Snapchat’s subscription service costs only $3.99, but you’ll still have to deal with ads

Snapchat+ is here.

Snap has officially launched its subscription service, which will cost $3.99 per month. At first, the premium add-on will be available in nine countries: The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

That price may seem attractive compared to some other subscriptions on the market. The premium version of YouTube, for example, costs $11.99 per month after a three-month trial. But unlike that service, Snapchat+ won’t remove ads on its titular platform. Variety compared Snapchat+ to Twitter Blue, which also features an affordable price ($2.99 per month) as well as ads.

So if Snapchat+ doesn’t give users an ad-free app experience, what does it provide? That question was partially answered when the subscription service was still in development. One perk that has received a lot of attention is the Myspace-esque ability to designate a “#1 BFF” (just don’t tell your second-best friend about your choice). Beyond that, Snapchat+ subscribers will also be able to try out “a collection of exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features,” according to an introductory blog post

Digital platforms have introduced subscription services as a means of upselling their most devoted users, but Snap SVP of Product Jacob Andreou told The Verge that his company isn’t planning Snapchat+ as a “material new revenue source.” Instead, the new product is intended to serve “the people who spend most of their time communicating with their closest friends on Snap.” Those users will get new badges and icons to customize their Snapchat experience.

Snapchat+ will eventually get some new features to go with the ones it offers at launch, and the idea is for the subscription service to “expand to more countries over time,” according to the Snap blog. Despite those plans, Snapchat+ purchasers shouldn’t expect the new offering to remove ads anytime soon. “Ads are going to be at the core of our business model for the long term,” Andreou told The Verge.

To pick up a subscription for yourself, look for the Snapchat+ icon on the Snapchat app.