By estherdidsang@gmail.com 
For the first time in two years, YouTube Premium is getting a price hike ranging from $1 to $4 depending on the subscription plan. The increase is already in place for new accounts, with the bump rolling out to existing customers in the U.S.
Here’s what you’ll pay now:
- Individual: $15.99/month, up from $13.99
- Family: $26.99/month, up from $22.99
- Lite: $8.99/month, up from $7.99
- Music Premium: $11.99/month, up from $10.99
Up to now, YouTube Premium hasn’t followed in the footsteps of every other streaming platforms that increased prices, occasionally multiple times. The last bump for the individual plan came in 2023, while the family plan leapt from $22.99 from $17.99 in 2022. European customers saw an increase in 2024.
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According to 9to5Google, current YouTube Premium customers will start being notified of the price increases via email.
An email seen by 9to5Google reads: “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.
“You will see the change reflected on your June 7, 2026 billing date.”
An unfortunate trend
Unfortunately, the Premium price increase is another in a long line affecting everything from other streaming services to actual hardware.
Samsung and Motorola just raised prices on old phones, indicating that new phones launching later this year will also be more expensive. Netflix rolled out another price hike in March, the second in less than a year.
March was particularly bad for price hikes. Every Sony PS5 console got at least a $100 increase while Amazon made the ad-free version of Prime Video more expensive.
How to cancel or pause your subscription
The new prices aren’t exactly cheap. If you’re looking to cancel your subscription you can go to the YouTube memberships page. You can also pause your subscription for up to six months.
Currently, you can save a bit of money (up to 15%) if you opt for a manual payment.
As a reminder, Premium removes ads, lets you play videos in the background and download videos for offline play.
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