Instagram vs Snapchat: Which Is Best For Digital Products?

Creators looking to sell digital products, more often than not, focus on social media platforms.

That’s where all the cool kids hang out, right?

I’ve always liked Instagram the most (I find Snapchat oddly confusing and annoying to use). 

But that’s me; I’m old. You might be different.

There’s no point stretching yourself too thin, however, by trying to cover too much ground (in this case, social media platforms). 

It’s better to master one platform, and own it, rather than try trying to cover two or three and not have much of an impact on any of them. 

But which platform – outta Snapchat and Instagram – is the best to use if you’re a creator and you sell digital products? 

I didn’t know, and I genuinely wanted to find out so I decided to do some research. 

Here’s how the stats came out…

Which is Best For Creators: Instagram or Snapchat?

User Base & Audience Stats

• Instagram: Over 2 billion monthly active users, covering a wide range of age groups (18–44 core). Strong influencer culture, with integrated shopping tools and global adoption.
• Snapchat: About 850 million monthly active users in 2025, skewing heavily toward Gen Z (13–24). Engagement is high, with users opening the app more than 30 times a day.

Instagram is the bigger platform. It covers more ground, demographically speaking, which is important if you’re selling digital products.

I’d also argue it is more creator-friendly as well. Most Instagram users, like 90% or more, follow at least one creator. Most follow five or more.

That means the idea of you appearing in their feed with a solution to a problem they’re experiencing is, well… kind of expected.

Also, bigger user bases means a bigger potential pool or subscribers and followers. You’re also more likely to find people interested in your niche too.

I also like Instagram because it is quickest way to grow out an email list using automated DMs.

And your email list, whether you’re selling digital products or not, is your most important asset.

Purchase Influence & Conversion

• Instagram:
  • 72% of users say they’ve made purchase decisions based on Instagram content; that’s the highest among major social platforms.
  • 130 million users tap shopping posts every month.
  • Influencer and creator content is highly trusted, with strong conversion rates for digital products.
• Snapchat:
  • 70% of users report buying something influenced by Snapchat content.
  • In the UK, 10% of surveyed users said they purchased a digital product directly through Snapchat in the past year.
  • AR lenses, Snap Ads, and Stories create urgency for limited-time offers.

Conversion rates are important too. You can have the best product / offer in the world but if the platform your targeting lacks purchase intent, it’s all for nothing.

X is a great example of this. You can have millions of followers and sell nothing.

Why? X is more about information and news, not about buying stuff and this “focus” affects things like CTRs and opt-ins massively.

When you go on X, you’re not thinking about shopping or buying.

I worked with an online guitar teacher last year. He was using X and YouTube mostly, with YouTube driving near 100% of his sales.

I got him to switch to Instagram, helped him develop some focused, hyper-specific video content, setup Manychat (the secret sauce) for him, and within a week he had 30+ more students inside his Teachable class.

And if you look at the data above, this is exactly what it tells you: people don’t just like buying stuff when they’re on Instagram, they go on there actively looking to do so.

Advertising, Cost & ROI

• Snapchat is cheaper to start with, making it good for small-budget experiments.
• Instagram’s integrated shops, analytics, and direct purchase links deliver stronger results for creators selling digital products.

Bottom Line? Instagram is Where It’s At For Digital Products

• Snapchat: Best for Gen Z audiences, AR campaigns, flash sales, and urgency-driven offers.
• Instagram: Better for scaling digital sales thanks to its global audience, advanced analytics, and shopping integrations.

If you’re selling digital products and you’re targeting a broad range of potential users, Instagram is the platform to focus on. 

In fact, I’d say it is probably the only platform worth bothering with right now if you’re a creator. 

Instagram users are primed for conversion already; millions of users regularly interact with adverts and product-lead reels and posts, and most of them have no problem buying through the platform either. 

It is also bigger than Snapchat too.

Everybody has an Instagram account and, personally speaking, I find its discoverability mechanics and algorithm more predictable than TikTok which tends to feel more like a hurricane in a cupboard. 

If you have a good product and you’re good in front of the camera, Instagram is the perfect place to quickly develop your brand, build-out your email list, and developer tonnes of value. 

And tools like Manychat work great on the platform as well, speeding up customer acquisition by a factor of 10 in pretty much any niche or vertical.

That said, Snapchat has a role for Gen Z-focused brands, especially if you’re testing campaigns with lower ad budgets or leaning on AR-driven engagement.

Me? I’ll be sticking to Instagram.