YouTube Raises Premium Prices in Over 15 Countries

[MacRumors]

YouTube is raising the cost of its Premium plan in multiple countries around the world, with the new pricing surfacing over the weekend (via Android Authority). Prices are up in Europe, South America, and and some countries in Asia and the Middle East.

Price hikes are being tracked over on Reddit, and so far customers in the following countries are being warned about higher prices: Belgium, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

The biggest single plan price increase is in Norway, where prices are up 42 percent. YouTube Premium in Norway used to cost approximately $11.33 per month, but now it is just over $16. In Sweden, the family plan now costs $27.38 per month, up from $17.57. On average, single person plans have increased 18 percent, while family plans are up 43 percent.

Many YouTube Premium customers affected by the price changes have said on Reddit that they plan to cancel given the significant increases to family plans.

YouTube Premium pricing has not increased in the United States, Canada, or other countries. In the U.S., the standard plan is $13.99 per month, and a family plan is $22.99 per month.

Article Link: YouTube Raises Premium Prices in Over 15 Countries

 

[Rayansb]

Typical. Get them hooked then screw them in the rear.

 

[CWallace]

IMO, life is too short to watch commercials, so even if they do raise the price for the US, I will keep it as I watch far too much YouTube to not have Premium.

 

[cicalinarrot]

Must be terrible news for their subscriber.

 

[infinitejest]

IMO, life is too short to watch commercials, so even if they do raise the price for the US, I will keep it.

Or just get a free ad blocker.

 

[mansplains]

Never gonna forgive my brother for dropping our grandfathered family rate of old. On the other hand, I've switched to Brave for iOS, and haven't looked back to the dumpster fire YouTube app. I still pay for a student plan for the wife since she doesn't have patience to fiddle with workarounds. Now if only I could disable Shorts at our router level so she quits wasting time there...

 

[icanhazmac]

Typical. Get them hooked then screw them in the rear.

Really?

Prices are on the rise everywhere and currency exchange rates move all the time. This shouldn't be a surprise. I'm no fan of the parent company but I don't see this as "screwing" anyone.

Edit: wow, never imagined so much emoji butthurt! Be calm people, not every price increase is a "screw" job.

 

[CWallace]

Or just get a free ad blocker.

I watch mostly on Apple TV, so that is not really an option. And the sites are getting better and better at circumventing the ad blockers on PC browsers, which turns it into a perpetual game of offense vs. defense.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

I used to use YouTube Premium, because no ads, but also some of the app features, but with the last few rounds of price hiking in Australia, I dropped it, upgraded my ad blockers, and deleted the YouTube app off my phone.

 

[F23]

Google has won the adblock war. It's over boys.

 

[firstcitazen]

Cost of doing business is higher in Europe, guessing they are adjusting for that

 

[antiprotest]

I watch far too much YouTube to not have Premium.

I hate medicine commercials the most: "Don't want to DIE DIE DIE DIE? Take this pill. Side effects may include headaches, heart disease, constipation and diarrhea at the same time, stroke, cancer, and death."

 

[Mazda 3s]

IMO, life is too short to watch commercials, so even if they do raise the price for the US, I will keep it as I watch far too much YouTube to not have Premium.

Same. The ad-free experience plus YouTube Music Premium that comes along with it is well worth it for me.

 

[breather]

Monopoly behavior. Governments should look in to this bullcrap YouTube is pulling.

 

[contacos]

Thankfully my plan from the Ukraine still works cuz I ain't paying 15 bucks just to get rid of ads. I don't need all the other crap it includes.

 

[SVTmaniac]

I'd be way more inclined to buy Youtube premium if every single content creator didn't have in video sponsor BS. Nobody cares about your VPN that you use...

 

[grimley141]

Monopoly behavior. Governments should look in to this bullcrap YouTube is pulling.

There are dozens of streaming services. Just because the one you like raised their prices a few bucks doesn’t mean it’s a monopoly. Not to mention, unlike most other streaming services you can use YouTube with no subscription at all.

 

[clive27]

For my extended family, the Family plan definitely worth the money at $23/month. Youtube is pretty much the only video we (I, my wife, my daughter, my mom, my sister, MIL and BIL) watch everyday. I cancelled every other streaming services and they're OK with it, but they're going to riot if I cancel the Youtube premium or Amazon Prime.

 

[Harthag]

Or, spend $99 on a Dev account and sideload uYou+. Need to perform some steps but not too complicated. Google took down the ready-to-download modded .ipa files from GitHub. But you can create your own .ipa file from a decrypted YouTube .ipa based on the files that still get updated in that same GitHub...just need to create the .ipa yourself, which is much safer than downloading an .ipa from some random website.

$99 a year to sideload vs. $168 for YT premium. Not to mention other benefits of being able to sideload. I also have Kodi w/ Fen addon for all of my other streaming of shows and movies.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sideloaded/comments/1dpth9p

 

[ImperialForces]

Google has won the adblock war. It's over boys.

Wipr or any content blocker for Safari, Ublock for all other browsers. The war is far from over.

 

[nutmac]

IMO, life is too short to watch commercials, so even if they do raise the price for the US, I will keep it as I watch far too much YouTube to not have Premium.

$22.99/month for the family membership is ridiculous though. Which is why we use adblocker instead.

 

[carniesandrubes]

Never gonna forgive my brother for dropping our grandfathered family rate of old. On the other hand, I've switched to Brave for iOS, and haven't looked back to the dumpster fire YouTube app. I still pay for a student plan for the wife since she doesn't have patience to fiddle with workarounds. Now if only I could disable Shorts at our router level so she quits wasting time there...

They killed most of the old grandfathered plans a year or two ago (including all the family plans FWIW) so you likely wouldn't have it. I'm luckily still on the $7.99 old Google Play Music All Access individual plan. Hoping they forgot about us.

 

[firstcitazen]

Monopoly behavior. Governments should look in to this bullcrap YouTube is pulling.

Don't use it, use one of the many European streaming services available.

 

[GuyDouche]

YT is a far cry from what it was and what it could have potentially have been in the early 2000’s. It’s just a time waste and full of sup par content. Better to read a book

 

[FlavorfulTreat]

Poor Google is struggling, makes sense they would have to raise prices. They were only able to buyback 31.4 billion in stock so far this year.

Those in the affected countries should all be grateful to have this opportunity to maximize shareholder value.