Stop me if you have heard this one before: a subscription service is increasing its prices. It seems to be a frequent thing now, with everyone from Paramount+ to Peacock recently raising prices. The next service to become more expensive is YouTube Premium, the subscription that removes ads on YouTube (while still paying the creators) and includes full access to YouTube Music.
Google has not formally announced a price increase just yet, but users online have spotted that the YouTube Premium’s monthly subscription just went up in price by $2 in the United States, from $11.99 to $13.99. If you’re buying your subscription from the iOS app, then you can expect to pay $18.99, as the price changes to account for App Store fees. The annual subscription, which saves you money, is now $139.99 a year, or $20 more, while YouTube Music is also going up in price, from $9.99 to $10.99. Remember, YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music, but if you don’t really watch videos you can save money by getting the standalone YouTube Music subscription
The keen-eyed among you might remember that YouTube Premium already had a recent price hike, and you’d be right. Back then, however, the price was only increased for the family plan, which had its price jump up to $22.99 a month for up to five people. Many expected a regular price hike for the individual monthly subscription to follow later, and it seems we just got it.
That last increase just $2, and it wouldn’t be such a problem if Google was the only one doing it. However, if you pay for multiple services and each bring up their prices $1 or $2, it can start adding up very quickly and make a bigger dent in your wallet for services you were already receiving. Unfortunately, it’s not a trend that seems to be stopping anytime soon.
Since we don’t have an official announcement, the exact terms of this aren’t clear. There’s a chance your previous subscription price might be grandfathered, as it has happened in the past, but you should definitely check to see if this is the case. If it’s not, then expect to pay more money going forward.
Source: 9to5Google