- YouTube Premium has quietly increased the prices of its tiers
- Google began emailing users about the change before announcing it.
- For many subscribers, this could be the last straw.
YouTube Premium is the latest subscription service to raise its prices in the US, but the timing couldn’t be more awkward, especially as it follows controversy over its 90-second ads that free users can’t skip.
As discovered by eagle-eyed users on Reddit, YouTube has already increased its monthly rates on all of its plans, including its budget Premium Lite tier that launched just last year. With the new changes implemented, subscription prices have increased up to $4.
YouTube Premium’s standard individual plan has now increased to $15.99 per month from $13.99, while the rate for the new family plan is now $26.99 per month instead of $22.99. YouTube Premium Lite will now cost $8.99, increasing by $1, and Music Premium will cost $11.99/month, up from $10.99.
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Unlike Netflix, where customers are no stranger to a frequent price increase, rate increases don’t happen as frequently for YouTube Premium members. The last time Google raised its subscription prices was in 2023, when individual plans went from $11.99 to $13.99, and the family plan rose to $22.99 the year before. It’s safe to say that existing members are pretty frustrated with this move, but it’s the vagueness on Google’s part that seems to bother them the most.
For starters, it took a while for Google to talk about the change (the company gave a statement to Variety), letting subscribers find out for themselves via email. However, not everyone was informed and those who received emails are still wondering: why is Google raising these prices?
One user shared a screenshot of their email detailing: “To continue providing great services and features, we are increasing your price to $20.99 per month. We don’t make these decisions lightly, but this update will allow us to continue improving Premium and supporting the creators and artists you see on YouTube.”
The point is that users are not fooled.
No more YouTube premium from r/youtube
The biggest difference between YouTube Premium and a platform like Netflix is that the latter has a continuous production of original content, so it has a valuable place to invest the money generated by subscription fees. Another user pointed this out, stating that YouTube has no original content on the scale of Netflix to invest in, as all of its hosted content is created by creators with YouTube channels, leading users to question where their money is really going.
With this in mind, YouTube has also recently come under fire for its 90-second unskippable ads on its TV app. But despite the company’s commentary against claims that it is conducting secret testing, the price increases give us good reason to believe that Google is trying to lure even more free users to the dark side – but will it cost them the loyalty of long-time subscribers in the process?
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