By Zainab Shafiq 
YouTube Premium is quietly raising subscription prices worldwide and European users are the first ones to know about this new move. Come November, YouTube Premium subscribers will feel the brunt of increased costs for individual as well as family plans. These hikes are being communicated via email notifications. Users in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy already received news of huge price jumps. The family plan, which started at €18, is to skyrocket to €26 in a month. Individual plans, on the other hand, will cost between €12 to €14.
Other countries include Switzerland and Sweden whose family plans have increased to CHF 34 from CHF 24 in Switzerland and SEK 179 to SEK 279 in Sweden. Since YouTube has not published its list of affected countries, subscribers globally including Pakistan should prepare for a similar percentage rise.
Online, the price rise prompted outcry, with users questioning YouTube Premium to become one of the priciest streaming services out there, at least for those using it primarily for music. The Spotify and Apple Music family plans are priced around €18 in Europe.
With this, YouTube Premium retains all the advantages: ad-free, video playback in the background, video downloading to watch offline, and video streaming at better quality. Users question, however, if the extra cost is worth it.
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