YouTube Premium grandfathered pricing going away for more early adopters

YouTube is continuing to remove grandfathered pricing for its Premium subscription service. 

In 2014, early adopters of YouTube’s “Music Key” streaming service paid $7.99 per month. The price went up to $9.99 after the beta period. 

With the 2018 YouTube Music relaunch, early adopters kept their legacy $7.99 or $9.99 subscription. New music customers paid $9.99 or $11.99 for YouTube Premium.

In 2023, there was a $2 price increase that saw YouTube Premium go to $13.99, with YouTube Music Premium increasing $1 to $10.99. Those paying $9.99 had to start paying the full price. For whatever reason, YouTube did not touch the $7.99 price at the time.

Advertisement - scroll for more content

Back in November, the first reports of grandfathered customers in Europe losing their discounted rate emerged. 

In the past day, more people (1, 2, 3) have received the “plan price update” email, with YouTube historically rolling out these changes on a region-by-region basis. Comment below if you’ve just received the email and be sure to note where you are.

YouTube Premium is currently $13.99 per month, or $22.99 for Family plans, in the US.