With these rates, you may need a larger family to justify your subscription
read the update
- Not limited to Canada, the price hike is coming to the US and other regions as well
These days, YouTube is usually in the news for all the wrong reasons. The company is testing new ways to make additional money from free users is loaded up to eleven unskippable ads before a video or locking 4K behind paywall playback. In both of these cases, these experiments are over, saving anyone who doesn’t want to cough up a potentially worse experience $12 a month. Unfortunately, paying users in the US and Canada aren’t so lucky, as a massive price hike for family plans is already in effect.
two various Redditors placed screenshots of emails received this afternoon. The email is short on details, just saying that the price of YouTube Premium family plans has gone up to $23 CAD per month. This is a $5 cost increase effective starting the next billing cycle for current subscribers and immediate new subscribers. Daniel Bader, Head of Technical Brands at Valnet and former AP EIC, confirmed that this new price is already live when trying to register in Canada. It wasn’t long before these prices were extended to US customers with current subscriptions and those looking to sign up.
Left: An email sent to a user on Reddit. right: Current price when signing up for a family subscription in Canada.
In the email, YouTube didn’t explain why the sudden price increase hit users, saying it was a necessary change to “continue to provide great service and features.” There doesn’t appear to be any additional tools lined up for Canadian Premium family plan members; they will only have to pay about 30% more per month for their ongoing service.
| United States of America | $22.99 (was $17.99) |
| Canada | $22.99 (was $17.99) |
| Great Britain | £19.99 (was £17.99) |
| Turkey (single plan) | 29.99 TRY (was 16.99 TRY) |
| Turkey (family plan) | 59.99 TRY (was 29.99 TRY) |
| Argentina (single plan) | 389 ARS (was 119 ARS) |
| Argentina (family plan) | 699 ARS (was 179 ARS) |
While YouTube wasn’t very considerate of users before this change, it seems the company knew it would take heat for it. As noted by commenter jonathan3579, Google is one support page for those who want to comment on this price increase.
As for single user plans, it will not undergo a similar change. Daniel Bader confirmed that he did not receive an email for the individual Premium plan and it is still listed as $11.99 in the account settings. I’m also subscribed to the individual plan in the US and haven’t seen the email, even though it’s an $8/month subscription and may not be subject to any price increases. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update our coverage with any response.
UPDATED: 10/20/2022 4:11 PM EST BY WILL SATTELBERG
Not limited to Canada, the price hike is coming to the US and other regions as well
Although initially we only saw emails coming in about price increases in Canada, Letters to US subscribers also appeared on Reddit, proving that this is not a regional change at all. Commentators have also observed changes in Great Britain, Turkey and Argentina. Not everyone with an individual plan sees higher prices, but if you’re on a family plan, expect to pay $23 a month starting with your next billing cycle. We’ve updated our coverage to include context on Google’s feedback page about this price increase.
