Although the Malaysian Ringgit has been strengthening against the US Dollar (USD 1 = RM4.21), YouTube Premium has revealed a price hike for its subscription fee for Malaysian users. The price increase for YouTube Premium is applicable across the board and the biggest hit yet is the Family Plan which now costs RM8 more than before.
YouTube Premium is priced from RM20.90/month for individuals
According to the YouTube Premium page, an individual membership now costs RM20.90/month (Previously RM17.90/month) which is an increase of RM3 per month. Meanwhile, the Family Plan which previously costs RM33.90/month is now going for RM41.90/month. For students, the monthly subscription fee has increased slightly from RM10.90/month to RM12.90/month.
It is worth noting that the YouTube Premium Individual and Student pricing has been maintained for nearly 5 years since its introduction in Malaysia in November 2019. The last price revision was announced in May 2023 when the Family Plan subscription fee was increased from RM26.90/month to RM33.90/month.
Existing YouTube Premium customers are to pay the revised subscription in November
If you’re currently an active subscriber, it appears that YouTube is giving an extra grace period before the new price hike is reflected in your account. As shown below, our individual YouTube Premium subscription will only be charged RM20.90/month effective 11th November 2024.
Besides getting an advertisement-free streaming experience, a YouTube Premium subscription allows users to download videos for offline viewing. On top of that, the paid service also allows you to play videos in the background while you switch to other apps or even with the screen locked.
As a bonus, YouTube Premium users will also get ad-free access to YouTube Music which has a library of over 100 million songs. Premium users are also able to download music for offline listening on the YouTube Music app.
For greater value and savings, the YouTube Premium Family Plan allows you to add up to 5 additional household members. Even with the increased subscription fee of RM41.90/month, the plan effectively costs less than RM7/month per person if the account is shared with 6 users.
Why is YouTube increasing its Premium subscription pricing?
In an email sent to YouTube Premium subscribers, they explained that these decisions were not made lightly. However, the update in pricing allows them to continue to improve Premium and to support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube. YouTube Premium subscribers can check the status of their account and billing information by going to YouTube > Settings > Purchases and Memberships.
