WhatsApp to go premium with new Plus subscription

Meta Platforms is testing a paid consumer subscription tier for WhatsApp, marking a significant shift for a service that has built its global dominance on being free to use.

The new subscription, called WhatsApp Plus, surfaced this week in Android beta builds and has since been documented on WhatsApp’s own help pages. Meta confirmed the test to US media outlets, describing it as a limited roll-out aimed at users who want more ways to organise and personalise their experience.

The features on offer are largely cosmetic. For a monthly fee – reportedly US$2.99 (about R49) in early Android testing and €2.49 in parts of Europe – subscribers get premium stickers with “special effects”, customisable app themes and icons, up to 20 pinned chats (up from three on Android and five on iPhone), premium ringtones for selected contacts, and custom chat-list controls with their own alerts and themes.

Core messaging, voice and video calling remain free, as does end-to-end encryption. The subscription is optional and additive rather than a paywall over existing features.

“The WhatsApp you know and rely on remains free – simple, reliable, private messaging and calling,” the company said on its help/FAQ page. “This subscription does not change your core experience, and we are committed to ensuring that WhatsApp continues to get better for everyone.”

The roll-out is limited to selected markets, and Meta has not said whether or when WhatsApp Plus will be available to South African users.

WhatsApp Plus

The subscription is supported only on the standard WhatsApp app downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. It is not available on the WhatsApp Business app, and Meta has warned that using unofficial WhatsApp clients – long popular as workarounds for feature limits – may trigger temporary or permanent account bans.

The move fits into a broader Meta strategy to extract subscription revenue from its family of apps. Instagram began testing a similar paid tier in the Philippines and Mexico earlier this year, and Facebook is expected to follow. For WhatsApp, which is effectively the default communication platform in South Africa, the stakes are particularly high.

Read: How a WhatsApp bundle exposed a fault line in SA mobile

For now, the features look modest – closer to Snapchat+ or X Premium than a productivity upgrade. There are no new security features, no ad-free tier and no additional messaging capabilities in the paid plan. Whether South African users will pay a monthly fee for stickers, themes and more pinned chats remains to be seen.  — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media