- YouTube’s paid ad-free steam service will see its biggest price increase in years
- From November 21, customers in the UK will pay £19.99 for a family subscription
YouTube has become the latest platform to raise its prices, following in the footsteps of Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+.
The price of the YouTube Premium family plan, which allows six accounts to use the same subscription, will increase by £2 from £17.99 to £19.99 in the UK.
Meanwhile, in the US and Canada, costs will rise from $17.99 (CA$17.99) to $22.99 (CA$22.99) – an increase of 30 percent.
YouTube Premium allows users to watch without ads, download videos and watch in the background of other apps.
Although the price increase won’t happen until November 21, several dissatisfied customers have already taken to social media to complain, with some even threatening to leave the service completely.
YouTube has become the latest platform to raise its prices, following in the footsteps of Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+
On X (formerly Twitter), UK customers shared images of the emails they received informing them of the price increases
YouTube Premium customers were notified via email that their costs would increase.
Customers in the US and Canada were the first to discover they would be hit with price increases, while UK customers would soon receive their own emails.
In the email, YouTube wrote, “We created YouTube Premium to deliver an uninterrupted YouTube experience so you can get closer to the videos, creators, and music artists you love.”
It added that prices would be increased to “continue to deliver great service and features.”
YouTube appears to be very concerned about potential negative reactions and has even gone so far as to launch a new page specifically to collect “feedback on the YouTube Premium price change.”
Commentators say they are no longer willing to pay the higher costs for ad-free viewing as the price per month rises
On X (formerly Twitter), angry customers complained that the price increase forced them off the platform.
One user said they “canceled my YouTuber bounty because of the price increase.”
Another added: ‘It was already more than I would have liked, and yet I was seeing ads at least once a week and having to reload. Disappointing.’
And someone said, “I had YouTube Premium from the beginning and just canceled mine after the price increase.
‘They are so out of touch with reality.’
The era of cheap streaming appears to be over, as numerous services have increased their prices this year.
Last week, Disney+ introduced a price increase to £36/year, alongside the launch of a new, cheaper option of its service with ads.
Until now, there was only one price for Disney+ in the UK: a subscription of £7.99 per month or £79.90 per year.
Meanwhile, Netflix announced it was raising its prices for millions of customers in Britain last month, with some now facing monthly charges of up to £17.99 – an increase of £2 per month.
The premium, ad-free plan now costs £17.99/month in the UK – an increase of £2, while the standard plan remains £10.99 per month.