YouTube Premium and YouTube Music subscribers should keep an eye on their subscriptions, as the prices are going to be higher the next time they pay the bill.
YouTube joins the ongoing trend of subscription services raising their prices in recent months.
Price Increases
The price increases apply to several tiers of YouTube’s services.
The YouTube Premium individual plan is increasing from $13.99 to $15.99/month, while the family plan is increasing from $22.99 to $26.99/month. The YouTube Premium Lite is increasing from $7.99 to $8.99/month, while the YouTube Premium Student Plan is increasing from $7.99 to $8.99/month.
YouTube Premium provides ad-free viewing along with background listening, offline video downloads, and full access to YouTube Music.
For the Lite version, you still get ad-free video viewing, but it excludes songs and music videos, and does not let users download videos or play them in the background.
As for YouTube Music, the individual plan is increasing from $10.99 to $11.99/month, and the family plan is increasing from $16.99 to $18.99/month.
Taking Effect
For new subscribers, the price increase will take effect now. As for existing customers, they will see the increase in their next billing cycle in June.
YouTube is sending out emails at least 30 days in advance to confirm the new subscription price to its users.
YouTube Premium Statement
YouTube released a statement about the increase.
The spokesperson said, “We’re updating the price for YouTube Premium plans in the U.S. for the first time since 2023 to continue delivering a high-quality experience that supports creators and artists on YouTube. This change allows us to maintain the features our members value most: ad-free viewing, background play, and a massive library of 300M+ tracks on YouTube Music.”
Back in 2023, the company raised its Premium price from $11.99 to $13.99/month and its music from $9.99 to $10.99/month.
Joining Other Price Increases
YouTube Premium and YouTube Music join several other platforms that have increased their prices recently.
Last year, Disney+ and Hulu, HBO Max, and Peacock raised their prices.
As for this year, Netflix introduced a price increase last month, Paramount+ did so in January, and Amazon’s ad-free tier Ultra now costs $5/month extra.
TV and movie streaming platforms weren’t the only ones requiring a higher payment.
Spotify Premium also raised its subscription. The individual plan went from $11.99 to $12.99/month, the duo plan went from $16.99 to $18.99/month, and the family plan went from $19.99 to $21.99/month.