YouTube Premium subscribers just got a massive surprise price hike

Nowadays, YouTube is frequently in the headlines for the incorrect reasons. Whether it’s loading up to eleven skippable adverts before a single movie or putting 4K playback behind a paywall, the firm has been experimenting with new methods to rake in some additional cash from free viewers. Both of those experiments have come to an end, possibly sparing individuals who are unwilling to pay $12 a month from a more unpleasant experience. A significant price increase for family plans is currently in place, which is unfortunate for paying users in the US and Canada.

Screenshots of emails that two distinct Redditors received this afternoon were shared. The email contains only a brief announcement that the monthly cost for YouTube Premium family plans has increased to $23 CAD. This $5 price increase will take effect starting with the following billing cycle for current customers and right away for new ones. When attempting to join up in Canada, Daniel Bader, Technical Brands Lead at Valnet and former AP EIC, confirmed that this new fee is already in effect. Soon after, these costs were also made available to US users, both those who already had memberships and those who wanted to start one.

Left: An email that was sent to a Reddit user. Right: The cost for a family subscription right now in Canada.

There doesn’t appear to be any new tools planned for Canadian Premium family plan members; they’ll just need to pay nearly 30% more per month for their continued service, YouTube says in the email, chalking up the sudden price increase to a necessary change to “continue delivering great service and features.”

Grandfathered family members, who presently pay $14.99, are also impacted by this shift, however they have until April to continue paying the current prices. Although YouTube didn’t give consumers much of a heads-up before this shift, it does appear that the firm was aware it would face criticism for this. Google established a support page for anyone wishing to provide comments on this pricing hike, as noted by commenter jonathan3579.

The single-user plans don’t appear to be affected by a comparable change. Daniel Bader acknowledged that he did not receive an email for his particular Premium plan, which is still priced at $11.99. Although my $8 per month subscription is grandfathered and may not be subject to price increases, I am also subscribed on an individual plan in the US and have not yet received an email. We’ve contacted Google for comment and will revise our report if we hear back.

2022-10-20 16:11 EST UPDATE BY WILL SATTELBERG

Not just in Canada, but also in the US and other places, prices are rising.

Even though at first we only noticed emails coming in for pricing increases in Canada, emails to US customers have also appeared on Reddit, demonstrating that this isn’t merely a local move. The change has also been noted by commenters in Argentina, Turkey, and the UK. No one with an individual plan appears to be seeing higher costs, but if you have a family plan, get ready to spend $23 monthly beginning with your next billing cycle. Additionally, we have updated our story to reflect context surrounding Google’s feedback page for the price increase.