Snapchat has taken some giant strides since its humble launch. Today, it is one of the most popular social media apps, offering something to everyone.
To find out more about how it got to be that way, you can check out these up-to-date Snapchat statistics. Here is a taste of what’s about to come.
Snap Those Snapchat Stats!
- In 2020, Snapchat had 265 million users per day.
- Facebook and Google wanted to acquire Snapchat.
- Snapchat is ranked as the 6th most popular social networking app in the US.
- Snap generated close to $1.8B globally in 2018.
- About 6 in 10 Snapchatters visit the app daily.
- Users created 5+ billion snaps every day in 2021.
- 82% of users in the demographic 18-24 use the platform daily.
I will look, among other things, at its history, as well as its demographic and usage data. We will also take a look at the financial side of managing this highly influential company.
General Stats and Facts
As is often the case with any self-respecting social media giant, Snapchat’s backstory is filled with interesting anecdotes.
1. Snapchat was created by three Stanford University Students.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Snapchat was created in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown while they were studying at Stanford University.
2. Snapchat founders failed 34 times.
(Source: EconoMaldives)
Success requires patience and persistence, and Snapchat’s founders know this better than most. They tasted failure 34 times before coming up with a winner.
3. Snapchat was initially called Picaboo and launched as an iOS-only app.
(Source: Techcrunch)
Today Snapchat users are in the millions, but the app’s launch was nothing special. Evan, Bobby, and Reggie submitted Picaboo as their group project at Stanford. Their reviewers were fellow students who didn’t find the idea of an app sending self-destructing photos exciting. The public thought otherwise and embraced the app wholeheartedly—the rest, as they say, is history.
4. Reggie Brown’s regret about sending a photograph led to the birth of Snapchat.
(Source: Forbes)
One of the most remarkable facts about Snapchat has to do with its genesis. Brown’s wish for an app that could send photos with a self-destruct timer led to the creation of Snapchat. Spiegel became the CEO and Murphy – CTO, while Brown took the role of chief marketing officer.
5. Snapchat paid Reggie Brown $157.5 million in a settlement.
(Source: Techcrunch)
Reggie Brown filed a lawsuit against Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy in 2013, alleging he was forced out of the company without compensation. In September 2014, Snapchat paid its third co-founder $157.5 million in cash to settle the lawsuit.
6. Brown came up with Snapchat’s “Ghostface Chillah” logo.
(Source: Forbes)
This is another one of those interesting Snapchat facts that many don’t know. Inspired by the Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan, Brown named Snapchat’s logo Ghostface Chillah. The logo represents the “now you see it, then you don’t” nature of this photo messaging service.
If you want to create a stunning logo yourself, there are dozens of awesome logo makers that can get the job done in minutes.
7. Facebook wanted to acquire Snapchat.
(Source: SearchEngineJournal)
Did you know that Mark Zuckerberg tried to buy Snapchat not once, but twice? In October 2013, the Facebook CEO offered $1 billion. Snapchat said, “No, thanks.” A month later Zuckerberg raised the offer to $3 billion – for a company where users “trade snapchats”! Still, Spiegel and Murphy showed faith and again refused to sell! When the company went public, the market valued the company at $28 billion, almost 10 times more than Zuckerberg’s offer!
8. Google tried to buy Snapchat, too.
(Source: Techcrunch)
It wasn’t only Facebook that wanted to acquire Snapchat. Google wanted to buy it as well. The world’s most popular search engine offered Snapchat $30 billion just before its IPO in 2016, but Evan Spiegel refused to sell.
9. In 2021, Snapchat had about 498 million active monthly users worldwide.
(Source: Statista)
The number of Snapchat monthly active users in 2021was almost 500 million. It currently holds the 12th position in terms of monthly memberships. The first, second, and third places go to Facebook (2.7 billion), YouTube(2.2 billion), and WhatsApp (2 billion), respectively.
10. Snapchat is losing the Stories war (if it has not already lost it).
(Source: Business Insider)
Snapchat invented the Stories format, which allows users to share snaps in chronological order. Instagram, having more than twice as many users, blatantly copied the format later and then made it more popular than ever.
11. Snap Inc. has 2,734 employees.
(Source: Wikipedia)
In 2019, Snapchat’s headcount was 2,734. This is because Snap chucked out nearly 240 employees in the first half of 2018. However, the 2021 Snapchat statistics may show an even lower number.
12. Snapchat offers an app called SnapKidz for under-13 users.
(Source: Mashable)
SnapKidz allows users under the age of 13 to take snaps, caption them, make drawings, and save snaps and drawings locally on the phone. However, it doesn’t support sharing snaps or adding friends.
Snapchat Financials
How big is Snapchat in terms of revenue? This section provides answers to questions related to Snapchat’s earning.
13. Snap generated close to $1.8B globally in 2018. In 2019’s Q3 alone, the giant made $446.2 million.
(Source: Business of Apps)
Snapchat generated a total of $255.17 million in the second quarter of 2019. That figure rose by $71 million in Q2 of 2020, four times what it was in 2015’s Q2!
14. In 2020, Snapchat’s most prominent market was North America.
(Source: Business of Apps)
The company generated about $306M in North American markets, a little over $70M in Europe. It has also generated another $68M from the rest of the world.
15. In 2020, the US was the country with the highest number of users at 108 million.
(Source: Statista)
In 2019, 93.25M people used Snapchat in the U.S. In 2020, that number rose by 15 million. The Snapchat usage statistics show the U.S. uses the app the most, having more than 4.5 times as many users as France, the third country on the list.
16. Snapchat’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in 2020’s Q4 was $3.4.
(Source: Statista)
In the last quarter of 2020, the company had an ARPU of $3.44. That was a significant improvement from Q1 of 2016 when the figure was a meager $0.32 per subscriber.
Snapchat User Statistics
Snapchat is one of the most popular social networking apps, but how often do users actually use it? Let’s find out.
17. About 6 in 10 Snapchatters visit the app daily.
(Source: Pew Research Center)
The latest Snapchat Statistics show 63% of its users in the US visit the platform daily and 51% access it multiple times a day.
18. Users Spend 30+ minutes daily on Snapchat.
(Source: CNBC)
Users spend 34.5 minutes every day on the platform and send 34.1 messages a day on average.
19. Snapchatters send 528K snaps every minute.
(Source: Aryxe)
To put this into perspective, it will take you 10 years to go through all the photos shared on the platform in the last 60 minutes!
20. The daily number of Snapchat users in 2020 was 265 million.
(Source: Statista)
How many users does Snapchat have per day?
The answer is 265 million as of the last quarter of 2020. That was a 47 million increment for Q4 of 2019.
21. Over five billion – that’s how many snaps users created daily in 2021.
(Source: Investor)
Snapchat statistics show that every single day people create around 5 billion snaps in 2021. That is way more than 2017 data when there were approximately 3.5 billion photos and videos per day.
22. 93% of Snapchatters have shared pictures of their drinks.
(The Sun)
Snapchatters love sending photos of their drinks more than anything else.
23. 15% of users have shared pictures of their private parts on Snapchat.
(Source: LogoMaker)
Many parents have criticized Snapchat for fueling the sexting revolution. This piece of Snapchat data shows their concern is genuine.
24. Nearly 1 in 6 Snapchatters has received an inappropriate photo.
(Source: Piktochart)
No one likes to receive unsolicited nude photos. There are almost 100 million Snapchatters who have received such photos at least once. Unfortunately, Snapchat continues to look the other way.
25. The longest Snapchat Streak is 2089+ Snaps as of 2021.
(Source: Suntrics)
Snapchat streaks are silly but a lot of fun. You get a Snapchat streak after you and your friend have each share one snap a day for at least three days.
As of May 2018, the highest streak was 1,154. That’s almost three years and two months! In 2021, that figure has doubled to nearly 2090, according to statistics about Snapchat.
26. Snapchat will reach 400 million users by 2024.
(Source: Statista)
Subscriptions on the photo-sharing app are growing YOY. That should come as no surprise given that it’s one of the fastest-growing social platforms, especially with the younger generation.
Snapchat Demographics
Popular as Snapchat is, not everyone appreciates it equally. It’s much popular within one particular age group. Which one is that? Have a look.
27. 75% of Snapchat users in the United States are between the 13 to 34 peer group.
(Source: Investor Relations)
The thing about Snapchat is that users as young as 13 are free to join. When evaluating the majority of subscribers age-wise, it has emerged that ¾ of them belong to the Generation Z and millennials age groups in 2021.
28. 82% of users in the demographic 18-24 use the platform daily.
(Source: Pew Research Center)
Most people in this age group can’t seem to get through a single day without opening the app. Latest Snapchat stats also reveal nearly 70% of them use the platform multiple times every day.
29. 79% of teenagers and young adults rank Snapchat as their favorite social networking app.
(Source: Statista)
Snapchat is the most popular app among teenagers and young adults, with Facebook – second at 76% and Instagram – third at 73%.
30. 57.4% of Snapchatters are female, and 40.9% male.
(Source: Data Reportal)
Slowly, but surely the gap between male and female users is reducing. While in 2013, only 30% of total users were male, today, this number is at 40.9%, according to Snapchat stats.
Snapchat for Business
Given the high number of Snapchat users, marketers frequently use the platform to build brand awareness, increase social media presence, share exciting offers, and boost sales.
31. 64% of businesses leverage Snapchat.
(Source: Statista)
Snapchat has 265M daily active users and, as such, is a marketing goldmine for advertisers. Businesses can use Snapchat in multiple ways to promote their brand and increase sales – from using sponsored geo-filters and video content to leveraging influencers. Big brands that have used or are using Snapchat for promotional activities include Nike, Audi, and Cisco.
32. 38.6% of the total US digital population uses Snapchat.
(Source: Comscore)
Think Snapchat popularity is low and should be higher? Recent statistics prove it is actually enjoying a good deal of attention. The platform’s impressive reach and low ad prices make it a great marketing tool for advertisers.
33. 57% of all brand posts on Snapchat are video ads.
(Source: Statista)
When it comes to advertising on Snapchat, the majority of brands prefer to use video content—and perhaps rightly so. Videos tend to have much wider organic reach compared to other types of content.
34. 20% of Snapchatters views Discover content daily.
(Source: Business Insider)
Users can view publisher content in the Discover section of the app. Recent Snapchat stats show 35 million people check publisher content daily. This indicates publishing video ads on Snapchat may help you gain a competitive advantage.
35. Three most viewed brands on Snapchat Discover are Buzzfeed, Comedy Central, and iHeart Radio.
(Source: Statista)
54% of Snapchatters regularly view Buzzfeed content via Discover. These figures for Comedy Central and iHeart Radio are 44% and 32%, respectively. Other popular brands on Snapchat are Food Network, ESPN, and People.
36. 224M Snapchat users viewed the Taco Bell lense ad.
(Source: Adweek)
Besides publishing video content in the Discover section, marketers can launch a sponsored filter campaign to spread brand awareness. That’s exactly what Taco Bell did—and with great success. With 224M impressions in a single day, it is the most viewed ad on Snapchat yet.
37. Snapchat had an operating margin of 68% in 2020.
(Source: Business of Apps)
According to Snapchat statistics, the company had an operating margin of 50% back in Q4 of 2018. The figure dipped to 48% in the fourth quarter of 2019, but that improved to nearly 70% in 2020.
Wrapping Up
When Snapchat was launched, teens and young adults embraced the app.
They apparently love it no less today, considering it’s the sixth most popular social networking app in the world.
No wonder then, Snapchat has also quickly evolved as a great marketing tool, giving marketers an opportunity to reach out to millions at once.
While Snapchat statistics are largely encouraging, there’s one piece of data that won’t please its well-wishers – the app is currently struggling to increase its users.
Can Evan Spiegel pull a rabbit out of his hat and take Snapchat to the next level?
Well, his target audience sure hopes so.
