Significant Price Increase for Some YouTube Premium Subscribers After Ten Years of Low Rates.
Some YouTube Premium subscribers will experience a rate increase to $13.99, after having only paid $7.99 for the past ten years.
Recently, YouTube Premium users, who have enjoyed a monthly cost of $7.99 since its inception, have been informed that they will face a substantial increase in their rates. In a change that will affect millions of users, the cost will adjust to the current price of $13.99. This service has its roots in "Music Key," launched in 2014, which was an invitation-only service focused on music content and offered ad-free music videos, background playback, and offline downloads for the same monthly fee of $7.99.
A year later, "Music Key" was rebranded as “YouTube Red,” expanding its benefits beyond music to remove ads from all videos, with a new price of $9.99. Users who migrated from "Music Key" retained their previous rate without an increase. Subsequently, in 2018, YouTube again renamed the service to “YouTube Premium” and launched YouTube Music as a standalone platform. During this relaunch, new subscribers saw price increases, although existing users were able to keep their original rates.
The first significant price hike since the launch of Premium occurred two years ago, with a $2 increase in individual plans to $13.99 per month. Likewise, annual and student plans also increased. As a result, those who had been paying $9.99 since the YouTube Red era began to pay the full fee of $13.99. However, early subscribers benefiting from the $7.99 rate since the "Music Key" era continued to enjoy that reduced price, although this benefit will gradually begin to fade starting in late 2024.
With the price change, former subscribers must face a 75% increase in their fee, going from $7.99 to $13.99. Starting in April 2025, YouTube Premium offers several important advantages for its users, such as the absence of ads across all YouTube platforms, background playback, which allows audio to be played while the app is minimized or the device screen is off, and the ability to download videos and playlists for offline viewing.
Additionally, subscribers have full access to YouTube Music Premium, where they can enjoy ad-free streaming, listen to music in the background within the YouTube Music app, and download songs for offline enjoyment. There may also be enhanced features available, such as higher bitrate streaming options, which provide better video quality, although this may vary by device. Google is notifying early adopters of YouTube Premium about this price increase.