Meitu Reports Record 17.9M+ Global Paying Subscribers in Q1 2026, Up 30.2% YoY

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On May 5, 2026, Meitu Inc. (1357.HK) announced its business performance for the first quarter of 2026: As of March 2026, Meitu’s global paying subscribers exceeded 17.90 million, representing a year-on-year (“YoY”) growth rate of 30.2%, setting a new record high. For Q1 2026, Meitu’s revenue from Photo, video and design products (primarily driven by subscription) reached RMB 852 million, up 34.3% YoY, while other businesses remained broadly stable overall.

The company also disclosed its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) for AI-driven Productivity Applications for the first time. As of March 2026, ARR for AI-driven Productivity Applications reached approximately RMB 580 million, representing a YoY increase of 56.2%.

Paying Subscribers for Productivity Applications Surged 52.9% YoY

For Q1 2026, within revenue from Photo, video and design products, Applications for Leisure accounted for 82% of total revenue, growing at 35.5% YoY. Applications for Productivity accounted for approximately 18%, with revenue increasing at 45.4% YoY. Meanwhile, paying subscribers from Applications for Productivity grew by 52.9% YoY to 2.34 million.

Additionally, the company's Productivity Applications continue to evolve through ongoing innovation. RoboNeo has introduced “Agent Teams,” enabling role-based collaboration among multiple AI Agents to deliver end-to-end solutions across use cases such as AI short dramas, social media content creation, and e-commerce content production.

Designkit has continuously rolled out new AI features, including an Expert Mode Agent, one-click replication of e-commerce promotional videos, and overnight batch image generation. These capabilities have also been transformed into "Skills" and integrated into the OpenClaw ecosystem.

Kaipai continues to drive marketing conversion through creative AI short videos. Following its launch, the “Video Diary” template quickly became a popular hit across platforms, significantly boosting app downloads.

AI Credits Consumption for Kaipai and RoboNeo Jumps Over 300%

Meitu is actively expanding its monetization model. In addition to paying subscriptions, users can flexibly purchase additional AI credits based on actual usage or pay for individual features.

As of March 2026, AI credits consumed by Meitu's users in March 2026 increased by 59% compared to December 2025. Productivity Applications were the primary growth drivers: Kaipai increased by 360%, RoboNeo increased by 316%, Designkit increased by 107%, and Vmake increased by 78%. The rapid growth highlights the effectiveness of company's strategy in integrating AI Agent capabilities across products, as increased user engagement with AI features helped drive strong growth in overall demand and usage.