Spotify users last faced a price hike in July 2023, and now another one is unfortunately on the cards.
From May, customers on the Individual, Duo, and Family plans in the UK will all have to pay more each month to stream music and podcasts. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. You can beat the Spotify price hike, and we’ll tell you how.
If you want to discover alternatives to Spotify, take a look at our round-up of the best music streaming services.
How much is Spotify going up by in the UK?
Spotify has started contacting customers in the UK about the price increases. Here’s a summary of how much each plan is changing in this country:
- Individual – Increasing from £10.99 per month to £11.99 per month
- Duo – Increasing from £14.99 per month to £16.99 per month
- Family – Increasing from £17.99 per month to £19.99 per month
The Student plan will remain at £5.99 per month, according to Money Saving Expert. If you’re on the Free plan, this will of course remain at zero charge.
If you’re an existing subscriber, you’ll start paying the new prices after being given a month’s notice – these emails appear to be rolling out now. That means you should pay from either May or June, depending on when you’re contacted.
If you signed up for a free trial, then you’ll pay the old prices for one month before switching to the new ones. New subscribers will pay the increased costs as soon as they kick in.
Is Spotify increasing its prices in the US?
Reports of a US price increase started circulating via Bloomberg earlier this month. At the time of writing, we’ve not yet seen specific price comms from Spotify America as we have with the UK, but we do know that there will be a price increase later this year.
Here are the current costs for the Premium plans of the music streaming service in the US:
- Individual – $10.99 per month
- Duo – $14.99 per month
- Family – $16.99 per month
- Student – $5.99 per month
If Spotify follows the same pattern as it does in the UK, then the new prices will be $11.99 per month for Premium Individual, $16.99 per month for Spotify Duo, and $19.99 per month for Premium Family. In theory, there should be no change to the Student and Free plans.
As soon as we learn more about when the new prices will be kicking in for American subscribers, we’ll update this article.
Avoid the Spotify price hike by buying a gift card
The only real way to lock in for the lower Spotify prices is to buy a long-term gift card and redeem it before the subscription changes come into effect. Keep in mind that this method is only applicable to Spotify Premium Individual, as no gift cards are on offer for the Duo and Family plans.
You can buy a 12-month one from Amazon and Currys for £99, which will save you nearly a whopping £45 compared to paying the new costs for one year.
GET 12 MONTHS OF SPOTIFY PREMIUM FOR £99
This is an e-gift card, so you shouldn’t need to wait for the postman – just an email landing in your inbox, or a text message.
As the new prices kick in from May, we recommend buying this gift card before 30 April 2024. You can then redeem your code against your Spotify account, though you may need to cancel your plan first. If that doesn’t work, try contacting Spotify.
You can find more information in Spotify’s terms and conditions.
Other ways to avoid the Spotify price hike
If buying a gift card isn’t for you, then the only other ways to save money are by downgrading your plan, or seeing if you can get it as a free benefit through a mobile contract such as Vodafone.
Failing all that, you can always cancel Spotify.