If you use Snapchat+, you have probably noticed tiny planet icons appearing next to your closest friends. This is not random decoration. The Snapchat Planet Order is a real ranking system that shows how close you are to each friend based on how often you interact with them.
Understanding the Snapchat Planet Order helps you make sense of why one friend shows up as Mercury while another appears as Neptune. In this guide, we will break down every planet, explain how the ranking works, and clear up the most common confusion around this feature.
What Is the Snapchat Planet Order?
The Snapchat Planet Order is a visual friendship ranking system available through Snapchat+. It represents your top eight closest friends using planets from our solar system, starting with Mercury and ending with Neptune.
In this system, you are treated as the Sun. Your friends orbit around you based on interaction frequency, meaning how often you send snaps, chat, and engage with each other on the app. The friend you interact with the most becomes Mercury, since Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun in real astronomy. As interaction decreases, friends move further out, ending with Neptune for your eighth closest friend.
This feature is officially called the Friend Solar System, and it only appears for users who subscribe to Snapchat+.
Mercury
Mercury holds the top spot in the Snapchat Planet Order. This planet represents your number one closest friend, the person you interact with more than anyone else on the app.
Being someone’s Mercury usually means constant snapping, frequent chats, and high engagement on both sides. Since Mercury sits closest to the Sun, it symbolizes the tightest bond in your Friend Solar System.
It is worth noting that Mercury reflects app activity, not necessarily your real life best friend. Someone you snap with daily but rarely see in person can still rank as your Mercury.
Venus
Venus is the second planet in the order and represents your second closest friend. This person interacts with you frequently, just slightly less than your Mercury friend.
Venus friendships are still strong and consistent. The gap between Mercury and Venus is often small, and rankings can shift between these two positions depending on daily activity.
Earth
Earth takes the third position in the Snapchat Planet Order. As our home planet, Earth represents a friend who interacts with you regularly but not as intensely as your top two connections.
Many users notice Earth friendships tend to be steady and reliable rather than intense. This position often includes close friends, siblings, or partners who chat with you often but may not always be the most active snapper in your list.
Mars
Mars ranks fourth and represents a friend with moderate but consistent interaction. This person is still clearly part of your inner circle, just with slightly less daily engagement than the Earth position.
Friendships at the Mars level often include people you talk to a few times a week rather than every single day.
Jupiter
Jupiter sits fifth in the planet order. This position reflects a friend you interact with regularly, though the frequency has noticeably dropped compared to the first four planets.
Jupiter friendships are common with people you know well but communicate with in bursts, such as catching up after a few days rather than daily back and forth chatting.
Saturn
Saturn ranks sixth in the Snapchat Planet Order. Interaction at this level is present but less frequent, often showing friends you check in with periodically rather than constantly.
Saturn is recognizable for its ring in the Snapchat solar system graphic, making it easy to spot when reviewing your friend rankings.
Uranus
Uranus holds the seventh position. Friends at this level interact with you occasionally, and the connection is noticeably lighter compared to the top half of the list.
This ranking often includes friends you snap with during specific events, trips, or catch up conversations rather than daily communication.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and final planet in the Snapchat Planet Order. This represents the outer edge of your top eight closest friends, meaning the interaction is present but the lowest among the group.
Even though Neptune is the furthest planet, being on the list at all still places that friend above the majority of your other connections, since only eight spots exist.
How the Solar System Works
Snapchat’s Friend Solar System mirrors the real astronomical order of planets from the Sun outward. You are positioned as the Sun, and your eight closest friends orbit you based on interaction data collected by the app.
The system automatically calculates rankings using an algorithm that tracks snaps sent, snaps received, chats, and overall engagement between two accounts. Unlike Snapchat’s older Best Friends list, this feature adds a visual layer that makes rankings easier to understand at a glance.
Here is a quick overview of how the eight positions compare:
| Planet | Rank | General Interaction Level |
| Mercury | 1st | Highest |
| Venus | 2nd | Very High |
| Earth | 3rd | High |
| Mars | 4th | Above Average |
| Jupiter | 5th | Average |
| Saturn | 6th | Moderate |
| Uranus | 7th | Low |
| Neptune | 8th | Lowest of the top 8 |
This table gives a simplified view, but actual positioning depends entirely on your unique interaction patterns with each friend.
What Determines Your Planet?
Several factors influence where a friend lands in your Snapchat Planet Order. The ranking is not manual, meaning you cannot simply choose someone’s planet yourself.
Key factors include:
- Number of snaps sent and received between both users
- Frequency of chat messages exchanged
- Overall consistency of interaction over time
- Recency of activity, since recent engagement carries more weight than older activity
Snapchat does not publicly share the exact algorithm behind this feature, but interaction frequency and recency are widely understood to be the main drivers based on how rankings shift in real use.
Why Your Planet Can Change
Your position in someone’s Friend Solar System is not permanent. Planets shift as interaction patterns change over time.
If you start snapping a friend more often, you may move closer to Mercury. If your conversations slow down, you could drift toward Neptune or fall out of the top eight entirely. This dynamic nature is intentional, since the feature is designed to reflect current friendship activity rather than historical data.
Common reasons a planet changes include:
- A sudden increase or decrease in daily snaps
- Starting or ending regular conversations with someone
- A new friend entering your top eight, pushing someone else out
- Extended periods without interaction
Do You Need Snapchat+?
Yes, the Friend Solar System is exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers. Free Snapchat users cannot access this planet ranking feature.
Snapchat+ is a paid subscription tier that unlocks several extra features beyond the standard app, and the Friend Solar System is one of its most popular additions. Without an active subscription, you will not see planet icons on friend profiles, even if that friend also has Snapchat+.
Both users do not need to be subscribed for the feature to work. Only the person viewing their own Friend Solar System needs an active Snapchat+ subscription to see their friend rankings.
How to Check Your Planet
Checking your position in the Snapchat Planet Order is straightforward once you have Snapchat+ active.
- Open Snapchat and go to a friend’s profile
- Look for the small badge icon near their name if the Friend Solar System is enabled
- Tap the badge to view the planet assigned to that friend
- Alternatively, check your own profile settings to view your full Friend Solar System
Your rankings update automatically, so there is no manual refresh needed. Simply revisit the feature periodically to see if positions have shifted.
Is It Public?
No, your Snapchat Planet Order is private. Only you can see the full ranking of your top eight friends.
However, there is a partial visibility layer. A friend can often see the planet they have been assigned in your solar system, but they cannot see where other friends rank compared to them. This means someone can know they are your Mercury, but they will not know who your Venus, Earth, or Neptune is.
This privacy setup keeps individual rankings personal while still giving friends a small window into their own standing with you.
Planets vs. Chat Order
The Snapchat Planet Order and the traditional Chat Order often get confused, but they measure different things.
- Chat Order ranks friends based on recent conversation activity, typically shown on the main chat screen, and updates quickly based on the latest messages
- Planet Order reflects a broader pattern of interaction over time, factoring in overall snap and chat frequency rather than just the most recent exchange
A friend might appear at the top of your Chat Order because you just messaged them, even if they are not your Mercury in the Friend Solar System. The two systems can overlap, but they are calculated differently and serve different purposes within the app.
Planets vs. Friend Emojis
Before the Friend Solar System, Snapchat relied on friend emojis to indicate relationship status between users. These two systems still coexist today but serve different functions.
- Friend emojis (like the yellow heart or gold star) are visible to both users and indicate mutual status such as best friends or long streaks
- Planets are private rankings visible mainly to the account owner, showing a more detailed hierarchy among top friends
Friend emojis focus on mutual milestones and streak based achievements, while the planet system focuses purely on interaction volume and ranking position. Many users track both features together to get a fuller picture of their Snapchat relationships.
Does Mercury Mean Your Real Best Friend?
Not necessarily. Mercury reflects your most frequent Snapchat interaction, not your closest relationship in real life.
It is common for someone to rank as Mercury simply because you snap them daily out of habit, even if a different friend holds more emotional significance offline. Interaction based rankings measure app activity, not the depth or quality of a friendship.
If you want your Snapchat Planet Order to better reflect real life closeness, increasing interaction with that specific person is the only way to influence where they rank, since the position cannot be manually assigned.
Why Snapchat Uses Planets
Snapchat introduced the planet system to make friendship data more visual and engaging compared to a plain numbered list. Using a solar system theme adds a creative layer that fits the app’s playful design language.
This approach also increases engagement, since users are naturally curious about their rankings and often check the feature to see if their favorite friend still holds the Mercury position. Gamifying friendship data through planets encourages more frequent app usage, which benefits both user experience and platform engagement metrics.
Common Misunderstandings
Several misconceptions exist around the Snapchat Planet Order. Clearing these up can help you use the feature more accurately.
- Misunderstanding: Planets can be manually assigned. In reality, rankings are algorithm based and cannot be set by the user.
- Misunderstanding: Everyone can see your full planet list. Only you see the complete ranking, while friends see only their own assigned planet.
- Misunderstanding: Planet order equals real life closeness. It reflects app interaction, not emotional or personal closeness.
- Misunderstanding: Free users can access this feature. It is exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers only.
- Misunderstanding: Rankings never change. Positions shift regularly based on updated interaction patterns.
Final Thoughts
The Snapchat Planet Order offers a fun, visual way to see how your friendships stack up based on app activity. While it should not be treated as a definitive measure of real life closeness, it does give a clear snapshot of who you interact with most on the platform.
If you have Snapchat+, checking your Friend Solar System occasionally can be a lighthearted way to track changing friendships and see which connections are becoming stronger or fading over time.
FAQ’s
What does Mercury mean on Snapchat?
Mercury represents your number one closest friend based on interaction frequency. It is the highest ranking position in the Friend Solar System.
How many planets are in the Snapchat Planet Order?
There are eight planets, covering your top eight closest friends. They run from Mercury through Neptune.
Can I see my Snapchat Planet Order without Snapchat+?
No, this feature is exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers. Free users cannot access the Friend Solar System.
Can someone see their exact rank in my planet order?
A friend can typically see which planet they hold, but not the full ranked list. Your complete Friend Solar System stays private to you.
Why did my friend’s planet change?
Planets shift based on changes in interaction frequency and recency. More or less snapping and chatting will move a friend’s position.
Is the Snapchat Planet Order the same as Chat Order?
No, Chat Order reflects recent conversations while Planet Order reflects broader interaction patterns over time. They can differ significantly for the same friend.
Does being someone’s Mercury mean they are your best friend in real life?
Not necessarily, since Mercury only reflects Snapchat activity. Real life closeness may not match your app based ranking.
Jax Jokely is a seasoned humorist with over a decade of experience crafting sharp, laugh-out-loud content. Known for his clever wit and playful tone, he’s penned countless jokes and punchlines that have lit up columns, comedy sites, and social feeds alike. Whether it’s quick one-liners or clever observations, Jax brings the kind of humor that sticks—and speaks.