In mockups on GitHub, Bluesky teases Bluesky+, a $72-per-year or $8-per-month subscription offering profile customizations, higher video upload limits, and more
Here's What May Be Included Adam Marshall / Tech.co : Bluesky Paid Subscription Tier May Be Just Around the Corner Anshuman Jain / Beebom : Free Lunch Is Over: Bluesky Premium Features Leak with $8 Monthly Fee The Indian Express : Bluesky teases subscription model with premium features including profile badges Markus Kasanmascheff / WinBuzzer : Bluesky Prepares Paid Subscription Without Ads Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today : Bluesky Considers Subscription Elements To Bring in Cash Grace Priscilla Teo / Tech in Asia : Bluesky considers subscription business model Colin Kirkland / MediaPost : Bluesky Teases Premium Subscription Model Matthew Keys / The Desk : Bluesky hints at subscription offering, possible new features Bluesky: Rea / @saeri.xyz : Bluesky Previews: subscriptions [images] Kevin / @kevtherobotdev : Unlike X, where I feel my money would support hate, I don't mind paying a small fee for using Bluesky. — techcrunch.com/2024/12/09/b... John Scalzi / @scalzi.com : As I've noted before, I'll happily shell out for a subscription here if it helps keep it free and useful for other folks — techcrunch.com/2024/12/09/b... Dan / @danabra.mov : since this keeps going around, a few common clarifications: — no pay-to-play. we won't prioritize comments of subscribers — we don't plan to do Twitter-style “paid checkmarks” — if we do add a “supporter” profile badge, it will be hideable — bookmarks will be free (when we get to them) @deck.blue : well at least the tweetdeck for bluesky is not behind a subscription [embedded post] Shane / @wafflethekodiak : im all for supporting this platform. And. i think translations and bookmarks should be features available for all users, premium or not. im hoping they can come up with some other perks to replace those that don't feel like they should be built in standard features [embedded post] Rea / @saeri.xyz : just for the record, it may be possible that the perks, except the badge, will be held back for some time while they work on putting out fires (source: the pr) — they are however entertaining the idea of offering a discount for early subscribers Rea / @saeri.xyz : 1. yes this is real, i wouldnt have the motivation to fake something like this. see github.com/bluesky-soci... 2. obviously wip, please dont bully the devs if some of this stuff changes between now and release @themountaingoats : Bluesky subscription needs to come with a physical copy of Bluesky, the Magazine Samuel / @samuel.bsky.team : bluesky+ is only the first part of our collaboration with Ed Sheeran. it will be soon followed with bluesky-, bluesky=, bluesky÷, and bluesky× Mastodon: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life@mas.to : Bluesky has shared mockups of an upcoming subscription seevice for $8/month where users can pay for features such as verification, higher quality video uploads and bookmark folders. — The most interesting part of the story for me was finding out Dan Abramov, a key contributor to React who used to work at Meta, is now an engineer on Bluesky. … Forums: r/technews : Bluesky teases paid subscription, Bluesky+, in new mockup r/BlueskySocial : Bluesky teases paid subscription, Bluesky+, in new mockup | TechCrunch See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Bluesky had already said that its post-fundraising plans included subscriptions for capabilities such as higher-quality video uploads, alongside its 13M-plus-user milestone and Series A subscription roadmap. The new mockups put a price and a broader feature package around that earlier direction.
The company is testing paid utility while keeping its revenue options open: days earlier, its CEO said Bluesky might not remain ad-free and suggested intent-driven ads in search as one possible model. That makes the subscription design consequential beyond cosmetics.
First-order effects
- Bluesky gains a visible potential recurring-revenue product at $8 monthly or $72 annually, centered on customizations, video limits, organization tools and optional supporter signals rather than feed placement.
- Users who want greater upload capacity or profile control would have a paid option, while the stated rejection of prioritized comments and paid verification preserves the free service's core participation rules.
Second-order effects
- The package gives Bluesky a way to test whether its growing user base will pay for utility features before relying more heavily on advertising, an alternative framed by the company's recent comments on ad formats.
- Higher-quality and longer video allowances could concentrate heavier media use among subscribers, making video infrastructure and feature differentiation more important to the paid tier's value proposition.
Third-order effects
- If this model ships and expands, Bluesky would be part of a broader shift toward monetizing social networks through optional capability tiers rather than directly selling visibility or status.
- Its promise not to make subscription payments affect comments or verification sets an accountability test: sustained revenue would need to come from features users value, not from degrading free-user reach.
The trend: Social platforms are increasingly pursuing subscription revenue through practical creator and power-user tools while trying to avoid making payment a shortcut to influence.