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The next streaming service to implement a price increase is YouTube Premium, with most of its US subscribers set to pay an extra $2 per month.
YouTube has yet to announce this widely, but as spotted by Punikaweb, many on Reddit have reported receiving emails about changes to their pricing. The prices on the YouTube Premium subscription page have also been updated to reflect these increases.
The latest hike sees a standard Premium Individual subscription move from $13.99 per month to $15.99. The annual version is also moving up from $139.99 to $159.99. The yearly savings compared with monthly are now higher, at an extra $4, but it still costs you $20 more than what you paid last year.
If you’re subscribing through Apple's App Store, you’ll also pay an extra fee, bringing the price to $20.99 a month for Premium Individual. One Redditor shared their email, in which YouTube advised them to sign up on its website to reduce it to $15.99 a month. That's a smart way to save money, but it doesn't negate the entire increase.
Even those with a YouTube Premium Lite or Student subscription are seeing prices increase by $1, bringing each to $8.99 per month.
This hike isn’t just for individual subscriptions either; those with a Premium Family plan now pay $26.99 a month, up from $22.99. That's the largest increase across all subscription types, up $4 per month.
This may come as a shock to subscribers, especially since YouTube has historically notified customers about price increases before changing them. This is the first price change for YouTube Premium since a $2 increase in July 2023.
Other streaming services that have increased prices this year include a $2 increase for Netflix's ad-free plan, a $2 jump for Amazon Prime Video’s ad-free add-on, and a $1 hike for Paramount+.