YouTube has quietly increased the price of its Premium membership in India, affecting all subscription plans. The news first surfaced on social media after X (formerly Twitter) user @MrSahilBawa shared a screenshot of a notification from YouTube. The platform announced a 58 percent price hike for its Family plan, saying, “To continue to provide great service and features, we’re increasing the price to Rs 299 per month. We never make decisions lightly. This update allows us to continue to improve Premium and support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube.”
The Family plan, which allows up to five members to share one subscription, has seen the biggest price increase, from Rs 189 to Rs 299 per month. While this price increase is significant, it is not the only one. Here’s a quick rundown.
Student plan: Monthly price has dropped from โน79 to โน89, a 12.6% increase.
Personal plan: Price has increased from โน129 to โน149 per month (a 15% increase).
Prepaid Plans: Separate monthly, quarterly and yearly prepaid options are priced at โน159, โน459 and โน1,490 respectively.
The revised pricing will be applicable to both new subscribers and existing premium users.
What do you get for your money?
YouTube Premium subscribers get a variety of perks, including ad-free streaming, high bitrate 1080p videos, offline downloads, background playback, ad-free access to YouTube Music, etc. Despite the price increase, these perks remain unchanged, which means the service is likely to remain attractive to its more than 100 million subscribers worldwide.
How does YouTube Premium compare to other services?
If you’re curious to know how YouTube Premium compares to other streaming services, here’s a summary.
Spotify Premium: Starting at โน119 per month for individuals, โน179 for the family plan (with up to six accounts) and โน59 for students, Spotify offers high-quality ad-free music, offline downloads, and the ability to play music in any order.
Apple Music: For individuals, it costs Rs 149 per month. Users who subscribe to multiple Apple services can opt for the Apple One plan for Rs 195 per month, which bundles Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud+ and comes with 50GB of storage. The Family plan costs Rs 365 per month and allows up to five members to share the service and comes with 200GB of iCloud+ storage.