Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is launching a paid subscription service for its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot "Meta AI." It is also starting paid subscription services for its flagship social media (SNS) platforms Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, accelerating its monetization strategy.
According to major foreign media including Bloomberg, on the 27th (local time) Meta said it will pilot two AI subscription services starting next month in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia. The plans are priced at $7.99 per month (about 11,000 won) for "Meta One Plus" and $19.99 per month (about 30,000 won) for "Meta One Premium." Both products share core features, allowing image and video generation and reasoning, but the premium plan offers higher usage limits.
In the current consumer AI subscription market, OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus, Google's Gemini Advanced, and Anthropic's Claude Pro all cost $20 per month. As a latecomer, Meta appears to be aiming to compete with a $7.99 monthly plan.
Alongside this, Meta will also roll out dedicated subscription products for its flagship apps Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp to global markets in phases. Pricing is Instagram Plus ($3.99 per month), Facebook Plus ($3.99 per month), and WhatsApp Plus ($2.99 per month), roughly 4,500 won to 6,000 won per month. Subscribers will gain access to a variety of personalized features unavailable to free users.
Earlier, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive officer (CEO), said the company would invest $600 billion (about 833 trillion won) over the coming years in AI infrastructure and more. Against that backdrop, Meta's move is seen as an effort to secure new revenue sources beyond advertising through paid services.
Meta plans to expand its AI and SNS subscription services to other countries later.
Naomi Gleit, Meta's chief product officer (CPO), said, "We are currently continuing to experiment with AI and professional-tier plans," adding, "In the long term, we plan to unify them all under the 'Meta One' brand and keep expanding the features."