YouTube Premium family plans are getting a price hike, but individual plans are safe for now
Google is raising the price of its YouTube Premium family plan subscription from $17.99 to $22.99 per month, which is an increase of 25%
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: YouTube Premium family plan
📈 Google has announced that the price of its YouTube Premium family plans is increasing by 25%
💰The family plan previously cost $17.99 per month, but will now cost $22.99 per month
😨 Those who subscribe to YouTube Premium through the Apple App Store will face an even steeper price increase of $29.99
🤨 Individual YouTube Premium accounts appear to be unaffected, for now
YouTube Premium family plans will cost up to 25% more come November 21, Google has announced.
Family plan members will see a price increase from $17.99 to $22.99, and those who subscribe to YouTube Premium through the Apple App Store will have to pay $29.99.
The announcement was made in an email to family plan subscribers (thanks, 9to5Google), which outlined that the price increase will come into effect on or after November 21, 2022. Google said the decision to increase the price of family plan subscriptions was made so it can “continue delivering great service and features.”
“We created YouTube Premium to provide an uninterrupted YouTube experience, so you can get closer to the videos, creators, and music artists that you love. To continue delivering great service and features, we will be increasing your Premium family plan price from $17.99/month to $22.99/month.
“This change will take place on your next billing cycle starting on or after November 21, 2022. To check the status of your account and billing information, go to your Settings > Purchases and Memberships page. All members have the flexibility to pause or cancel anytime here.” — Google
Thankfully, individual subscribers to YouTube Premium won’t be hit with the same price hike, at least not yet. It means a monthly membership will still cost $11.99, though how long that will last remains to be seen.
The price rise also affects original YouTube Red family subscribers, who were given a discounted rate of $14.99 a month. From April 2023, they’ll also have to pay the new price of $22.99 a month.
Is YouTube Premium still worth it?
The benefits of YouTube Premium are clear: you don’t have to sit through countless ads, you can watch videos in the background while using other apps on your phone, and you download videos to watch offline and access YouTube Music. However, the price increase is steep and makes the family plan less of a no-brainer than it was before.
The family plan still lets you add up to five members, so that works out to about $3 per person. That value proposition obviously drops if you don’t have six active users, but it’s still a lot cheaper than the price of three individual plans, for example.
I think if Google does increase the individual price plan, that might be a deal breaker, at least for me. Even though I canceled Spotify for YouTube Premium and can safely say I wish I’d done it sooner, paying more than $11.99 would make me think twice.
It seems like Google is open to feedback about the price change, as you can leave your feedback here. Whether or not it will reverse its decision remains to be seen, but it has recently ended its trial of locking 4K videos behind a paywall.