YouTube Premium's Family Plan Is Getting A Price Hike
There have been several adjustments and tests for YouTube Premium throughout the years, and now it looks like some users will be paying a bit more for the perks. The Premium Family plan, which has been $17.99 per month for quite some time, is getting a $5 hike — up to $22.99 per month. The same applies to YouTube Red (an older iteration of Premium) users, who will see a jump from $14.99 per month to the same $22.99 as everyone else.
It's important to note that this price change is only for the monthly Family plan, which allows up to five people in the same household to use the service for one price. For the moment, at least, it doesn't look like the Individual plan will be seeing a price increase — YouTube still lists it as $11.99 per month. And if you're subscribed to YouTube Premium through the App Store, 9to5Google notes that the $22.99 per month will actually be $29.99.
YouTube hasn't given a direct reason for the price increase — the Google Support page mentions "inflation and local tax changes" as possibilities for any potential price adjustments. On top of which, it doesn't appear as though any new features or functionality are being added to the service. It's also unclear if YouTube's previous experiment with limiting 4K video to Premium memberships will be a factor.
What you need to know
This price change also affects any new Family memberships, so anyone who signs up at this point will be looking at the new monthly rate right from the start. Though as a new subscriber you'll still get your first month for free before YouTube starts charging you.
YouTube will be contacting current subscribers via email about 30 days before the new rate kicks in for them, at which point they can decide whether to stick with the service or not. Some YouTube Red subscribers have reported that they're being given a much larger window — until April 2023.
If you're not a fan of the price increase, for any reason, you can let YouTube know about it in the hopes that enough pushback may lead to some kind of change or shift. Otherwise, the only other options available to Premium Family members are to eat the extra cost, switch to a different plan, or cancel their membership entirely.