Snapchat just made its AI image generator free for everyone

Snapchat dropped its paywall for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered image creation tool this week, making the feature free for millions of users in response to growing competition from tech giants.

The company announced Tuesday that its Imagine Lens is now available to all users in the United States at no cost. Previously, only subscribers paying $8.99 monthly for Lens+ or Snapchat Platinum could access the tool, which launched in September.

The feature lets users type text commands to generate or edit images. Someone could snap a selfie and type “give me a wizard hat and robes,” or create entirely new visuals from scratch with prompts like “sunset over mountains with fireflies.” Users can also test different hairstyles or picture themselves as astronauts.

Source: Snapchat

Free users will receive a limited number of image generations. The exact amount varies by region and system capacity, according to Snapchat.

This feature arrives just after Meta and OpenAI roll out their own video-generating tools. Meta’s AI and OpenAI’s Sora offer even more advanced capabilities, letting users create videos of themselves after providing a one-time recording. The pressure to keep pace appears to have pushed Snapchat toward opening access.

“Snapchatters use Lenses in our Snapchat camera more than 8 billion times everyday to play, explore, and express themselves in new ways,” the company stated in its newsroom announcement.

The Imagine Lens is Snapchat’s first open-prompt image generation tool. Users can find it near the front of the in-app Lens Carousel or search for it by name. They tap the caption to customize their prompt or choose from preloaded suggestions.

Results can be shared privately with friends, posted to Stories, or shared outside the app entirely.

Snapchat plans to expand availability soon. Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia are next in line for international rollout.

The company encourages users to exercise responsibility with the technology. “We love how AI unlocks amazing creativity—so keep it fun, stay transparent, and share responsibly when you use or post AI-edited or generated content,” Snapchat stated.

The decision to remove the paywall seems sudden, given Snapchat’s recent move to start charging for Memories storage. But with younger audiences increasingly drawn to AI-powered creativity tools, the company appears willing to sacrifice short-term subscription revenue to maintain relevance.

Snapchat’s AI Lenses run on a combination of its own models and technology from other companies. The platform has become a testing ground for how social apps can integrate generative AI into everyday communication.