32 Snapchat Statistics About Its Demographics, Ads & Usage

The following Snapchat statistics help uncover the success behind one of the most original social media platforms of the 21st century. For those unaware, Snapchat was founded on the premise of short-term messaging: users can exchange messages that will eventually disappear. The market needed something like that, a platform to send confidential messages and captivating photos on, so the users came flooding in.

Here’s the list of facts and statistics that show how, with a lot of creativity and commitment, a simple idea can evolve into one of the most popular mobile apps in the world:

10 Key Snapchat Statistics and Facts for 2022

• Snapchat had 265 million daily active users in 2020.
• Snapchat has 400 million monthly active users.
• 24% of US adults have used Snapchat.
• 77% of US college students use Snapchat daily.
• The average time spent on Snapchat is 49.5 minutes per day.
• Snapchat had $911 million in revenue during Q4 2020.
• Sponsored Lenses can cost up to $750,000 per day.
• Taco Bell’s Cinco de Mayo celebration Lens attracted 224 million views in 24 hours.
• The longest Snapchat Streak is 2,033 days.
• Over 20,000 photos are shared every hour on Snapchat.

How Many People Use Snapchat?

1. Snapchat had 265 million daily active users in 2020. 

(Source: Statista)

Just three years after being released, Snapchat had already amassed 46 million daily active users. Only three months later, that number rose to 57 million. By the start of 2020, there were already 220 million daily users, and by the end of the year, it rose to 45 million more.

2. Snapchat lost 2.6% of its active users in 2018.

(Source: Digiday)

Snapchat started 2017 on a high note, with 191 million active users. However, the number of Snapchat monthly active users in 2018 reduced significantly. The same applied to daily active users, whose number lowered to 186 million, as per the Snapchat statistics from 2018.

3. Snapchat had 203 million daily active users in 2019.

(Source: Statista)

Luckily for the company, recovery began in 2019. Snapchat reported having 190 million active users during the first quarter, while a growth of more than 10% was reported in the second quarter of the year.

4. Snapchat has almost 400 million monthly active users.

(Source: Wallaroo Media)

According to Snapchat stats, almost 400 million people visit Snapchat at least once a month this year. So saying that Snapchat is dying is simply wrong.

5. Snapchat reaches 53.4% of the US mobile audience.

(Source: Smart Insights)

When it comes to mobile app reach in the US, Google Maps is the undisputed champion with a reach of 64.5%. Snapchat follows the top apps closely, reaching 53.4% of US smartphone users.

6. Around 68% of Snapchat users open the app multiple times per day.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

When it comes to Snapchat users, the number of visits the app gets on average proves that Snapchat isn’t far behind other major social networks. Namely, 68% of its users open the app multiple times a day, 15% of them access it daily, while the rest are not as devoted. For comparison, 51% of Facebook users access the site multiple times in a day, 23% do so once a day, while the rest are on the site less often.

Snapchat Demographics

7. 12% of Snapchat users are males aged 13–17.

(Source: Statista)

Younger generations between the ages of 13 and 24 account for 58.3% of Snapchat’s audience. 12% of all users are males aged 13–17, while 6.4% of Snapchat users are females belonging to the same age group. 13% of the Snapchat population is males between the ages of 18 and 20, and 8% of the population consists of females from the same age group. 11% of the audience is male and aged 21–24, while 7.9% of Snapchat users are females of this age. 

8. Around 48% of Snapchat users are between 15–25 years old.

(Source: Statista)

The Snapchat usage statistics show that the rest of this platform’s audience consists mostly of people aged 15–25, at 48%. The second and third most-numerous age groups are users between 26–35 at 30% and 36–45 years at 18%, respectfully. 

9. More than 38% of the platform’s daily active users are from North America.

(Source: Statista)

The majority of Snapchat users are from North America. Snapchat account stats show that 92 million daily active users come from North America, while 74 million are from Europe. It means that only 99 million users come from other parts of the world.

10. 24% of US adults are on Snapchat.

(Source: Pew Research Center / Statista)

While Snapchat isn’t nearly as popular as certain other platforms among US internet users, it still manages to attract close to a quarter of all US adults. For comparison, 73% of US adults who use the internet are on YouTube, which gets over 2 billion logins monthly, 69% use Facebook, and 37% are on Instagram. The data on the Snapchat user demographics points out that 97.55 million of its audience is from the US.

11. There are over 48.6 million Snapchat users in Latin America. 

(Source: Statista)

Mexico tops the list of Latin American countries with the highest number of Snapchat users, with 17.95 million as of January 2021. Conversely, Brazil, which is more than double the size of Mexico, has only 11.95 million users, as per the Snapchat statistics.

12. India is Snapchat’s second-largest market, with over 74 million users.

(Source: Statista)

Following the US, India is the second-largest market for Snapchat, accounting for over 28% of all users. The use of Snapchat is also prominent in France, where 24.5 million people use the app. Sorting Snapchat users by country, we can see that Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, and Germany all have more than 10 million app users, while the UK has more than 20 million users.

13. Users spend 49.5 minutes per day on average on Snapchat.

(Source: Omnicore)

With the average time spent in-app amounting to 49.5 minutes per day, Snapchat visitors can send over 2 million snaps per minute.

14. In the US, only 5% of users aged 56 and above use Snapchat.  

(Source: Omnicore)

Snapchat doesn’t seem to appeal to those in the age group of 56 and above since the Snapchat usage stats show that only 5% of them use the app. Moreover, 24% of female internet users in the US use Snapchat, while this is true for only 20% of males. 

15. 77% of US college students access Snapchat daily.

(Source: Mashable)

More than three-quarters of college students are on Snapchat at least once a day, according to a study that included 1,600 students from around the country. The same study found that the majority of the snaps they exchange are selfies.

16. 50% of college students would open a Snap from a brand they’re unfamiliar with.

(Source: Mashable)

Snapchat stats such as this one heavily indicate that Snapchat is the place to be for advertisers. In addition to half of them opening Snaps from unknown brands, 73% of college students say that they are happy to open a Snap from a brand they’ve heard of. 70% of them are likely to add a brand as a friend if they follow it on another social media platform, such as Facebook or Twitter.

Snapchat Advertising Statistics and Facts

17. Snapchat earned $3.44 per user in Q4 2020.

(Source: Statista)

In Q1 2020, Snapchat was earning $2.02 per user. The amount declined further in Q2 with a revenue of just $1.91 per user. However, Q3 saw an incredible increase to $2.73 per user, which continued until Q4, reaching $3.44.

18. Snapchat exceeded expectations and earned $911 million in Q4 2020. 

(Source: CNBC)

According to the Snapchat revenue data, its projected revenue for Q4 2020 was $857.4 million. However, the projections were exceeded, and the company ended the year with $53.6 million more than expected. 

19. Only $470 million of Snapchat’s revenue doesn’t come from advertising.

(Source: Investopedia / Statista)

Snapchat ended 2020’s fiscal year with $2.5 billion, out of which $2.03 billion was from advertising. It means that only $470 million of the company’s income didn’t come from advertising. Snapchat growth stats show that its advertising revenue for 2021 might reach $2.62 billion.

20. Snapchat lost $944.8 million in 2020.

(Source: Investopedia)

Due to insanely high running costs, Snapchat keeps losing money, even though their revenue can be considered a jackpot in some circles. But it’s normal for newer companies that are still building for future growth. In fact, last year’s net loss of $944.8 million was an improvement from 2019’s losses of $1 billion, the Snapchat statistics show.

21. More than 60% of Snap Ads are seen with the sound on.

(Source: Snapchat)

Investing in a proper advertisement that includes video and audio elements is not only more engaging, but it can be more effective on platforms such as Snapchat. Close to two-thirds of all ads on Snapchat are viewed with the sound on.

22. Snapchat predicted it would spend $196 billion more on mobile advertising in 2020 compared to previous years.  

(Source: Snapchat)

A bold prediction—based on the recent facts about Snapchat—had been circulating on the internet. The total advertising expenditure for last year was expected to exceed $767 billion. A decent chunk of that money would have likely gone toward mobile ads. 

With the growth Snapchat has seen in recent years, advertising on this social platform has the potential to exceed some of the top competitors, including Facebook, the social media giant that 98% of users access through their mobile devices. 

23. Sponsored Lenses can get quite costly.

(Source: Business Insider)

Innovation isn’t a common thing in the world of advertising. However, Snapchat made a breakthrough with its implementation of Sponsored Lenses. Snapchat statistics show that brands pay anywhere between $100,000 and $750,000 for special edition Lenses (holidays and events) that last for just 24 hours. Even though it’s expensive, this form of advertising increases engagement massively.

24. Taco Bell’s Snapchat Lens had 224 million views in a single day.

(Source: Adweek)

During their Cinco de Mayo promo campaign, Taco Bell decided to spare no expense and spent a ton of money on a Sponsored Lens. What they didn’t expect was to create the most viewed Lens of all time: Snapchat stats show that the ad ended up reaching 224 million views in just 24 hours, with an average view time of 24 seconds.

25. Around 34% of US teens consider Snapchat the most important social network.

(Source: Statista)

According to the survey, 34% of US teenagers listed Snapchat as their primary and most important social network in 2020. And 29% of those surveyed said that TikTok was their preferred platform. This information is important for those looking to advertise their products or services, as the younger audience is commonly their target audience.

26. My Snapchat stats are a great way to learn about your audience.

(Source: Snapchat)

Advertisers can have a hard time deciding whether their time and money are perhaps better spent elsewhere. This is the reason why most social platforms offer some form of analytic tools. For Snapchat, that tool is called Insights, though it’s primarily considered a source of valuable statistics. The tool enables advertisers to see real-time data on age, gender, and other necessary viewer information and follow their story views, view time, and reach.

Interesting Facts About Snapchat

27. Snapchat sold 2.3% of its shares to a Saudi prince in 2018.

(Source: TechCrunch / The Verge)

The Saudi royal family became a Snapchat shareholder last year when Prince Al-Waleed Talal purchased a 2.3% stake in the company for $250 million. This was widely regarded as a strange move, especially considering Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on Snapchat less than a year prior.

28. Snap Originals reached an average of 265 million daily users in Q4 2020.

(Source: Variety)

Snap Originals, Snapchat’s attempt to jump on the online viewing platform bandwagon, is another project that was initially considered a miss. However, the Snapchat statistics for 2021 show an incredible improvement when it hit an all-time high of 265 million daily users last year.

29. Snapchat changed its name to just “Snap” in 2016.

(Source: Entrepreneur)

Snapchat has been called “Snap” since 2016. Much of its success was attributed to the right audience timing, proactive control and announcement, and gentle rebranding. It was a move that proved to be effective as it had a warm reception from its audience. 

30. Snapchat has 2,884 employees.

(Source: DMR)

Snapchat statistics show that the company’s largest expenses are payroll and cloud server storage. Considering how many employees Snapchat has and how much they’re paying Amazon AWS and Google Cloud (storage services run them $125–$150 million per year), it’s surprising they’ve stayed at the top of the game for so long.

31. The longest Snapchat streak so far is 2,033 days of continued use. 

(Source: Techjunkie)

Two Snapchat users need to message each other at least once in 24 hours to keep a streak going. As of December 2020, Caitlin O’Mahony is the record holder, with a streak that exceeds 2,033 days. Snapchat facts such as this one change daily, so who knows who will be at the top by the end of this month.

32. It would take a person 10 years to see all the Snapchat photos shared in a one-hour period.

(Source: Omnicore)

Considering that over 20,000 photos are shared every hour on Snapchat, it would take a long time for us to view them all. Some guesstimates show that 10,000 hours is the period needed to master a new skill, such as a musical instrument, a trade, or a programming language, so our time might be better spent elsewhere.

Conclusion

The Snapchat statistics listed above show us that even those with the best ideas can sometimes come up with terrible ones. Snapchat’s creators have had a ton of hits but even more misses during the eight years they’ve been on the market.

Their story teaches us that it’s not the end of the world if we fail, as long as we stand up afterward and keep swinging.