YouTube is increasing the price of its Premium subscription in several markets while also expanding the service with a number of new features to give subscribers more control over how they watch videos. The latest adjustment follows an earlier price increase for several Premium tiers, with individual plans rising from $13.99 to $15.99 and family plans from $22.99 to $26.99.
The changes affect individual and family plans in select markets, although pricing varies by country and billing method.
At the same time, YouTube is introducing additional Premium-exclusive features that expand beyond ad-free viewing and background playback.
New tools for Premium subscribers
Among the new additions is an AI-powered “Ask Music” feature that generates personalized radio stations from text prompts, allowing users to describe the music they want to hear rather than manually creating playlists.
YouTube is also rolling out higher-quality 256 kbps audio for music videos, giving subscribers improved sound quality when supported by the content.
Another feature allows users to continue watching across devices more seamlessly, making it easier to resume videos from where they left off on another device. Premium members are also receiving expanded playback controls, including additional speed options and experimental AI-assisted viewing tools.
These updates build on recent Premium experiments, including automatic playback speed adjustments designed to save viewers time while maintaining clarity.
YouTube’s subscription strategy
Over the past year, YouTube has continued expanding its paid offerings beyond the traditional Premium experience.
The platform recently enhanced its lower-cost Premium Lite plan ($7.99 to $8.99 a month) by adding features previously limited to full Premium subscribers, while also testing new AI-powered viewing tools and personalized recommendations.
As streaming platforms increasingly compete through subscription services rather than advertising alone, companies have continued adding exclusive features to justify higher monthly prices.