Plans got more expensive, yet people haven't abandoned YouTube Premium! Paid subscribers have crossed the 150 million mark..

Millions of people are now spending money to watch videos and listen to songs on YouTube. As a result, the combined number of subscribers for YouTube Music and YouTube Premium has surpassed 150 million globally. Notably, this milestone comes at a time when the company has increased the prices of its subscription plans, highlighting the growing importance of paid services to YouTube’s business.

This information was shared by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during the company’s third-quarter financial results. Earlier this year, the combined subscriber count for both services stood at 125 million, meaning 25 million new users have joined in a relatively short period. However, this figure includes individuals on free trials; therefore, the 150 million total should not be interpreted as the number of exclusively paid subscribers.

New features for Premium users
YouTube is preparing to introduce new options for its paid users. According to reports, the company may offer access to Peacock Premium to its subscribers next year. Additionally, an option for audiobooks could be introduced in the future. For those who find the full Premium plan too expensive, there is 'Premium Lite'—which features fewer advertisements but lacks the full suite of music-related Premium benefits.

Significant revenue from advertisements
YouTube’s earnings are not limited to subscriptions; the platform also generates substantial revenue from advertisements. In the third quarter, YouTube earned $11.21 billion (approximately ₹1.06 lakh crore) from ads—a 9.2% increase compared to the previous year. More than a third of this revenue was driven by viewers watching YouTube on connected TVs.

According to Google executive Philipp Schindler, over 20 million videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. The company is also integrating AI-powered video editing features into YouTube Studio. However, the company has not yet disclosed how many of its 150 million subscribers use YouTube Music versus those who have opted for a Premium plan. It is also unclear which countries account for the highest number of subscribers.

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