Snapchat Stats

Snapchat has taken some giant strides since its humble launch. Today, it is one of the most popular social media apps, offering something to everyone.

To find out more about how it got to be that way, you can check out these up-to-date Snapchat statistics. Here is a taste of what’s about to come.

Snap Those Snapchat Stats!

• As of Q3, 2019 Snapchat has more than 210 million daily users.
• Facebook and Google wanted to acquire Snapchat.
• Snapchat is ranked as the 6th most popular social networking app in the US.
• Snap generated close to $1.8B globally in 2018.
• About 6 in 10 Snapchatters visit the app daily.
• Users create 3B Snaps daily on Snapchat.
• 82% of users in the demographic 18-24 use the platform daily.

TechJury will look, among other things, at its history,  as well as its demographic and usage data. We will also take a look at the financial side of managing this highly-influential company.

General Stats and Facts

As is often the case with any self-respecting social media giant, Snapchat’s backstory is filled with interesting anecdotes.

1. Snapchat was created by three Stanford University Students.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Snapchat was created in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown while they were studying at Stanford University.

2. Snapchat founders failed 34 times.

(Source: EconoMaldives)

Success requires patience and persistence, and Snapchat’s founders know this better than most. They tasted failure 34 times before coming up with a winner.

3. Snapchat was initially called Picaboo and launched as an iOS-only app.

(Source: Techcrunch)

Today Snapchat users are in the millions, but the app’s launch was nothing special. Evan, Bobby, and Reggie submitted Picaboo as their group project at Stanford. Their reviewers were fellow students who didn’t find the idea of an app sending self-destructing photos exciting. The public thought otherwise and embraced the app wholeheartedly—the rest, as they say, is history.

4. Reggie Brown’s regret about sending a photograph led to the birth of Snapchat.

(Source: Forbes)

One of the most remarkable facts about Snapchat has to do with its genesis. Brown’s wish for an app that could send photos with a self-destruct timer led to the creation of Snapchat. Spiegel became the CEO and Murphy – CTO, while Brown took the role of chief marketing officer.

5. Snapchat paid Reggie Brown $157.5 million in a settlement.

(Source: Techcrunch)

Reggie Brown filed a lawsuit against Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy in 2013, alleging he was forced out of the company without compensation. In September 2014, Snapchat paid its third co-founder $157.5 million in cash to settle the lawsuit.

6. Brown came up with Snapchat’s “Ghostface Chillah” logo.

(Source: Forbes)

This is another one of those interesting Snapchat facts that many don’t know. Inspired by the Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan, Brown named Snapchat’s logo Ghostface Chillah. The logo represents the “now you see it, then you don’t” nature of this photo messaging service.

7. Facebook wanted to acquire Snapchat.

(Source: SearchEngineJournal)

Did you know that Mark Zuckerberg tried to buy Snapchat not once, but twice? In October 2013, the Facebook CEO offered $1 billion. Snapchat said, “No, thanks.” A month later Zuckerberg raised the offer to $3 billion – for a company where users “trade snapchats”! Still, Spiegel and Murphy showed faith and again refused to sell!  When the company went public, the market valued the company at $28 billion, almost 10 times more than Zuckerberg’s offer!

8. Google tried to buy Snapchat, too.

(Source: Techcrunch)

It wasn’t only Facebook that wanted to acquire Snapchat. Google wanted to buy it as well. The world’s most popular search engine offered Snapchat $30 billion just before its IPO in 2016, but Evan Spiegel refused to sell.

9. As of September, 2019, Snapchat was ranked as the 7th most popular social networking app in the US.

(Source: Statista)

The number of Snapchat monthly users is 45.98M, which is less than only Facebook (169.76M), Instagram (121.23M), Facebook Messenger (106.4M), Twitter (81.47M), Pinterest (66.88M) and Reddit (47.87M).

10. Snapchat is losing the Stories war (if it has not already lost it).

(Source: Business Insider)

Snapchat invented the Stories format, which allows users to share snaps in a chronological order. Instagram, having more than twice as many users, blatantly copied the format later and then made it more popular than ever.

11. Snap Inc. has 2,734 employees.

(Source: Wikipedia)

In 2019, Snapchat’s headcount was 2,734. This is because Snap chucked out nearly 240 employees in the first half of 2018. However, the 2021 Snapchat statistics may show an even lower number.

12. Snapchat offers an app called SnapKidz for under-13 users.

(Source: Mashable)

SnapKidz allows users under the age of 13 to take snaps, caption them, make drawings, and save snaps and drawings locally on the phone. However, it doesn’t support sharing of snaps or adding friends.

Snapchat Financials

How big is Snapchat in terms of revenue? This section provides answers to questions related to Snapchat’s earning.

13. Snap generated close to $1.8B globally in 2018. In 2019’s Q3 alone, the giant made $446.2 million.

(Source: Statista, Statista)

So, it’s clear then. Snapchat is financially very big. What’s more, its income is growing at a handsome rate, with 2018’s revenue being about 40% higher than 2017’s and 3 times higher than that of 2016.

14. Snapchat’s biggest market is North America.

(Source: Statista)

The company generated about $781M in North American markets, a little over $180M in European markets. It has also generated another $216M from the rest of world.

15. 93.25M people use Snapchat in the U.S.

(Source: Statista)

Recent Snapchat usage statistics show the U.S. use Snapchat the most, having more than 5 times as many users as France, the second country on the list.

16. In 2019’s Q3, Snapchat made $2.12 per user on average.

(Source: Statista, US Securities and Exchange Commission)

For comparison, Snapchat average revenue per user in 2017 was $1.53. To boost income, Snapchat introduced 6-second ads that users can’t skip. Has it helped? We can’t say yet as the latest data is not out.

Snapchat User Statistics

Snapchat is one of the most popular social networking apps, but how often do users actually use it? Let’s find out.

17. About 6 in 10 Snapchatters visit the app daily.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

The latest Snapchat Statistics show 63% of its users in the US visit the platform daily and 51% access it multiple times a day.

18. Users Spend 30+ minutes daily on Snapchat.

(Source: CNBC)

Users spend 34.5 minutes every day on the platform and send 34.1 messages a day on average.

19. Snapchatters send 528K snaps every minute.

(Source: Aryxe)

To put this into perspective, it will take you 10 years to go through all the photos shared on the platform in the last 60 minutes!

20. Snapchat has 186M daily active users.

(Source: Statista)

When you think of how huge this network is, it’s natural to ask yourself “How many users does Snapchat have?” Well, as you can see, the platform has a huge following. That said, on an year-to-year basis, this number has shrunk by 1M, which is not great news for anyone with vested interest in the company.

21. Users create 3B Snaps daily on Snapchat.

(Source: Snapchat)

While 3B snaps a day is impressive, this number is on the decline, too. In the 3rd quarter of 2017 this figure was at 3.5B.

22. 93% of Snapchatters have shared pictures of their drinks.

(The Sun)

Snapchatters love sending photos of their drinks more than anything else.

23. 15% of users have shared pictures of their private parts on Snapchat.

(Source: LogoMaker)

Many parents have criticized Snapchat for fueling the sexting revolution. This piece of Snapchat data shows their concern is genuine.

24. Nearly 1 in 6 Snapchatters has received an inappropriate photo.

(Source: Piktochart)

No one likes to receive unsolicited nude photos. There are almost 100 million Snapchatters who have received such photos at least once. Unfortunately, Snapchat continues to look the other way.

25. The longest Snapchat Streak is 1,154 Snaps.

(Source: Techjunkie)

Snapchat Streaks are silly, but a lot of fun. You get a Snapchat streak after you and your friend have each shared one snap a day for at least 3 days. As of May 2018, the highest Snapchat streak is 1,154 snaps. That’s almost 3 years and 2 months!

Snapchat Demographics

Popular as Snapchat is, not everyone appreciates it equally. It’s much popular within one particular age group. Which one is that? Have a look.

26. 78% of online users aged 18-24 are on Snapchat.

(Source: Statista)

Snapchat mainly targets teens and young adults as their main audience. More than three-fourths of them use Snapchat for photo and video messaging.

27. 82% of users in the demographic 18-24 use the platform daily.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

Most people in this age group can’t seem to get through a single day without opening the app. Latest Snapchat stats also reveal nearly 70% of them use the platform multiple times every day.

28. 79% of teenagers and young adults rank Snapchat as their favorite social networking app.

(Source: Statista)

Snapchat is the most popular app among teenagers and young adults, with Facebook – second at 76% and Instagram – third at 73%.

29. 60% of Snapchatters are female and 38% male.

(Source: Statista)

Slowly, but surely the gap between male and female users is reducing. While in 2013 only 30% of total users were male, today this number is at 38%.

Snapchat for Business

Given the high number of Snapchat users, marketers frequently use the platform to build brand awareness, increase social media presence, share exciting offers, and boost sales.

30. 64% of businesses leverage Snapchat.

(Source: Adweek)

Snapchat has 186M daily active users and as such is a marketing goldmine for advertisers. Businesses can use Snapchat in multiple ways to promote their brand and increase sales – from using sponsored geo-filters and video content to leveraging influencers. Big brands that have used or are using Snapchat for promotional activities include Nike, Audi, and Cisco, among others.

31. 11% of the total US digital population use Snapchat.

(Source: Comscore)

Think Snapchat popularity is low and should be higher? Recent statistics prove it is actually enjoying a good deal of attention. The platform’s impressive reach and low ad prices make it a great marketing tool for advertisers.

32. 57% of all brand posts on Snapchat are video ads.

(Source: Statista)

When it comes to advertising on Snapchat, the majority of brands prefer to use video content—and perhaps rightly so. Videos tend to have much wider organic reach compared to other types of content.

33. 20% of Snapchatters views Discover content daily.

(Source: Business Insider)

Users can view publisher content in the Discover section of the app. Recent Snapchat stats show 35 million people check publisher content daily. This indicates publishing video ads on Snapchat may help you gain a competitive advantage.

34. Three most viewed brands on Snapchat Discover are Buzzfeed, Comedy Central, and iHeart Radio.

(Source: Statista)

54% of Snapchatters regularly view Buzzfeed content via Discover. These figures for Comedy Central and iHeart Radio are 44% and 32%, respectively. Other popular brands on Snapchat are Food Network, ESPN, and People.

35. 224M Snapchat users viewed the Taco Bell lense ad.

(Source: Adweek)

Besides publishing video content in the Discover section, marketers can launch a sponsored filter campaign to spread brand awareness. That’s exactly what Taco Bell did—and with great success. With 224M impressions in a single day, it is the most viewed ad on Snapchat yet.

Wrapping Up

When Snapchat was launched, teens and young adults embraced the app.

They apparently love it no less today, considering it’s the sixth most popular social networking app in the world.

No wonder then, Snapchat has also quickly evolved as a great marketing tool, giving marketers an opportunity to reach out to millions at once.

While Snapchat statistics are largely encouraging, there’s one piece of data that won’t please its well-wishers – the app is currently struggling to increase its users.

Can Evan Spiegel pull a rabbit out of his hat and take Snapchat to the next level?

Well, his target audience sure hopes so.