YouTube is joining the ranks of other subscription streaming services: The Google-owned video giant is hiking prices in the U.S. for its YouTube Premium ad-free plans and YouTube Music.
The YouTube Premium individual plan is increasing from $13.99 to $15.99/month, while the family plan (up to six accounts) is increasing from $22.99 to $26.99/month. The YouTube Music individual plan is increasing from $10.99 to $11.99/month, and the family plan is rising from $16.99 to $18.99/month.
YouTube Premium’s key perk is ad-free viewing; the service also provides background listening, offline video downloads and full access to YouTube Music.
In addition, the price of the YouTube Premium Lite in the U.S. is going from $7.99 to $8.99/month; that provides ad-free video viewing but excludes songs and music videos and does not let users download videos for offline viewing or play videos in the background.
YouTube’s new subscription pricing will take effect now for new customers; existing customers will see the new pricing in their next billing cycle in June. Current subscribers will receive an email from YouTube at least 30 days in advance confirming their new subscription price.
In a statement, a YouTube 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.”
The first time the video platform had raised prices on its premium subscription service came in July 2023, when YouTube Premium went up from $11.99 to $13.99/month and YouTube Music increased from $9.99 to $10.99/month in the U.S.
One year ago, YouTube announced that it had topped 125 million subscribers worldwide for YouTube Music and Premium, up from 100 million in 2024.
Other major streaming services have also recently hiked prices. Disney+ and Hulu, HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock upped pricing last year, and Netflix rolled out a U.S. price increase on all plans starting last month. Paramount+ raised prices in January and Amazon’s ad-free Prime Video tier (called “Ultra”) now costs $5/month extra.
In addition, Spotify raised U.S. prices earlier this year, with an individual plan increasing from $11.99 to $12.99/month.
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