YouTube Premium is the only streaming service that can raise prices

YouTube confirmed this week that Premium prices are going up for the first time in about three years, and unlike every other streaming service, this is a price increase I’m more than willing to accept.

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Price increases in streaming are annoyingly inevitable in 2026, with every platform seemingly introducing at least one new price increase. from time to time. Some are more common than others, like netflix. But unless you have special offers or waived pricing, your total streaming bill has probably increased by at least $10 to $20 per month in recent years.

Now, YouTube Premium is taking its turn.

Announcement: Scroll to see more content

Revealed this weekall YouTube Premium plans will have a price increase. The changes are as follows:

Individual: $15.99/month, down from $13.99
Family: $26.99/month, down from $22.99
Lite: $8.99/month, down from $7.99
Premium Music: $11.99/month, down from $10.99

My reaction to this news was, “Well, okay then.”

I haven’t seen anything other than “this is a scandal” and “I’m canceling” in response to the price increase and, frankly, that thought hasn’t even crossed my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not happy I will have to start paying an additional $4 each month for the YouTube Premium family plan with no benefits or added value. Objectively, that sucks.

But I also don’t feel like I’m suddenly not getting my money’s worth here.

YouTube Premium is probably my most valuable streaming subscription. YouTube is part of my daily routine and it’s the only service that I truly feel like I’m getting its full value from without trying. Disney+, Peacock, Netflix, etc., I never feel like I’m using these apps enough to In fact get my money’s worth. YouTube? It’s not a question, and I remember that every time I watch a video without being logged in, the The status of ads on YouTube is roughmainly due to the need for the modern Internet.

Ad blockers are what we like to mention here, but they don’t work easily on all devices and I still feel uncomfortable with ad blockers in general. YouTube is one of the few platforms that transparently and, for the most part, fairly pays directly to those who create content (who am I?). Yo to take that away from me?

youtube premium, or at least Premium Liteis the only answer here.

It’s easy to forget that YouTube operates at an absolutely fast pace. massive scale. Hundreds of hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every year. minuteand YouTube promises to host that video practically forever. Think about how much storage is needed! Storage is, right now, extremely expensive, which is why YouTube costs are increasing dramatically. Yes, this is one of the largest and most profitable companies on the planet, but if costs increase, from someone I’ll have to pay, and I’d rather shell out a couple extra bucks than take it away from creators who get paid through Premium subscriptions.

If this were any other transmitter, I would have at least winced at the higher price.

Netflix hasn’t gotten my money in years – there’s rarely any content worth watching and certainly not enough to sustain a subscription. Peacock and Paramount+ occasionally catch my eye, but the former only occasionally, and the latter only has a subscription of mine because Walmart+ covers most of it. Disney+/Hulu is the only streaming subscription I frequent enough to feel like I’m getting enough, but even then, a price increase would make me at least consider taking a break from time to time.

The higher prices hurt, I don’t deny that, but I’m absolutely willing to pay a few extra bucks for YouTube Premium. Google knows this, but I also think it says a lot that while every other streamer has had multiple price increases over the last 3 years, YouTube is only now hitting the first one.

What do you think?

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