run ads in their Stories, the entire program depends on creators who maintain brand-safe, guideline-friendly content.
Audience & Engagement Requirements
- 50,000+ subscribers.
- Strong Story engagement and consistent reach beyond the friend list.
- High Story completion rates or significant Spotlight performance.
- Evidence of active audience interaction.
- Smaller creators may still qualify if they’re highly notable in their niche.
Content & Consistency Requirements
- Frequent posting, usually 25+ public posts or Spotlight uploads per month.
- Daily or near-daily Public Stories.
- Clear and consistent themes or categories.
- Long-term history of public activity (not temporary bursts).
- Original, high-quality, and shareable content.
Authenticity Requirements
- Must be a real, identifiable person (not faceless or anonymous).
- Uses a real name or clear brand identity.
- Shows a visible face/voice behind the content.
- No meme-only feeds, no repost pages, no recycled TikToks/Shorts.
Quality & Safety Standards
- Clean, advertiser-friendly storytelling.
- No hate, misinformation, explicit content, or harmful behavior.
- Consistent editing and visual quality.
- Full compliance with Snapchat’s Community Guidelines.
Age & Region
- Must be 18+.
- Must live in an eligible country. This includes the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Brazil, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, the Philippines, and more.
However, it’s important to remember that even meeting every requirement doesn’t guarantee acceptance, Snapchat makes the final call based on internal review and platform needs.
As a general rule, creators who lean into positive, entertaining, educational, or lifestyle-driven content tend to have a much higher approval rate, since this aligns closely with what Snapchat wants.
How the Snap Stars Program Works
Snapchat offers a structured earning system, advanced analytics, brand deal infrastructure, and new AR tools designed specifically for creators who build consistent, story-driven content.
Stories Revenue Share
The heart of the program is Snapchat’s ad revenue-sharing model for Public Stories. Ads are automatically inserted between Snaps, similar to how YouTube places ads between video segments.
The more a viewer watches, the more ad impressions a creator generates, and that drives their income.
Although Snapchat does not publicly reveal its official payout split, creator reports and industry analysts continue to estimate a 50/50 to 60/40 model favoring the creator. Creators with higher retention earn more because their Stories naturally serve more ads.
Visibility Boosts Across Snapchat
Snap Stars also receive increased distribution across Public Stories, Spotlight, and the Discover feed. Snapchat’s algorithm rewards creators who post consistently, use narrative formats, and produce Stories that viewers watch all the way through.
Multi-Snap story sequences, especially lifestyle vlogs, comedic storytelling, and personality-led content, tend to receive the strongest algorithmic push. AR usage has also become a major ranking signal, as Snapchat continues positioning itself as the leader in AR-driven social content.
Snap Star Collab Studio
Snapchat’s Collab Studio has become one of the most important parts of the creator ecosystem. It works as an internal marketplace that directly connects brands with Snap Stars for sponsored campaigns.
Brands submit their campaign briefs, and Snapchat matches them with relevant creators based on niche, audience demographics, and performance metrics.
These tools give creators a more direct way to turn their audience into customers and help track views, conversions, and overall revenue performance.
How Much Money Creators Make (Realistic Breakdown)
Earnings on Snapchat have changed dramatically over the last three years. In 2022, creators relied mostly on Spotlight rewards and inconsistent bonuses. By 2025, the revenue system is much more stable, thanks to ad placements inside Public Stories and improved monetization tools.
While exact payouts vary widely, many creators now earn anywhere from a few hundred dollars per month to six-figure yearly income, depending on their niche, audience size, Story retention, and overall posting consistency.
Snapchat hasn’t publicly shared updated payout averages for 2025, but verified creators have revealed a wide range of real earnings. Snapchat reported that the number of creators posting content under the Snap Star program grew by over 40% year-over-year.
Smaller creators with 20K–50K Story viewers often report making $300–$1,500 per month, while mid-size creators hitting 100K–300K Story views can earn $3,000–$15,000 monthly depending on RPM (revenue per thousand impressions).
Larger lifestyle and entertainment creators with highly engaged audiences sometimes exceed $20,000–$40,000 per month, especially if they also secure brand deals through Collab Studio. In rare cases, top-tier creators have reported earning over $1 million annually.
Much of Snapchat’s monetization system is built on the Crystals currency model, which converts ad revenue into redeemable Crystals inside the app. Payouts are typically issued once creators meet Snapchat’s threshold, which in recent years has hovered around $100 USD.
Revenue is calculated based on several factors, including ad impressions, viewer watch time, audience region, and completion rate of multi-Snap stories. Since high retention keeps users watching long enough to see more ads, creators who structure stories in a narrative format, rather than posting random, disjointed Snaps, tend to earn the most.
Although Snapchat does not publish its official revenue split, nearly all creator estimates still point to a 50/50 model, similar to YouTube’s structure.
Still, the general consensus is that Snapchat’s payout rates have become more competitive as they attempt to attract creators away from TikTok, where revenue is significantly lower, and from Reels, which relies heavily on brand deals rather than platform payouts.
For many Snap Stars, the combination of Story revenue, AR tools, and brand partnerships has created a more predictable and scalable income stream than what most competing platforms currently offer.
Whether you're a brand, an emerging creator, or simply curious about how platforms shape the future of digital storytelling, Snap Stars offers a glimpse into a new era of creator-first.
And as you grow, tools like Nuelink make it easier to stay consistent, schedule content across platforms, and manage your posting strategy without burning out.
