Netflix isn’t the only tech company raising the price of its subscription. YouTube quietly upped the fee for its YouTube Premium plan, which now has a base price of $13.99 per month.
This is the first time in more than five years that YouTube has increased the basic monthly price of Premium. When the subscription launched as YouTube Red in 2015, it cost $9.99 per month. The price tag went up to $11.99 when YouTube Premium adopted its current branding in 2018. Users who have subscribed to Premium since its launch will get to keep the previous price for three more months, YouTube said.
The latest price hike will also affect some of YouTube’s other subscription models. The YouTube Music service will now cost $10.99 per month, up from $9.99. Annual Premium subscriptions, which YouTube introduced last year, will go up $20 to $139.99. (If you need help with the math, that means the annual plan will become an even better deal than before.)
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YouTube signaled its impending price hikes when it raised the cost of its YouTube Premium family plan last October. The price of that subscription went up to $22.99, where it will stay for the time being.
To justify its series of price hikes, YouTube is pointing to the new features that have come to YouTube Premium. The subscription’s original perks, including ad-free browsing, are still available. In addition, Premium subscribers can now host co-streamed YouTube-watching parties, put videos in a queue, and continue watching content across all their devices.
“We’re updating the price for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscribers in the US to continue delivering great service and features,” YouTube spokesperson Jessica Gibby said in a statement. “We believe this new price reflects the value of YouTube Premium which allows subscribers to enjoy ad-free YouTube with background and offline play and uninterrupted access to over 100M songs with the YouTube Music app.”
Gibby also told The Verge that YouTube will continue to evaluate the price of Premium in international territories. “We re-evaluate our pricing on an ongoing basis as conditions change in countries around the world,” the YouTube spokesperson said. “Any future price increases will be communicated first and foremost directly to existing members, providing a minimum of 30 days before any price increases take effect.”
The original features of YouTube Premium could soon justify the increased price. YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers, which means that the promise of ad-free viewing is looking sweeter than ever before.
