YouTube Premium users across the globe are facing significant price hikes as Google increases subscription costs in over a dozen countries. This follows earlier price jumps in various regions, including the United States last summer. The latest increases vary by region, with some countries experiencing hikes between 30% to 50%. For instance, in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy, the Family plan will rise from €18 to €26 starting November, while the individual plan will increase by €2 to €14.

Countries affected by these changes include Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, UAE, Switzerland, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Colombia, Thailand, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Denmark. Although most Reddit reports are from European users, the price hikes also impact the Middle East, Colombia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. YouTube had already raised its subscription prices in India by 15–20% in late August.

  • FiveMacs
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    7410 hours ago

    just cancel all subscriptions. None of them are worth it

    • @BananaTrifleViolin
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      5 hours ago

      I pay for my email (Proton) password manager (last pass), and VPN (nordvpn).

      I’d say subs that maintain your privacy and security are well worth it - there is no such thing as a free lunch and instead the tech giants are dining out at the expense of users.

      Googles ad monopoly needs to be torn apart. Because YouTube premium prices may actually represent what it really costs to maintain video sites like YouTube, but Google have managed to destroy all competition with the free model and now there is no one realistically able to compete on content or price.

      • @forgotaboutlaye
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        44 hours ago

        Sorry if you get this a lot, but have you tried Bitwarden? It’s been a while since I compared but last I checked I found it miles better than LastPass.

    • @[email protected]
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      04 hours ago

      So, steal everything or something else? Content isn’t free. The ad model exists, but only works if people see the ads.

      If everyone blocks all ads, and doesn’t pay a subscription, how’s that work for those providing the service?

      I’m not defending YouTube here, just curious what your solution is to have a service and not pay for it.

      I do pay for YT family Premium in the US. I watch mostly YT, and it is my music streaming service. I definitely​ liked it more when it was costing me $15/mo for that and was mad when that went to $23. I even tried switching to Spotify and using ad blocking on YT. I didn’t jive with Spotify, and while ad blockers work for YT, it’s a bit of a pain installing them on TV boxes and managing subscriptions across devices, asking with which videos you’ve seen etc.

      • @[email protected]
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        3 hours ago

        Youtube revenue in 2023 (before these price hikes) was 31.5 billion USD.

        The revenue for the entirety of alphabet in 2023 was 307 billion USD.

        Youtube alone generated 10% of the entire revenue of alphabet’s portfolio in 2023.

        Yes, revenue is not profit, but I could not find profit figures for youtube.

        Alphabet’s operating income for 2023 was 84.3 billion USD. Assuming a similar proportion of revenue to operating income (I know, hella extrapolating, but again no direct sources for youtube) that would put youtube’s operating income in the ballpark of 8 billion USD.

        It’s not that they aren’t making money because people are “stealing” as you say from poor little indie company youtube. It’s just that they want more more more MORE MORE MONEY.

        Because of course they do. It’s never enough.

        Edit: because I forgot to link my source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204424000014/googexhibit991q42023.htm

    • Gregor
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      10 hours ago

      Bitwarden is worth it. (Yes, I know, I should self host it. I do, but I still see it as a good deal.) Also Hetzner is a good subscription. So yes, some are worth it

      • Engywuck
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        10 hours ago

        Agreed:

        -Bitwarden

        -Storage Share

        -ControlD

        -Real debrid

          • kratoz29
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            14 hours ago

            So, only cheap services are worth it?

            Are there some expensive services that are worth it? not just that they increase their price just because.

            Don’t get me wrong, I want more examples (and I am a happy subscriber of Real-Debrid for years already).

            • Praise Idleness
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              14 hours ago

              Kagi’s ultimate plan is $27.5 tax included. Easily the best subscribtion I continue to pay.

          • @Merlin404
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            37 hours ago

            By there site its more like $120 a month?

            • @[email protected]
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              5 hours ago

              Just do the cheap unlimited personal plan and hook up a shit load of external HDDs to your PC. I have a system where my NAS syncs to my PC which syncs to Backblaze so I can sorta hack my way into unlimited NAS backup for $10/mo.

              3-2-1 backup where the primary source of data is the NAS, on site backup is desktop PC external HDDs, off site backup is Backblaze.

          • Gregor
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            27 hours ago

            That’s an insanely good deal! I should move pict-rs to backblaze on my Lemmy server