GoKawiilOver the years, YouTube has evolved from a source of Rickrolls and cat videos to a platform for some of the Internet’s most popular streaming content. Today, it costs more than ever to see that content, as YouTube has announced another price increase for its Premium service. Viewers who can’t stomach the cost of Premium will be greeted by increasingly lengthy ad breaks, but YouTube says some of that is due to a bug it’s now addressing.
YouTube has not posted a standalone blog announcing the change, but existing subscribers are getting email alerts. The higher pricing is also live for new sign-ups in the US as of this writing. Here’s the important part of YouTube’s email alerts:
To continue delivering great service and features, we’re increasing your price to $15.99/month. We don’t make these decisions lightly, but this update will allow us to continue to improve Premium and support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube. You will see the change reflected on your June 7, 2026 billing date.
The new $15.99 monthly price is a $2 increase, but if you’re on the family plan, the email looks a bit different. For those folks, the price is now $26.99, which is $4 higher. There’s also the base Premium Lite subscription that removes most YouTube ads and used to cost $7.99 per month. It’s now $1 more.
YouTube’s subscription tier initially launched in 2015 as YouTube Red at $9.99 per month for the individual plan. In 2018, it morphed into YouTube Premium with a higher $11.99 cost. Then came the 2023 price hike to $13.99. This is the first US price increase for YouTube Premium since 2023, but many international viewers saw increases in 2024.
YouTube isn’t alone—streaming prices continue their inexorable climb across the board. Netflix seemingly can’t go a year without boosting prices, with the most recent increase coming just last month. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video is raising prices and removing features from its lower-tier plans. In unrelated news, Internet piracy rates are rising worldwide.