Spotify increases prices for all Premium Plans by a second time in two years

Spotify has raised its subscription rates in Europe for a second time. This makes ad-free music more expensive for everyone. The Swedish streaming giant confirmed the new rates will be effective immediately for new and existing customers, with the biggest change being the family plan.

Updated pricing:

Individual: €11.99/month (previously €10.99)

Student: €6.49/month (previously €5.99)

Duo: €16.99/month (previously €14.99)

Family: €20.99/month (previously €17.99)

This marks a €2 total increase in the individual plan over the past two years, following a decade of stable pricing at €9.99/month until the first hike in 2023. In markets such as South Asia and Latin America, the subscription price will go up to 11.99 euros ($13.86).

Experience the best of everything

The family plan now crosses the psychological €20 threshold. This plan was designed to be shared between people who live under the same roof. However, it is widely known that users extend this to other household members.

Spotify claims that the increase in price is to “continue to innovate our product offerings” and provide the best experience possible, though there are no new features. Spotify will achieve profitability in 2024, which coincides with the price increase.

Two hundred and sixty-eight million subscribers

With 678 million global users—268 million of whom pay for a subscription—Spotify remains the market leader in music streaming, particularly in Europe where it claims over 100 million paid subscribers. This is more than three times the number of users reported by Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Spotify’s business is based on converting paying users. It does not rely on Apple or Amazon which have multiple revenue streams. It also faces criticism from artists, who claim that streaming payouts are still too low.

Expanding audiobooks

In the pursuit of long-term sustainability and its goal of reaching one billion paid users, Spotify is expected to invest further in high-definition audio, artificial intelligence features, and the expansion of audiobooks in Spain and Latin America—though none of these developments have been officially launched yet.

Spotify’s stock price has been reflecting a growing level of investor confidence over the past few months. Following years of fluctuating performance, and mounting losses for the company, its shares surged early in 2024 when it announced that the company had achieved profitability.

Since then, this upward trend has continued. This is due to strategic cost-cutting measures, reduced staff and a renewed emphasis on monetizing its user base. Analysts remain cautious and note that the future growth of the platform will be dependent on its ability to retain users despite increasing prices and increased competition.