YouTube Premium is getting a price hike — here’s what we know

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Update: YouTube just got a major update — here's all the new features.

YouTube Premium may not be the most popular streaming service, but it still has its fans. Our own Jordan Palmer even claims it's the only streaming service he pays for, offering him tons of quick, enjoyable content with no ads. Subscribers even get the YouTube Music streaming service included with their subscriptions.

Unfortunately, TechCrunch reports that YouTube Premium subscribers can expect a price hike starting November 21, 2022. The outlet cited several annoyed Reddit users complaining that the price of their subscription was increasing.

Specifically, it appears that YouTube Premium family plan subscribers are getting a price hike. Based on the Reddit posts, it appears that customers in Canada and the U.S. are seeing their family plan prices increase dramatically — over 27%.

For other customers across the globe, it looks like the price hike isn’t limited to just North America. In the U.K., YouTube Premium family plan subscribers reported increases of more than 10% on Twitter, and in Argentina, the price of YouTube Premium for everyone is increasing by more than 290% — not just family plan subscribers.

YouTube Premium: Is my price going up?

YouTube open on an Android phone — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

After reached for comment, a YouTube spokesperson provided us with the following quote. "We adjusted pricing for our Premium family plan subscription in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey, and Argentina. Users can find their updated pricing on their Purchases and Memberships page. We don’t make these decisions lightly, and we realize how hard this may be for our members. This new price reflects the complete value of YouTube Premium and will allow us to develop even more Premium features and continue to support the creators and artists you watch and listen to on YouTube."

For now, a lot of the price increases seem limited to YouTube Premium family plans. U.S. and Canadian users are seeing their monthly subscription fees increase from $17.99 to $22.99 and CA$17.99 to CA$22.99, respectively. In the U.K. family plans will increase from £17.99 to £19.99.

However, the real shock is the price hike in Argentina. For YouTube Premium, the subscription is reportedly jumping from ARS119 to ARS389; family plan subscribers will see their price go up from ARS179 to ARS699. Both of those increases are significantly higher p than what we are hearing from other parts of the world. Several other countries are also seeing price hikes, including Turkey, Japan, Indonesia and Brazil.

Unfortunately, TechCrunch says that users with grandfathered monthly subscription fees, specifically those who had Google Play Music subscriptions, are not safe from this price hike. Luckily, they do get to stave off the inevitable a bit longer; their price hike reportedly won't take effect until April 2023.

What are my alternatives to YouTube Premium?

If are you suffering from sticker shock and looking to abandon YouTube Premium after this news, make sure to check out our guide to the best streaming services before you switch.

Just keep in mind that YouTube isn’t the only one increasing its prices. Netflix is increasing its prices if you share passwords, ESPN Plus, Hulu and Disney Plus all recently saw price hikes and Amazon Prime got a price hike back in February. So while it is definitely frustrating to see all these companies increase their prices without adding much value, it may be tough for consumers to avoid this wave of inflation.

Editors' Note: This story has been updated with comment from YouTube.

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Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.