WhatsApp Plus, which offers exclusive stickers, custom themes and enhanced chat management tools, has launched in South Africa at R28.99 per month, with the first month available free of charge.
The launch comes two months after Meta Platforms announced plans to introduce subscription-based premium features on it’s messaging app as it seeks to diversify revenue beyond advertising. The messaging platform, which is used by more than three billion people globally for both personal communication and business interactions, remains free for its core services.
Beyond messaging: What WhatsApp Plus brings to users
WhatsApp Plus introduces a range of premium features aimed at personalising the messaging experience and giving users greater control over how they manage conversations.
In an earlier report, TechMedia Africa noted that subscribers will gain access to exclusive sticker packs featuring special effects, allowing users to send animated overlays that can also be viewed by recipients who do not subscribe to the service.
The subscription also enables users to customise the look and feel of the app through unique themes, personalised icons and visual enhancements. In addition, Plus subscribers can pin up to 20 chats simultaneously, a significant increase from the three-chat limit available to free users.
Other premium tools include exclusive ringtones for selected contacts and customised chat lists with tailored notifications, sounds and visual themes, helping users organise both personal and professional conversations more efficiently.
To subscribe, iPhone users can access the feature through the Subscriptions section under Settings, while Android users can find it via the Settings menu accessible from the three-dot icon on the app’s home screen.
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Meta’s profitability push and what it means for South Africans
For South African users, WhatsApp Plus offers additional convenience and customisation, particularly for entrepreneurs, freelancers and professionals who rely heavily on the app for business communications. Features such as expanded chat pinning, customised alerts and improved conversation organisation could help users better manage growing volumes of personal and work-related messages.
The launch also underscores Meta’s broader strategy to turn its massive user base into a sustainable source of subscription revenue.
This strategy is already yielding results. During its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, Meta disclosed that WhatsApp revenue had surpassed a US$2 billion annualised run rate, driven largely by paid messaging tools for businesses. The company also reported that its family of apps recorded a 54 percent year-on-year revenue increase to US$801 million, with WhatsApp contributing significantly to that growth.
Africa represents one of WhatsApp’s largest and fastest-growing markets. Nigeria alone is estimated to have between 90 million and 100 million users, while Egypt has between 34 million and 56 million users. South Africa accounts for roughly 28 million to 29 million users, making it one of the platform’s most important markets on the continent.
As Meta intensifies efforts to monetise WhatsApp, South African users are likely to see more optional paid features introduced over time. While the company has maintained that core messaging services will remain free, the introduction of WhatsApp Plus signals a shift toward a freemium model, where advanced personalisation and productivity tools come at a price.
For many South Africans, especially small business owners who already use WhatsApp as a primary communication channel, the subscription could offer additional value. Others, however, may choose to continue using the free version, particularly as the premium features do not alter the app’s core messaging functionality.