Looking to finally get your company's Facebook Page or Instagram business account verified? Well, the wait is almost over. And, if your company is already paying the exorbitant $1,000 per month for Twitter's Verification for Organizations, be prepared to breathe a sigh of relief – Facebook and Instagram's version of this service costs a lot less.
This week, Meta launched the official page for its Meta Verified for businesses service. The business version of its Meta Verified subscription service was previously mentioned by the company, but Meta did not share any details at the time. Now, with the official launch of this page, Meta has just shared a bit more.
Meta touts the same perks for Meta Verified for businesses that it does for individual "creator" Meta Verified users: A verified blue checkmark badge, impersonation protection, premium customer support, and improved discovery on the platform.
So, how much will Facebook and Instagram verification cost for a business? According to Meta, companies will pay $21.99 per month (or $27.99 per month on a mobile device) for a single Facebook or Instagram account. Or, they can sign up for a package plan for both business accounts for a reduced $34.99 per month.
X, which was formerly known as Twitter, currently charges businesses $1,000 per month for its business service, Verification for Organizations, which provides companies with similar perks as well as a gold verification badge.. Meta's plan costs a whopping $965 less per month under the package deal that gets a company verified on both Facebook and Instagram. (In fact, being that Instagram verification transfers over to Threads at the two platforms are connected, the $34.99 price appears to get subscribers verified on all three platforms.)
In addition, companies that have already have a verified blue checkmark badge on their Facebook Page or Instagram business account will not lose them nor do they have to subscribe to keep them. However, if these companies want the additional perks, a subscription will be necessary.
Meta did not share an official launch date yet for the business subscription service, simply saying it's "coming soon." In addition, Meta says it will offer a separate WhatsApp verification subscription service as well, but did not share pricing information for that platform yet.
Meta following Musk's lead on paid verification
Earlier this year, Meta launched Meta Verified for creators, its own version of X's controversial $8 per month paid verification subscription service for individuals. With Meta's service, users could pay $11.99 per month (or $14.99 via the mobile app) to get a blue checkmark badge and other perks for their Facebook or Instagram account. Interestingly, Meta does not offer a similarly discounted plan for individual users who want to verify both of their Facebook and Instagram does like it offers with its upcoming business plan.
However, this particular Meta verification service currently available was only available for Facebook and Instagram profiles, not pages or business accounts. Meta continued to follow Elon Musk's lead when it comes to paid verification and separated individual user plans from company plans, much like how X does with Twitter Blue, now known as X Premium, and Verification for Organizations.
Listen, here at Mashable, we're no fans of this new paid verification trend for social media platforms. It completely defeats the purpose of verification, which was to stop scams, fakes, and other impersonations from tricking users into believing an account belonged to a notable individual or group.
But, Elon Musk opened that door with his relaunched Twitter Blue subscription service, which is now called X Premium. And, while it hasn't gone all too well for Musk and company, it appears to be working for Meta, which, as we mentioned, followed Twitter's lead when it came to charging for the blue checkmark verification badge.
As long as people and companies are willing to pay, it's at the very least extra money for Meta that it wasn't bringing in before. And, unlike Twitter, Meta still has its free verification program for notable individuals as well, so it's not complete chaos like it is over on Musk's platform. If I was a company and I had to pay and my goal was to simply show potential customers they've arrived to our official account, that $35 per month for verification on Facebook and Instagram makes a heck of a lot more sense than $1,000 per month.
