If you have Snapchat+ and noticed a planet next to a friend’s profile, you may be wondering what it actually means. The best friend list Snapchat planets feature, officially called Friend Solar System, turns your position in another person’s top eight friends into a planet. Mercury means you’re ranked #1, while Neptune means you’re #8.
The confusing part is that the planet represents your position in your friend’s Best Friends list, not necessarily their position in yours. That small distinction explains many of the questions people have about Snapchat planets. This guide breaks down the complete order, what each planet means, how the ranking works, how to check your planet, and what the feature does—and does not—tell you about a friendship.
What Are Snapchat Planets?
Snapchat Planets are part of Snapchat+’s Friend Solar System feature. Snapchat uses the eight planets of our solar system to represent the eight people occupying the top positions in a user’s Best Friends ranking.
Think of it this way:
- Your friend is the Sun.
- You are one of the planets in their solar system.
- Your planet represents your position among their top eight friends.
- The closer the planet is to the Sun, the higher your position.
- Mercury is #1.
- Neptune is #8.
Snapchat’s own support documentation confirms that Best Friends are the eight people you Snap and Chat with the most, and that tapping the Best Friends badge reveals which planet you occupy in that person’s Solar System.
This is why the feature is better understood as a visual ranking system rather than a separate friendship score.
Also Read: Snapchat Planets Meaning
Snapchat Planets in Order
Here is the complete Snapchat Best Friends planets order, starting with the closest position and moving outward:
| Rank | Snapchat Planet | What It Means |
| 1 | Mercury | You are their #1 Best Friend |
| 2 | Venus | You are their #2 Best Friend |
| 3 | Earth | You are their #3 Best Friend |
| 4 | Mars | You are their #4 Best Friend |
| 5 | Jupiter | You are their #5 Best Friend |
| 6 | Saturn | You are their #6 Best Friend |
| 7 | Uranus | You are their #7 Best Friend |
| 8 | Neptune | You are their #8 Best Friend |
The sequence follows the real solar-system order from Mercury through Neptune. Pluto is not included because Snapchat’s Friend Solar System represents eight positions.
The shortcut to remember the order
Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
Or simply:
1 = Mercury
2 = Venus
3 = Earth
4 = Mars
5 = Jupiter
6 = Saturn
7 = Uranus
8 = Neptune
If you remember that sequence, you can decode virtually any Snapchat planet immediately.
Also Read: Snapchat Planets Numbered
What Does Each Snapchat Planet Mean?
The planet itself is primarily a rank indicator. Decorative details such as hearts, stars, rings, and colors help identify the planet visually, but they shouldn’t be interpreted as separate friendship scores.
1. Mercury — Your #1 Best Friend
Mercury means you are ranked first in that person’s Best Friends list.
It is the closest planet to the Sun in the Friend Solar System, so Snapchat uses it for the highest position.
If you open someone’s Friendship Profile and your Friendmoji appears on Mercury, you currently hold the #1 position in that person’s Snapchat Best Friends ranking.
Mercury is commonly recognizable by its red appearance and surrounding heart decorations.
In simple terms:
Mercury = “You are their closest Snapchat friend.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean you are their closest friend in real life. The ranking describes activity on Snapchat, not the complete quality of a personal relationship.
2. Venus — Your #2 Best Friend
Venus means you are ranked second.
One person currently has more qualifying Snapchat interaction with them than you do, placing you immediately behind their #1 friend.
Venus is generally displayed as a light tan or beige planet with colorful heart decorations.
In simple terms:
Venus = “You’re second in their Snapchat friend ranking.”
Being #2 is still inside the highest tier of the Friend Solar System.
3. Earth — Your #3 Best Friend
Earth represents the third position.
The planet is especially easy to recognize because its design resembles our actual Earth, complete with blue and green coloring, a moon, stars, and heart decorations.
If someone sees Earth when checking your position in their Solar System, you are currently their third-ranked Best Friend.
In simple terms:
Earth = “You’re their #3 Snapchat friend.”
4. Mars — Your #4 Best Friend
Mars represents position four.
It is generally shown as a reddish planet with decorative stars and colorful hearts.
If you are Mars, three people currently rank ahead of you in that person’s Best Friends list.
In simple terms:
Mars = “You’re #4 in their Snapchat Best Friends ranking.”
5. Jupiter — Your #5 Best Friend
Jupiter represents the fifth position.
Its larger orange or reddish appearance and darker bands make it relatively easy to distinguish from the other planets.
Jupiter is important because it demonstrates why planet size does not represent friendship strength. Jupiter is physically larger than Mercury in the real solar system, but on Snapchat it simply represents position #5.
In simple terms:
Jupiter = “You’re their #5 Snapchat friend.”
6. Saturn — Your #6 Best Friend
Saturn represents position six.
The easiest way to identify it is the prominent ring around the planet.
If your Friendmoji is shown on Saturn, five people currently occupy positions ahead of you in that person’s Snapchat Best Friends ranking.
In simple terms:
Saturn = “You’re #6 in their Snapchat friend ranking.”
7. Uranus — Your #7 Best Friend
Uranus represents position seven.
It is generally depicted as a greenish or blue-green planet without the prominent heart decorations seen around several other planets.
Uranus still places you inside the eight positions represented by Friend Solar System.
In simple terms:
Uranus = “You’re their #7 Snapchat friend.”
8. Neptune — Your #8 Best Friend
Neptune represents the eighth and outermost position.
It is typically recognizable as a deep blue planet.
Being Neptune does not mean that someone dislikes you, has stopped caring about you, or is about to remove you. It simply means you occupy the eighth position among the friends represented in that person’s Friend Solar System.
In simple terms:
Neptune = “You’re #8 in their Snapchat Best Friends ranking.”
That’s still part of the top-eight group.
The Most Important Detail: Whose Best Friend List Are You Looking At?
This is where Snapchat planets can become confusing.
Suppose Alex opens Maya’s profile and sees Mercury.
That means:
Alex is #1 on Maya’s Best Friends list.
It does not automatically mean Maya is #1 on Alex’s Best Friends list.
Every user has their own ranking.
Example
Imagine this:
| Person | Their position in the other person’s ranking |
| Alex → Maya | Mercury (#1) |
| Maya → Alex | Saturn (#6) |
Alex is Maya’s #1 Snapchat Best Friend, while Maya is Alex’s #6.
There is no contradiction.
The Friend Solar System is directional. The planet you see when looking at someone’s profile tells you where you stand in their Solar System.
This is one of the most useful things to understand about Snapchat planets.
Also Read: Snapchat Planets Order
Best Friends Badge vs. Friends Badge
Snapchat can show different friendship badges when you view a person’s Friendship Profile.
Snapchat’s official explanation says the Best Friends badge means the person is among the eight friends you Snap and Chat with the most. The Friend Solar System then lets you see which planet represents your position.
A useful distinction is:
| Badge | General meaning |
| Best Friends | You are in each other’s top-eight Best Friends group |
| Friends | You are in their top eight, but they aren’t necessarily in yours |
So don’t automatically assume that seeing a planet means the friendship ranking is identical in both directions.
How Does Snapchat Decide Your Planet?
Snapchat does not publicly provide a simple formula such as “100 Snaps = Mercury.”
What Snapchat officially tells users is that Best Friends are the people you Snap and Chat with the most.
That means it is safer to think about planets as a relative ranking based on Snapchat interaction, rather than a fixed points system.
Interactions that can matter to your overall position may include activity such as:
- Sending Snaps
- Receiving Snaps
- Chatting with someone
- Maintaining regular interaction
- Other forms of engagement within Snapchat
Third-party explanations frequently discuss factors such as story interactions and Snapstreak activity, but Snapchat does not publish a complete weighting formula.
Why this distinction matters
Suppose you exchange 50 Snaps with one person and 45 with another.
That does not mean Snapchat publicly defines those users as having exactly 50 and 45 “friendship points.”
The planet tells you the relative position, not the underlying numerical score.
This is an important difference between what Snapchat actually reveals and what people sometimes infer from the feature.
Also Read: Snapchat Planets in Order
Can Your Snapchat Planet Change?
Yes.
Your planet represents your current position in another person’s Best Friends ranking, so it can change as your Snapchat interaction changes.
For example:
Monday:
You are Mercury.
Several days later:
Another person becomes more active with your friend.
Result:
You could move from Mercury to Venus—or another position.
Likewise, someone can move closer to Mercury or farther toward Neptune as the relative ranking changes.
The planet should therefore be treated as a current snapshot of Snapchat activity, not a permanent label attached to a friendship.
How to See Your Snapchat Planet
You need access to Snapchat+’s Friend Solar System feature.
Snapchat’s official support page explains that Solar Systems are off by default for first-time Snapchat+ subscribers and can be enabled through the Snapchat+ feature-management settings.
Steps to check your planet
- Open Snapchat.
- Go to the profile of the friend you want to check.
- Look for the Best Friends or Friends badge with the gold ring.
- Tap the badge.
- Snapchat will display the Friend Solar System.
- Find your Friendmoji and identify the planet you’re on.
The planet tells you your position in that friend’s Best Friends ranking.
For the official explanation, see Snapchat Support: How do Friend Solar Systems work?.
What If You Can’t See Snapchat Planets?
There are several straightforward reasons the feature may not appear.
You don’t have Snapchat+
Friend Solar System is a Snapchat+ feature. The ordinary Best Friends system and the visual Solar System are not the same thing.
Friend Solar System is disabled
For first-time Snapchat+ subscribers, Snapchat says Solar Systems are disabled by default. You may need to turn the feature on in Snapchat+ settings.
You’re not in the relevant top-eight relationship
The badge and planet display depend on the friendship relationship being eligible for the Friend Solar System.
The ranking has changed
If a person moves outside the relevant ranking, the previous planet you saw may no longer appear.
The app needs updating or syncing
If everything appears correct but the feature isn’t showing, checking for an available Snapchat update and reopening the app can help rule out a temporary app issue.
Also Read: Snapchat Dark Mode
Snapchat Planets vs. Real Friendship
This deserves more attention than it usually gets.
A Snapchat planet is not a psychological measurement of friendship.
If someone is your Neptune, that doesn’t prove they’re your least loyal friend. If someone is Mercury, it doesn’t prove they’re your closest person offline.
The system measures a digital behavior pattern.
That distinction matters because people naturally attach emotional meaning to rankings.
Consider two friends:
- You may rarely use Snapchat with your closest childhood friend.
- You may exchange hundreds of Snaps with a classmate every week.
The classmate could rank higher in Snapchat’s system even though your real-world relationship with the childhood friend is stronger.
So the healthiest interpretation is:
Planet = Snapchat interaction position.
Not:
Planet = value of the friendship.
Do Snapstreaks Determine Your Planet?
A Snapstreak can reflect frequent communication, so it may coincide with a strong Best Friends position. But it would be inaccurate to say that a specific streak length automatically guarantees Mercury, Venus, or any other planet.
Snapchat’s official documentation describes Best Friends in terms of people you Snap and Chat with the most rather than publishing a rule such as “a 100-day streak equals Mercury.”
So if someone tells you:
“You need a six-month streak to become Mercury.”
Treat that as an unsupported rule, not an official Snapchat requirement.
Does Mercury Mean You’re Their Number-One Friend?
Yes, within the Snapchat Friend Solar System, Mercury represents the #1 position.
But the important qualifier is within Snapchat.
Mercury tells you that you occupy the first position in that person’s relevant Best Friends ranking. It does not prove that you’re their best friend in everyday life.
Does Neptune Mean You’re No Longer Friends?
No.
Neptune means you are in the eighth position represented by the Friend Solar System.
You are still within the top eight represented by the feature.
If you move from Mercury to Neptune, that indicates a change in your relative Snapchat ranking. It doesn’t automatically indicate an argument, rejection, unfollow, or loss of the friendship.
Why Did My Planet Change?
The most likely explanation is that your relative Snapchat interaction changed.
For example:
- You started Snapping someone less often.
- Another person began interacting with them more.
- Your chat activity changed.
- Your friend’s overall interaction pattern changed.
- The ranking updated based on newer activity.
Because the ranking is relative, you can move even if your own activity stays roughly the same.
Imagine you’re #2 and another friend suddenly becomes much more active. You could fall to #3 without dramatically changing your own behavior.
That’s an important difference between a fixed score and a ranking system.
Can You See Someone’s Entire Best Friends List?
No. Snapchat planets don’t expose the names and exact ranking of all eight people in someone else’s list.
Instead, the Friend Solar System provides your position when you view the relevant friendship profile.
You therefore shouldn’t treat the feature as a tool for reconstructing someone’s complete private ranking.
Quick Snapchat Planets Cheat Sheet
If you just want the answer without the explanation, save this:
| Planet | Position | Quick Meaning |
| 🔴 Mercury | #1 | Closest Snapchat friend |
| 🟤 Venus | #2 | Second closest |
| 🌍 Earth | #3 | Third closest |
| 🔴 Mars | #4 | Fourth closest |
| 🟠 Jupiter | #5 | Fifth closest |
| 🪐 Saturn | #6 | Sixth closest |
| 🟢 Uranus | #7 | Seventh closest |
| 🔵 Neptune | #8 | Eighth closest |
Memory trick: The Snapchat planet order is the same as the normal planet order:
Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune
Also Read: What Do the Snapchat Planets Mean?
Common Snapchat Planet Mistakes
Mistake 1: Assuming the planet is mutual
If you’re Mercury for someone, don’t automatically assume they’re Mercury for you.
The rankings can be different in each direction.
Mistake 2: Treating Neptune as an insult
Neptune is simply position #8.
It isn’t a “bad friend” label.
Mistake 3: Assuming the planet is permanent
Your position can change as interaction patterns change.
Mistake 4: Confusing Snapchat activity with real-life closeness
The feature describes Snapchat behavior. It doesn’t measure trust, loyalty, emotional closeness, or how long you’ve known someone.
Mistake 5: Believing unofficial formulas
Snapchat does not publish a complete public scoring equation for converting every interaction into a planet.
Be careful with articles or social posts claiming exact thresholds without an official Snapchat source.
Best Way to Interpret Your Snapchat Planet
The simplest approach is to treat the planet as a snapshot, not a verdict.
If you see:
- Mercury: You’re currently #1.
- Venus: You’re currently #2.
- Earth: You’re currently #3.
- Mars: You’re currently #4.
- Jupiter: You’re currently #5.
- Saturn: You’re currently #6.
- Uranus: You’re currently #7.
- Neptune: You’re currently #8.
That’s the useful information.
The planet does not tell you why you occupy that position with mathematical precision, nor does it measure the overall quality of your friendship.
A Real-World Example
Imagine Sarah and Emma use Snapchat regularly.
Sarah opens Emma’s profile and taps the Best Friends badge. Sarah’s Friendmoji appears on Venus.
Sarah is therefore Emma’s #2 Best Friend on Snapchat.
A week later, Sarah checks again and sees Mercury.
That means Sarah has moved into Emma’s #1 position.
Now reverse the perspective.
Emma could check Sarah’s profile and discover that she is Mars.
That would mean Emma is #4 in Sarah’s ranking.
So the relationship might look like this:
Sarah → Emma: #4
Emma → Sarah: #1
There is no inconsistency. Each Solar System has its own Sun, and each ranking is viewed from the account whose profile you’re examining.
Is Snapchat Planets Accurate?
It’s accurate to the extent that it represents the position Snapchat assigns within its Best Friends system.
What you should not assume is that the planet gives you a complete explanation of the ranking.
Snapchat does not expose:
- A numerical friendship score
- The exact activity gap between positions
- A public formula for every ranking factor
- The complete names of another person’s eight friends
- A measure of offline friendship quality
That means the planet is useful for answering “Where do I rank?”, but not necessarily “Why exactly am I here?”
This distinction is one of the most important pieces of context when interpreting Snapchat planets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best friend list Snapchat planets order?
The order is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. They represent positions #1 through #8 in the Friend Solar System.
What does Mercury mean on Snapchat?
Mercury means you are #1 in that person’s Snapchat Best Friends ranking.
What does Venus mean on Snapchat?
Venus means you are #2 in that person’s Best Friends ranking.
What does Earth mean on Snapchat?
Earth represents position #3.
What does Mars mean on Snapchat?
Mars represents position #4.
What does Jupiter mean on Snapchat?
Jupiter represents position #5.
What does Saturn mean on Snapchat?
Saturn represents position #6.
What does Uranus mean on Snapchat?
Uranus represents position #7.
What does Neptune mean on Snapchat?
Neptune represents position #8, the outermost position in the Friend Solar System.
Do Snapchat planets show your best friend ranking?
Yes. The planet shows your position in another person’s top-eight Best Friends ranking when the Friend Solar System feature is available.
Is Snapchat Mercury better than Neptune?
Mercury is a higher Snapchat Best Friends position than Neptune, but that doesn’t mean the person represented by Mercury is a “better” real-life friend.
Can my Snapchat planet change?
Yes. Your position can change as the relative pattern of Snapchat interaction changes.
Do both friends have to be Snapchat+ users?
The Friend Solar System is a Snapchat+ feature. The person viewing the relevant Friendship Profile needs access to the feature to see the Solar System experience. Snapchat’s current support documentation should be treated as the authoritative reference for feature availability and settings.
Can I see who someone else has as their Mercury?
The planet system tells you your own position in their Solar System. It does not provide a complete list of their other Best Friends.
Does a long Snapstreak guarantee Mercury?
No official Snapchat documentation provides a fixed streak-length requirement for Mercury. A streak can be part of regular interaction, but there is no publicly documented “X days = Mercury” rule.
Does Neptune mean someone doesn’t like me?
No. Neptune only represents the eighth position in the Friend Solar System. It should not be interpreted as an emotional judgment.
Also Read: How Much Is Snapchat Plus?
Conclusion
Snapchat planets are simply a visual way of representing your position in another person’s top-eight Snapchat Best Friends ranking. Mercury is #1 and Neptune is #8, with Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus between them. The key is to read the planet from the profile you’re viewing: it tells you where you stand in that person’s Solar System, not automatically where they stand in yours.
Tasha Harshman is a versatile writer who explores a range of topics with a special focus on entertainment. She enjoys sharing clear, engaging insights about movies, celebrities, trends, and pop culture.
