How To Build An App Like Snapchat? A Complete Guide [2025]

Rajeshwari Published On April 30th, 2025 Share it on

We all love to have fun and Snapchat gives that instantly. 

After a long stressful day, being able to make funny faces, share quick thoughts and express fleeting moments is what made Snapchat so popular than other social media apps. 
If that’s the purpose of your app, and you are aiming to build an app like Snapchat, or even better, stay with me till the end. We’ve got some interesting insights to explore in the next 10 minutes!.

What Is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a popular social media app for sharing photos and videos. It was launched in 2011 only for iPhone users and was initially called Picaboo. After a good number of upgrades, the app became available for other platforms and was renamed ‘Snapchat’.

One of the foremost features of Snapchat is its disappearing photos that lasts only for 10 seconds maximum. 

As the platform started gaining popularity, particularly amongst teens and young people, it kept adding more features like chat messages, video snaps and save memories. This drove triple times than the users it already had.  

In fact, the offer to buy Snapchat by Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg was turned down by its founders as they believed the app would be a great success in the future, and it certainly is.

Top 5 Features Of Snapchat APP

What’s basically unique about Snapchat? Why do 319 million people around the world find it fun using it? Which features most attract teens and singles? Let’s see the top features to understand all of these better:

1. Simple Camera UI

When you open Snapchat, it asks for access permissions to your camera, mic and location. Once you allow them, the app directly opens a camera. As its name indicates, you can quickly take a Snap and send it out to a friend. 

In the mobile app, the camera button is exactly at the place where your thumb rests. 

When you click on the camera button, it opens as a selfie camera. You’ll have options to add filters, stickers, a download button to save the photo to your device and a send option to share it with others directly. 

Simply put, you don’t have to leave the app to edit your photos. 

2. Fun Filters and Lenses (AR Effects)

Snapchat filters like Cat ears, Dog ears and face swap are all across the internet. People use them for fun. 

The platform uses augmented reality (AR) to enable these real-time features. 

Another exciting feature is the lenses to add effects to your photos. 

The platform has a  huge collection of these filters. Besides, brands like the National Football League (NFL), Franklin Park Conservatory, and the Portland Trail Blazers sponsor filters to Snapchat, so people would add them to their photos and feel it more fun and personal. 

Interestingly, Snapchat also allows you to create your own filters and upload them.

3. Voice, Text, and Video Chats

What is an app like Snapchat without real-time communication features?

Don’t misunderstand that Snapchat is only for photos. You can just do more than that. 

Snapchat is well-known for its messaging feature that makes texts disappear once they are seen. 

Want to talk to a friend over an audio call? Snapchat has got that! Need to switch it to a video call and make the conversation more real? You can do that too! 

4. Snapcodes (Snapchat QR Codes)

If you have a Snapchat profile, it means you’ll have a QR code exclusive to it. People can just scan the code and add you to their network. 

They no longer have to search your profile with misspelled user names. Rather, you’ll just share the code, and they’ll be on your friend list! 

5. Friend Lists and Privacy Controls

When you install Snapchat on your device, it asks if you want to add the contacts in your device to your friendlist. This is one of the most convenient ways to grow your network by adding the people you already know. 

Apart from this, you can also manually search the names of people you know and add them to your network. 

If you think you do not want to show your stories to a few people, you can choose who you share your content with. 

This is simply the easiest way to protect your privacy and ensure that you have a safe and fun experience on the app. 

07 Steps to Build an App Like Snapchat 2025

Everyone loves Snapchat and your users will love it if you build a similar one even better. In this section, let’s understand the steps you need to take to build a Snapchat-like app:

Step 1: Brainstorm your ideas

Brainstorming is an excellent way to start out with building your app. You must have a 1000s of ideas in your mind and are looking for a structured approach to take the first step. 

Trust me, scribbling down your ideas on a paper or your computer would do 10 times better than just thinking about them. 

Flesh out what makes your app unique. Why do you want to build this app? Are you going to make an exact Snapchat clone or an app better than that? What is Snapchat missing that you’d include in your app? Who are your target audience? 

Ask, answer and pour out everything on your mind. This will help you figure out what you exactly want! 

Step 2: Plan your App’s Architecture

Once you know what you are going to build, you can start designing how your app will work visually and technically.

Use mind maps and wireframes to rule out how the app screens will connect. Your app must be simple and friendly so that your app users will find it easy to navigate around. 

On the technical front, decide the tech stack to build frontend, backend and databases.

Category	Technologies
Programming Languages	Python, C++, JavaScript, Objective-C, PHP, Java, Kotlin, Swift
Front-End Framework	Semantic UI, React Native, Flutter, Ionic
Back-End Framework / Tools	Google App Engine, Android SDK, Cocoa Touch
Hosting	Google Compute Engine, AWS
Real-Time Communication	WebRTC
Analytics	Amplitude, Flurry, Google Analytics

Step 3: Design your app’s UI/UX 

One reason Snapchat is so popular is its user-friendly design. The Snapchat user interface is simple and highly intuitive. Its UI and UX are perfectly designed to keep users engaging. 

Create prototypes and wireframes that help you figure out how your app will work easily for your users. Overall, build your Snapchat-like app with a beautiful interface (UI) and make it easy to navigate around the app (UX).

📌 Checklist for a good UI/UX ✅ Visually appealing✅ Easy to use✅ Mobile responsive

Step 4: Build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

We’ve discussed this in Step 1. 

MVPs are a great way to test out Snapchat-type apps before going full-scale. Don’t rush into building a giant like Snapchat. Testing and error handling would turn much easier if you build a simple app. 

Share this MVP to a limited group of users, get their feedback and improve the app before you release it fully. 

In fact, this is a great way to test your app in real market conditions, and attract early users and investors.

Step 5: Develop The Backend

The backend of your app is the actual core. A Snapchat-like app will have to handle media uploads, chats and filters. To equip your app with these functionalities, you need to implement a server-side logic. 

Optimize your app with the best social APIs [link], databases and admin tools to make sure that your app performs at its bestYou’ll need cloud storage so users can save their snaps, APIs for real-time messaging, video and voice calling, and media processing for filters and lenses.

Step 6: Test if your app works like Snapchat

Before you launch a similar app like Snapchat, you need to test if everything in and out of your app works perfectly.  

Check for errors in privacy and security features and fix them one by one. 

If you think it is hard to figure it all out yourself, you can hire a QA engineer or use tools like Appium, Espresso, BrowserStack or Katalon.

Step 7: Launch and Monitor

Once your Snapchat online application is tested, it’s time to go live!

Publish your app on platforms like Google Play and Apple App Store. Promote your app across social media, blogs, and YouTube.

How Much Does It Cost To Develop An App Like Snapchat?

Building an application like Snapchat might sound like you need to empty your bank account. But not really, if you plan it out with the right tools.

Overall, building an app like Snapchat can cost you somewhere around $5000 to $200000

This is an Approximate Cost Range:

• Simple version: $5000 – $40000
• Medium version: $40000 – $60000
• Advanced version: $60000 – $200000+

Now, let’s quickly break down where you’ll spend the app.

• Research & Planning: Up to $5000
• UI/UX Design: $1000 – $10000
• Development: $15000 – $250000+
• Testing & Launch: $5000 – $15000
• Maintenance (Yearly): 15 – 20% of build cost

How to save your money when building an app like Snapchat?

• Repeating again – start with an MVP with just the essential features. 
• Start with a Snapchat-style web application first before expanding to Android and iOS (typically cross-platform development).
• It is safer to go with a fixed-pricing model to avoid surprise or unexpected costs. 
• Use Agile Methodology. Build in stages and adjust as needed.

Top List Of Apps Like Snapchat

Snapchat is a good option to clone, but there are other apps like Snapchat you can take inspiration from. Here are 10 alternatives to Snapchat for sourcing ideas. 

App Like Snapchat	Key Features	Ideas to Borrow
TikTok	• Short videos • Effects • AR filters • DMs	• AI-based content suggestions • In-app video editor with templates • Trending challenges section
Instagram	• Stories • Reels • Vanishing mode • Filters	• Add dual camera mode for Stories (front & back together) • Auto-highlights from user Stories • Remix option for short videos
Telegram	• Secret chats • Media sharing • Stickers	• Timed media auto-delete for all chats • Anonymous public groups • User-created sticker marketplaces
Facebook Messenger	• Vanish mode • Stories • AR filters • Stickers	• Group vanish mode for private conversations • Collaborative Stories in group chats • Custom animated stickers
WhatsApp	• Status • Disappearing messages • End-to-end encryption	• View-once status updates • Encrypted cloud backup • Broadcast-only channels for influencers
Signal	• Disappearing messages • Secure chat • Media sharing	• Set custom timer for message deletion per chat • Blur faces in media before sending • No-trace screenshot alerts
Marco Polo	• Video messaging • Voice filters • Private groups	• Async group video threads • Fun voice-modified replies • Reactions in video bubbles
BIGO Live	• Live streaming • Real-time interaction • Beauty filters	• Drop-in live collabs between streamers • Gamified gifts during streams • Real-time facial animation filters
Snow	• AR filters • Stickers • Beauty effects • Short videos	• Dynamic face-tracking filters • Make-your-own filter feature • Duet filters for friends

How MirrorFly Helps You Build An App Like Snapchat?

With MirrorFly, you can build apps similar to Snapchat for Android and offer native experiences. You can fully customize the features and workflows, ensuring the app aligns with your vision. 

You maintain full control over data ownership and security, with the option to choose your hosting environment. The platform also supports SIP/VoIP, whitelabeling, and gives you access to the full source code, so you can adapt it as needed. 

You can also add more depth to your app with advanced features like activity feeds, live streaming, voice broadcasting, and AI voice agents.

Sounds like a deal? 

Why wait? Fill out this form to take the first step to building your Snapchat-like App with MirrorFly!