YouTube Premium now costs an extra $2 each month - The Verge

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Ad-free YouTube viewing now costs $13.99 a month, while the price of YouTube Music is increasing by $1 to $10.99.

By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube Premium’s price has increased to $13.99 a month in the US, a $2 increase compared to what it used to cost. That’s according to Google’s signup page for the service, which has been quietly updated to reflect the new pricing, which was first spotted by 9to5Google. Alongside the monthly price increase, the cost of an annual subscription to YouTube Premium is increasing by $20 to $139.99.

YouTube Music — the music streaming service that’s available standalone or as part of a Premium subscription — is also seeing a price increase in the US. It will now cost $10.99 a month, mirroring similar price increases we’ve seen for Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Spotify is a notable holdout for still charging $9.99 a month, but CEO Daniel Ek recently indicated that the service is “ready to raise prices” — suggesting a similar increase might not be far away.

The new pricing shown on YouTube’s website.

Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge

What’s currently unclear is if or when the YouTube Premium price increase might apply for existing subscribers. When Google last raised the price of ad-free YouTube as part of its rebrand from “YouTube Red” into “YouTube Premium” in 2018 it allowed former YouTube Red subscribers to continue to pay the old $9.99 a month price. 9to5Google’s Abner Li reports that YouTube is still honoring this lower price on his personal account, five years after the rebrand.

More recently, however, YouTube hasn’t been so generous. When it increased the price of its Premium family plan last October for new signups, existing subscribers were charged the higher price starting the following month. We’ve reached out to Google for more information, including details on whether this week’s price increases will apply internationally.

YouTube Premium offers a collection of functionality improvements for the video streaming platform. Subscribers get to watch YouTube videos with no ads and download them to watch without an internet connection. There’s also support for background playback, letting subscribers listen to a video’s audio while using other apps or while their phone screen is off. More recently, Google updated YouTube Premium with a higher-quality 1080p steaming option on select platforms. And importantly, subscribing puts an end to Google’s incessant nagging.

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