Meta launches $3.99 app subscriptions and eyes cloud computing business
META•Meta unveiled subscription plans with Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus at $3.99 per month, WhatsApp Plus at $2.99, and Meta AI chatbot starting at $7.99 monthly. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta could open excess data center capacity to external businesses, signaling an entry into cloud computing.
1. Subscription Pricing and Offerings
Meta rolled out monthly subscription plans for its core apps: Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus at $3.99 each, WhatsApp Plus at $2.99, and Meta AI chatbot subscriptions at $7.99 for the basic tier and $19.99 for the premium tier.
2. Cloud Computing Ambitions
During its shareholder meeting, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that if Meta’s data center spending results in excess capacity, the company could sell compute power and API services to external businesses at a premium to its own cost.
3. Capital Expenditure and Workforce Cuts
To support its AI and infrastructure investments, Meta raised its 2026 AI-related capital expenditure guidance to $125–$145 billion and cut 10% of its 78,000-person workforce, partly reallocating resources from its abandoned metaverse initiatives.
