YouTube Premium legacy plans get a price hike in more countries

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YouTube Premium early adopters are being informed that they will soon be required to pay the same amount as the general public.

There have been reports of price increases of up to 61 percent for family plans in Europe, suggesting that the increase is substantial.

The price increase is now affecting even grandfathered account holders, such as former Music Key users.

However, prior to the changes taking effect, Google is granting these users a grace period of “at least 3 more months.”

YouTube Premium price hike hits early adopters

YouTube Premium and YouTube Music subscribers in multiple countries, including those with long-standing “grandfathered” plans, are facing unexpected price hikes. 

The increases affect individual, family, and student plans, with users in Europe, Latin America, and beyond reporting steep rises. 

For example, a family plan in Costa Rica went from about $11 to $16, while in Europe, some family plans saw a jump from €12.99 to €20.99 — a 61% increase.

Grandfathered subscribers who previously paid discounted rates are also impacted, although YouTube is offering them a three-month grace period before the new rates take effect. 

In an email to The Verge, YouTube’s communications manager, Paul Pennington, said that the company has indeed raised the prices for both the YouTube Premium plans and the YouTube Music standalone plans: 

We’re updating the price for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium for new and current subscribers in Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Kuwait, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Uruguay, and Turkey.

Members who signed up originally via Google Play and received early adopter pricing will get three additional months at their current price.

These increases follow a similar hike in 2022 but extend more widely this time. YouTube has confirmed the new rates apply across several countries, though it’s unclear if or when the US Music Key early adopters might experience similar changes.

Got any thoughts on this price hike? Will you be cancelling your subscription because of this price raise? We would love to hear more from you in the comments, below or via our Twitter or Facebook.