How to Become a Lens Creator on Snapchat and Get Paid

Choose a tool: Lens Studio or the mobile and web builders

Snapchat Support's Lens creation article draws the line simply: the desktop app is for professional developers building complex AR experiences, while the mobile and web tools are for everyday creators making Lenses for personal expression.

The naming is in flux. The same App Store listing appears as Lens Studio in Snapchat Support and as Easy Lens by Snap Inc. in the developer documentation. Whatever it is called, the getting started guide sets the account rules: a Snapchat account in good standing, an age of 13 or older to use the tool, acceptance of the Lens Studio Terms to publish, and extra eligibility for rewards.

Easy Lens trades control for speed: you describe an effect in plain language and refine it in conversation, without coding or 3D modelling. That suits face effects and simple games. One practical difference matters for paid Lenses: the Lens+ Payouts FAQ says a Lens built in Lens Studio can be updated under the same Lens ID after submission, but updates are not yet supported for Lenses made in Easy Lens on web or mobile.

Submission and moderation, step by step

1. Configure the project info, check performance, then press Publish in Lens Studio to open My Lenses, as Snap's submission guide describes.
2. Log in with your Snapchat account and authorise Lens Studio.
3. Create or choose an organisation and a Lens Folder. Every Lens now lives in a folder, which is how teams share access and how a Lens can be assigned to a business profile.
4. Pick Upload to Lens Folder to store the Lens without publishing, or Upload and Publish to put it on your own profile and set its visibility.
5. Add tags, including any Tags of the Month that genuinely fit, and a preview video.
6. If you want rewards, accept the programme terms and switch on one payout option before submitting.
7. Follow the status in My Lenses: In Review, Live, Offline, Invalid or Rejected.

Behind the status sits a 3-step process, per the submission guide: validation of the Lens package, automated testing for performance, device compatibility and memory, and content review. If a Lens fails, My Lenses shows the stage and an Error Logs view. Invalid usually means a technical fault you can fix and resubmit, and an earlier live version stays active meanwhile. A Rejected Lens cannot be unlocked, though you can fix the project and submit an update. Copy the Lens ID for any support request.

Lens submission checklist

Run every Lens through this list before pressing Submit. The technical limits come from Snap's Submission Guidelines; the reward rules come from the programme pages linked in each item.

• Frame rate: the guidelines ask for 27 FPS or higher on iPhone 6 and later, and 15 FPS or higher on Galaxy S6 and later.
• Memory and size: no more than 150 MB of RAM in Snapchat, and a zipped export of 8 MB or less, with ML models counted separately up to 10 MB, according to the same guidelines.
• Assets: no texture above 2048 x 2048, and meshes under 100,000 triangles, or 60,000 for meshes with joints or skinning, per the technical requirements.
• Content: nothing on the prohibited list, no growth hacks such as Follow for more, no QR codes, and no Snap or Snapchat names, logos or interface imitations.
• Music and sound: written permission for any music or sounds you did not make yourself, which Lens+ makes a condition of enrolment.
• Presentation: an original icon rather than a default Lens Studio one, a clear preview video, and Lens Hints that tell people how to use it.
• Visibility: set to Public, because Top Performer excludes Hidden or Offline Lenses.
• Payout choice: one programme per Lens, decided before you submit, since the rewards page says an enrolled Lens cannot be un-enrolled, only deleted.
• Originality: not a simple colour filter, basic beautification, a static 2D image, a frame or collage, or a copy of another Lens, all of which Top Performer may refuse to pay.

Top Performer Payouts: the 90-day window

Top Performer is open to every eligible creator, with no follower, view, playtime or submission prerequisites. Under Snap's Top Performer page, a new Lens has 90 days from submission to reach at least 15,000 Qualified Posters, meaning unique users in a Qualified Region who post a Snap with your Lens to Spotlight, Private Stories or Public Stories. Payouts are issued in the calendar month after the month in which the 90-day period ends, and Snap's Easy Lens rewards FAQ says this option pays a Lens only once.

The Qualified Regions on that page are the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the United Arab Emirates. Snap notes they differ from the countries creators can join from, so a creator based in, say, India can enrol, but only posts by users in those regions count toward the threshold.

The programme terms, effective 24 November 2025, add conditions the FAQ leaves out. They say only a small percentage of creators who submit Lenses will receive payments, that Lenses submitted from a Business Account are not eligible, that you must be a legal resident of an eligible country and present there when you submit, and that deleting a Lens before payment forfeits its accrued engagement. The terms also allow enrolment at any time during the eligibility period, while the developer page describes opting in at submission; enrolling at submission avoids depending on the looser wording.

Lens+ Payouts: Exclusive Lenses for subscribers

Lens+ Payouts are for approved creators only; you apply through the form linked from the Lens+ Payouts page. Once approved, you can mark new Lenses as Exclusive at submission, making them available to Lens+ and Platinum subscribers, and payouts are a revenue share based on engagement from those subscribers. Older Lenses cannot be converted.

• The Lens must be Public, include a valid video preview and use only music you have written permission to use.
• The Lens+ FAQ says it can take up to 72 hours after publishing to show as Exclusive, and that a Lens is first shown for 48 hours to people without a subscription, except AI Clips Lenses; subscriber actions start counting after that.
• The developer FAQ requires a Lens+ score of 100 or greater, while Snap's Easy Lens payouts tutorial says over 100 and adds that scores do not pool across your Lenses. Aim clearly above the line.
• Payouts are calculated monthly for the previous calendar month and can take 1-2 weeks after the month ends, per the same FAQ.
• A Lens that misses Snap's performance threshold within 30 days of joining Lens+ becomes free and stops earning, according to the Lens+ FAQ.
• Big view counts from non-subscribers will not move the payout; only subscriber engagement and Lens+ sign-ups your Lens drives count.
• Payout decisions are final. Snap gives an email address for suspected calculation errors, not for appeals.

The Lens+ terms, effective 9 January 2026, say acceptance is at Snap's discretion and may consider your history of Lens submissions, the quality and type of your past Lenses and content you have made on other platforms. They also repeat that only a small percentage of creators will receive payments.

Eligible countries, as Snap lists them

On 1 October 2026, Snap's Lens Creator Rewards page listed these eligible countries for both payout options: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea (the Republic of), Kuwait, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands (the), New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines (the), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Snapchat Support's payout countries article gives a shorter Lens list that leaves out Israel, Japan and Pakistan. The developer page matches the Top Performer and Lens+ pages and is the more specific source, but if you live in one of those three countries, confirm with Snap before counting on payouts. Under both sets of terms, Snap can add or remove countries at any time.

A 90-day Top Performer tracker

Each enrolled Lens's Lens Details page in My Lenses shows two numbers: time left in the 90-day window and how many Qualified Posters you are from a reward, per the Top Performer page. Neither appears while a Lens is Pending or Ineligible. Log them at fixed checkpoints so the trend is visible.

Featuring your own Lens in your Stories and on other platforms is the obvious lever, since only other people's posts count. Paying people to post, or trading posts, is not: the terms treat engagement bought with money or other inducements, or traded, as invalid activity that can cost you eligibility.

Getting paid

Rewards from both options arrive in the Rewards Hub in the Snapchat app, with an email and a push notification. First-timers tap Set Up Cash Out in the Creator Rewards menu, and the rewards page says rewards typically take 14 days to become available. Payment runs through Hyperwallet with a $100 USD threshold under the Lens+ terms. Onboarding, withdrawal fees, tax forms and claim deadlines work as for other Creator Rewards; our guide to Snapchat Creator Rewards payouts sets them out.

Two related routes are worth knowing. The Snap Star verification form lists Lens Creator as a content category, so established Lens makers can apply as creators in their own right; see how to get Snap Star on Snapchat. And Lenses published to your profile report Reach, Plays and Shares in Snapchat Insights, alongside your Stories and Spotlights.

Limitations of this guide

This guide reflects Snap's developer documentation, Snapchat Support articles and the two sets of payout terms as checked on 1 October 2026. The programme has been renamed and restructured before: what was Lens Creator Rewards became Top Performer Payouts when Lens+ Payouts were added, and the navigation on Snap's AR site still describes the programme as a chance to win monthly cash prizes. An older terms address some guides cite, snap.com/terms/lens-creator-rewards-terms, displayed no terms text when checked, so rely on the Top Performer and Lens+ terms linked above. Snap publishes no payout amounts for either option, so nothing here estimates what a Lens will earn.