Much to the dismay of users, Google has increased the subscription cost of YouTube Premium in the United States, with new subscribers having to pay $13.99 per month instead of $11.99.
For those subscribing through the iOS YouTube app, the service will run a steeper price of $18.99. The annual subscription price is now set at $139.99 — a $20 increase overall. The company has also increased the price of YouTube Music from $9.99 to $10.99 per month.
YouTube Premium, formerly YouTube Red, offers users ad-free videos, audio-only playback, and the ability to keep videos playing even when you don’t have the YouTube app open.
“We’re updating the price for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscribers in the US to continue delivering great service and features,” a company spokesperson told 9to5Google.
We believe this new price reflects the value of YouTube Premium, which allows subscribers to enjoy ad-free YouTube with background and offline play and uninterrupted access to over 100M songs with the YouTube Music app.”
Users Trying Workaround to Get YouTube Premium at a Discount
Google has not announced similar price hikes internationally as of now. Even if they were to do so, YouTube Premium subscriptions are much lower in countries like Turkey ($1.61), Argentina ($2.46), and Ukraine ($2.66). In fact, Turkey has the lowest cost for the service anywhere globally.
Many YouTube Premium users try to take advantage of this differential pricing with the help of a VPN or virtual private network. This involves using a reliable VPN provider to change their IP address and setting up YouTube Premium accounts in a country with a cheaper deal.
Users have used this technique in recent years to sign up for the service in places like Turkey, India, and Argentina and save money on YouTube Premium. However, the company has made it difficult to do so over the last year.
YouTube has stopped allowing international credit and debit cards for payment in a number of countries. So users trying to use a credit card based in the US or UK wouldn’t be able to pay for a subscription in India or Argentina, or other countries.
Still, if users do not possess credit cards or other forms of payment based in other countries, users in online forums are beginning to note that they’re able to bypass this by connecting to Ukrainian VPN servers. Many users on Reddit and other online communities have reported finding YouTube Ukraine to be accepting of international payment methods.
While the service is more expensive in the country (compared to Turkey), it is still over five times cheaper than the US price.
It is currently unclear if using a VPN is the solution. However, connecting to a location that accepts international payment options is a possible workaround.
Saving Money on YouTube Premium via Ukraine
If you’re new to VPNs but want to try to get a YouTube Premium subscription at a discount, here’s how you can go about it:
- Get signed up to NordVPN. It has a wide network of reliable servers across the world, and offers fast speeds and stable connections — an essential combination for a great streaming experience.
- Connect to a server in Ukraine.
- Open the Incognito window on your browser and go to YouTube Premium.
- Click on “Try it for free” and log in with your Google account.
- Put down your payment information. If you’re using an international debit or credit card, make sure you put down a Ukrainian address in “Address” section.
Users looking to try out this technique on iOS/Android devices may need to change their location on the Play Store/Apple App Store. However, Google will only let you change your Play Store location once a year. If you’re interested, you can check out the guides on the official Apple and Google sites to change your location.
If you’re successful, YouTube will begin to charge you $2.66 per month for your subscription after the seven-day trial period (almost five times cheaper than the US price).
