Tapping on the Best Friends badge icon of a friend on Snapchat takes your phone into the tranquil depths of outer space. An animated sequence occurs, a planet appears and before you know it, you’re…Mars. Not Mercury. Mars. The fourth one from the sun, doing the math on the three planets in front of you.
It is that two second animation which made “snapchat planets in order” one of the most searched queries in the United States, and continues to generate arguments on the matter in group chats. Now, let us examine the issue at hand.
- What the Snap Planets Are Actually Counting
- Snapchat Planets in Order: Mercury Through Neptune
- How to Turn On Snapchat Plus Planets (It’s Off by Default)
- What Actual Subscribers Say About Living With It
- Three Myths About the Snapchat Solar System Order
- The Etiquette Nobody Warns You About
- The Verdict: A Metric Worth Reading, Not Worshipping
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the Snap Planets Are Actually Counting

Friend Solar System is a Snapchat Plus planets feature hidden in its $3.99-per-month subscription offer in America. (Its Lens+ plan costs $8.99 per month, whereas the premium ad-free Platinum subscription goes for $15.99.) No casual side project from Snap – in February 2026, Snap reported its subscription base was over 25 million Snapchatters, making for a $1 billion revenue per year run rate.
And here comes the part that gets conveniently skipped in the majority of the tutorials about this topic. According to Snap itself, its support site mentions the “Best Friends” badge is awarded to those users who are among the first eight people you send Snaps and messages to the most. Snaps and Chats, not streaks. Not friendship length. Not story views. It all boils down to the volume of messages sent between you two, which is exactly the reason why your meme buddy can be ranked higher than your own brother.
Snapchat Planets in Order: Mercury Through Neptune
It is good news that snap planets in order is the same as actual astronomy, hence nothing new to learn. The snapchat solar system order goes like this:
| Planet | Position | Visual Reveal Detail |
| Mercury | #1 Best Friend | Tiny grey-brown sphere with glowing gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Venus | #2 Best Friend | Warm beige globe with orbiting gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Earth | #3 Best Friend | Vibrant blue-green orb with the Moon, gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Mars | #4 Best Friend | Crimson rust planet surrounded by gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Jupiter | #5 Best Friend | Massive striped orange giant with gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Saturn | #6 Best Friend | Golden planet wrapped in signature rings, gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Uranus | #7 Best Friend | Frosty cyan-blue sphere with floating gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
| Neptune | #8 Best Friend | Deep sapphire world surrounded by gold stars & pink Bitmoji. |
This is the complete lineup of the Snapchat planets in order— eight positions from Mercury up to Neptune, being the furthest one, while your Bitmoji acts as the Sun.
How to Turn On Snapchat Plus Planets (It’s Off by Default)
The simple answer to why everyone thinks this isn’t functioning is because Snap comes with it off for any new members.
Open Snapchat and tap the Bitmoji on the top left.
Tap the Snapchat+ banner/membership card.
Go to the Snapchat+ features management page.
Search for “Friend Solar System.”
Click it on, then click it off anytime you want.
Until this gets toggled on, the order of Snapchat planets won’t show up, regardless of how much you pay.
What Actual Subscribers Say About Living With It

Check out r/SnapchatHelp and you’ll notice a trend very quickly. One user wondered, “Anyone able to explain Snapchat’s Solar System feature, please?” pointing out how “it all looks the same except for one planet.” It is a valid complaint, seeing as it reveals your planet only without showing the rest of the lineup. Someone else noted how they could spot themselves in the systems of some friends but not others even though the gold ring was there on their profile page. 90% of the time, it is just a toggle issue on their side, not a bug.
A perfect example that repeats itself every fall: a college freshman enters the campus group chat, begins sending 40 snaps a day to two new friends, and comes October, their hometown buddy has gone from being in the Mercury position to the Saturn position. Not because anything happened between them. They just counted. Understanding how to read snapchat planets in order requires you to view it as an ongoing number count.
Three Myths About the Snapchat Solar System Order
The existence of some secretive ninth planet has been brought up. However, this is not the case since Snapchat’s planets do not extend any further than eight, and such talk surrounds TikTok since Snap does not disclose the algorithm.
If I am their Mercury, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are mine. This is an incorrect belief that could hurt some people, and rankings are determined independently for every user; thus, one person could be someone’s Mercury despite being Jupiter in another user’s ranking.
Finally, it is a myth that the more expensive plan means that you will move up in ranking since Platinum just removes ads from Snapchat and doesn’t advance users on the ranking system.
The Etiquette Nobody Warns You About

There’s no way for you to be notified if your rank has changed, and that’s an understatement of relief. However, before you go about examining the hierarchy of the Snapchat planets, you should figure out how you will react to the outcome. Many individuals have reset their Snapchat solar system in just one week’s time.
The Verdict: A Metric Worth Reading, Not Worshipping
Friend Solar System, on the other hand, is one of those rare subscription extras that actually makes the grade; it gives meaning to an otherwise meaningless figure. But everything good about it depends on your understanding of it. Remembering snap ordered planets takes around thirty seconds, but realizing that Neptune is not there to be a jerk takes much longer.
Mercury indicates that you say more than anybody else, while Neptune indicates that you say less than anybody else. Neither indicates whether you’d be willing to help someone move on a Saturday morning. But the best thing about the application of snap planets in order has nothing to do with scorekeeping whatsoever; it is about spotting the friend who has been gradually drifting away from you and delivering that message which will bring him or her closer again. And it is really the only practical thing that it does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the meaning of Mercury in Snapchat?
Mercury is the number one planet—your friend who exchanges the most snaps and chats with you. It’s the innermost planet in this orbit.
Is a subscription needed to see Snapchat planets in the correct order?
Yes. Snapchat Plus planets are visible only to subscribers and the toggle must be activated. Non-subscribers will never see them.
Can my friends view their planets without notifying me?
They can without alerting anyone—they need to be subscribers and the toggle should be activated. There won’t be an alert either way.
When does the planet ranking update?
All the time in the background. Planets can change positions quickly, in a matter of days, due to change in behavior.
I have a gold badge but no planet. Why?
Most likely, the toggle for the Friend Solar System is off, or it’s because the ranking has just changed positions.