Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Reports are coming in that YouTube Premium price increases have landed in over a dozen countries.
- In specific cases, the price increased by nearly 60%.
- The United States is not one of the countries seeing an increase.
YouTube Premium users around the world woke up to bad news today. In over a dozen countries, the price of YouTube Premium individual and family plans increased significantly. This is only the most recent sweep of price increases from Google, as many countries saw price jumps only months ago, with the United States being one of them last summer.
The price increases this time around appear to be mostly focused on Europe. According to this thread on Reddit, some of the prices have gone up by nearly 40%, which is just wild.
Per that thread, here are the increases as reported by users:
- Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium:
- Single: From €11.99 to €13.99
- Family: From €17.99 to €25.99
- Switzerland:
- Single: From 15.90 CHF to 17.90 CHF
- Family: From 23.90 CHF to 33.90 CHF
- Denmark:
- Single: From 119 DKK to 139 DKK
- Family: From 177 DKK to 259 DKK
- Sweden:
- Single: From 119 SEK to 149 SEK
- Family: From 179 SEK to 279 SEK
- Norway:
- Single: From 119 NOK to 169 NOK
- Family: From 179 NOK to 269 NOK
- Czech Republic:
- Single: From 179 CZK to 209 CZK
- Family: From 269 CZK to 389 CZK
- Singapore:
- Single: From 11.98 SGD to 13.98 SGD
- Family: From 17.98 SGD to 27.98 SGD
- United Arab Emirates:
- Single: From 23.99 AED to 26.99 AED
- Family: From 35.99 AED to 48.99 AED
- Malaysia
- Single: From 17.90 MYR to 20.90 MYR
- Family: From 33.90 MYR to 41.90 MYR
- Saudi Arabia
- Single: From 23.98 SAR to 26.99 SAR
- Family: From 35.98 SAR to 49.99 SAR
- Indonesia:
- Single: From 59,000 IDR to 69,000 IDR
- Family: From 99,000 IDR to 139,000 IDR
- Colombia:
- Single: From 17,900 COP to 20,900 COP
- Family: From 26,900 COP to 41,900 COP
- Thailand:
- Single: From 159 THB to 179 THB
- Family: From 299 THB to 359 THBBlah
As usual, Google’s email to users announcing the price increases says doing so will allow it to “continue to deliver great service and features” and “support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube.” We’ve seen similar language used in previous price increase notifications, including here in the US.
Interestingly, price increases appear to be even higher for people who signed up for Premium through Apple on an Apple-branded streaming device. This Reddit user in Sweden saw a whopping 60% price increase. However, this appears to be a”tax” for paying through Apple instead of directly through Google, as the price increase for people who don’t go through Apple is much lower. Still, even if users cancel their subscription through Apple and then resubscribe through Google, they will still be paying more.
As one would expect, most of these threads are filled with people announcing that they have canceled their subscriptions. One user from Denmark said, “This increase makes YouTube by far the most expensive streaming service, clocking in at more than what I pay for Amazon Prime, Netflix, and HBO combined.”
Time will tell how this goes for Google. At what point is the company going to price the service beyond what anyone is willing to pay?
