YouTube Premium price increase means avoiding ads is going to cost you more
YouTube Premium subscriptions are going up in the US, across the board. It'll cost you between $1 and $4 to avoid ads from now on.
Google has announced YouTube Premium streaming subscriptions are going up in the United States, meaning the price of avoiding ads without hassle is about to take a couple more bucks a month out of your streaming budget.
Just prior to the weekend, Google revealed to subscribers that all tiers of YouTube Premium are now more expensive on home soil. It’s the first time Google has put up the prices since 2023 and the first time YouTube Premium Lite, introduced last year, has been increased at all.
The headline is the increase to the Family plan which is now $26.99 a month, up a whopping $4 from $22.99 a month.
The new prices are listed below:
- Individual: $15.99/month, up $2 from $13.99
- Family: $26.99/month, up $4 from $22.99
- Lite: $8.99/month, up $1 from $7.99
- Music Premium: $11.99/month, up $1 from $10.99
Should users be put off by the increase to the standard version, YouTube Premium Lite might be the way to go. It offers background play and offline downloads for videos – and it gets rid of most of the ads in long form videos. That’s an especially good option if you get your music streaming from somewhere other than YouTube Music, which is bundled into the main subscription, for instance.
Nevertheless, Google reckons the update is necessary to continue supporting creators, who share revenue with YouTube. In an update sent to users via email, Google writes: “To continue delivering great service and features, we’re increasing your price to $15.99/month. We don’t make these decisions lightly, but this update will allow us to continue to improve Premium and support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube.”
Given Netflix just put its prices up in the US, and other services’ turn on the merry-go-round won’t be far behind, these perennial price hikes probably take around $10 out of most people’s streaming budget every month.
Chris Smith
