Snapchat Sets Storage Limit on Memories, Launches Paid Plans

If you’ve been using Snapchat as a kind of personal time capsule for the last decade, you may want to pay close attention: the free ride for storing unlimited memories is ending.

After years of letting users save countless snaps, videos, and stories without restriction, Snapchat has announced a major shift. The company is officially placing a storage cap on free Memories and introducing paid subscription options to keep up with the staggering volume of data its users have been saving.

Snapchat’s new storage rules

Going forward, free Memories storage will be limited to 5 GB per user. That might sound generous for casual users, but for anyone who’s been leaning on Snapchat as a photo and video diary since their teens, that cap could fill up fast. Once you hit the ceiling, you’ll need to choose one of the new paid Memories Storage Plans if you want to keep saving content without deleting older snaps.

There are three new tiers of storage. The entry-level plan provides 100 GB for $1.99 per month, which should be enough for people who use Snapchat moderately. Snapchat+ subscribers, who already pay $3.99 a month for exclusive features, will now get 250 GB of Memories included. For those who treat Snapchat like a bottomless vault of digital life, there’s Snapchat Platinum: 5 TB of storage for $15.99 per month, an amount more commonly associated with professional cloud storage services than a social media app.

Grace period and alternatives

If you’re already over the new 5 GB free limit, Snapchat isn’t going to pull the plug on you immediately. The company has promised a 12-month grace period to give users time to decide whether to upgrade, delete old content, or export their snaps. Snapchat is also keeping the option open for people to download their Memories directly to their device. That means you can back up your digital scrapbook elsewhere – on your phone, a hard drive, or a third-party cloud service – without having to commit to another monthly subscription.

Why the change is happening now

The company’s explanation is straightforward: when Snapchat launched Memories, it never anticipated just how massive the feature would become. As of 2025, users have collectively saved more than one trillion Memories. That translates into astronomical infrastructure costs for servers, backups, and data management. With nearly 900 million users, offering unlimited free storage simply isn’t sustainable anymore. The update allows Snapchat to offset costs, monetize heavy users, and still give casual snappers a free tier.

Competition and business reality

While Snapchat remains wildly popular, it lags far behind platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, each of which boasts billions of users. Unlike Meta, Snapchat doesn’t have the same diversified revenue streams, so finding new ways to bring in money has become a priority. Subscription storage plans are one way to stabilize its finances while maintaining the core free service. In effect, Snapchat is betting that its most dedicated fans will see value in paying a few dollars a month to preserve their digital memories, while the majority of casual users will remain within the 5 GB limit.

Another subscription in the pile

For consumers, the frustration is understandable. Subscriptions for streaming, music, gaming, apps, and now Snapchat storage stack up quickly, creating financial fatigue. But at the same time, cloud storage at the scale Snapchat provides does not come cheap. Hosting thousands of photos and videos per person requires significant infrastructure, and the company is making the same move we’ve seen across the tech industry: shifting some of the burden onto users who consume the most resources.

What you can do

If you’re reluctant to pay, the smart move is to download your Memories before the grace period expires. That way, you keep your archive safe on your own terms without another bill. For users who want convenience and easy access from any device, upgrading might feel worth it – especially if Snapchat remains their go-to social platform.

Whether you see it as a reasonable adjustment or another annoying subscription, Snapchat’s decision highlights a broader reality of the internet age: free services rarely stay free forever. The question is, will users pay to preserve their memories, or will they choose to take them elsewhere?