- By Vikas Yadav
- Fri, 21 Jul 2023 02:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
JE Technology Desk: Popular video platform YouTube has increased the prices of its Premium plans in the monthly and annual basket in the United States. It is the first-ever price rise since its launch in 2018. The new plans will cost $13.99 per month (up by $2) and $139.99 annually, up by $20.
According to the platform, subscribers who joined the service five years ago and those who tuned to Premium via Google Play will continue to enjoy three more months of the subscription at the earlier price, Reuters reported. The changes will apply to new and existing subscribers planning to buy a premium plan.
In comparison, the price on iOS stands at $18.99 for one month on the iPhone app. Speaking of YouTube Music, the prices have moved to $10.99 in the US, up by $1. These changes will come into effect from the upcoming billing cycle.
"We're updating the price for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscribers in the US to continue delivering great service and features," a spokesperson from YouTube said, according to 9To5Google. The spokesperson added that the change "reflects the value" of Premium, which offers users exclusive benefits.
In an attempt to grab more users to its Premium tier, the company is also testing a 'three-strike policy' that came to light recently. Speaking of YouTube Premium, it comes with benefits such as ad-free viewing experience, video playback in the background, download facility in high quality, YouTube Music (ad-free, music download and music playback in the background) and ad-free and offline video playback on YouTube Kids.
Also Read: YouTube News: 'Playables' To Let Users Play Games on Android, iOS Devices; Details Inside
Plus, it offers the functionality to test drive features before their public release. The Lock Screen option and an easier method to play videos at 2x speeds are among the recent ones in testing. Speaking of more updates, the company is reportedly also testing 'Playables' to let users play online games in their browser via the YouTube app. You can read more on this here.