Spotify to Raise U.S. Subscription Prices Early Next Year: Report

Spotify will raise prices on its subscription plans in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026, according to a Financial Times report that cited three people familiar with the matter. The article does not include specific information on the amounts of the price increases for Spotify’s various subscription plans. A Spotify representative did not respond to Billboard‘s request for comment by the time of publication.  

Spotify’s U.S. subscription prices have already been raised twice in the last two years. The platform’s premium individual plan currently costs $11.99 per month, after being raised in two $1 increments in July 2023 and July 2024. The 2023 price increase was Spotify’s first since it launched in the U.S. in 2011 at $9.99 per month. The premium family plan, which allows up to six accounts, currently costs $19.99 per month. Premium duo, a plan for two individuals, costs $16.99 per month. 

Numerous equity analysts had expected Spotify to raise prices on U.S. subscribers by the first quarter. As Billboard reported in October, analysts at J.P. Morgan, Guggenheim and Morgan Stanley had told investors that a price hike was likely in late 2025 or early 2026. J.P. Morgan estimated that a U.S. price increase would generate approximately $500 million of incremental revenue annually. 

Staggered price increases throughout the world, along with savings from layoffs, have improved Spotify’s margins and earnings. The company’s gross profit margin — gross margin as a percentage of revenue — increased to 31.6% in the third quarter of 2025 from 24.1% in the second quarter of 2023, the period before Spotify began raising prices. Over the same time span, operating income improved to 582 million euros ($673 million) from negative 247 million euros ($286 million).  

Price increases are part of Spotify’s strategy and will continue in a “thoughtful” way, co-president Alex Norström said during the company’s Nov. 4 earnings call. Norström explained that Spotify aims to maintain a particular value-to-price ratio, and adding more value by adding new features gives it the ability to raise prices. The amount of a price increase depends on market-specific conditions, such as household income and the maturity of the market. 

U.S. Spotify users will soon get more value for their subscription dollars: The platform confirmed to Billboard on Nov. 12 that it will launch music videos in the U.S. and Canada in the coming weeks. The news came a day after Spotify and the NMPA announced a licensing deal for expanded audiovisual rights.