Spotify is preparing a sweeping price increase across several global markets starting this summer, as the streaming giant aims to keep its profitability momentum.
That’s according to the Financial Times, which reported over the weekend that Spotify plans to implement price hikes equivalent to about EUR €1 ($1.14) on monthly individual subscriptions throughout Europe and Latin America as early as June.
The US market, Spotify’s largest, will reportedly be excluded from the latest round of price hikes. The US last saw a price rise from Spotify in June 2024.
The reported new price adjustment follows recent increases already quietly implemented in select European markets in 2025.
In the Netherlands and Luxembourg, individual Premium subscriptions now cost €12.99 monthly, representing an 18% jump from the previous €10.99 rate.
However, new subscribers in these territories do receive a three-month free trial to the service.
Family plans in the Netherlands and Luxembourg recently saw even steeper increases of 22%, rising to €21.99 from €17.99, while the Duo plan covering two accounts under one bill increased 20% to €17.99.
Belgian subscribers faced a more modest recent adjustment, with individual plans only rising 9% to €11.99 monthly, while family subscriptions increased 17% to €20.99.
Student plans across all three countries have been set at €6.99, a €1 increase from the previous rate.
The FT said the changes come as music executives have long pushed for streaming platforms to raise their prices, arguing that subscription costs have failed to keep pace with inflation while offering cheaper rates compared to video streaming services like Netflix or Disney+.
As MBW pointed out in a January article, Netflix’s latest price increase in the US further widened the price gap between the video streaming giant and Spotify.
Netflix’s Standard tier now costs US users approximately $72 more per year than Spotify’s individual Premium (at $11.99 per month).
Following the price hikes in the Benelux region, a source told the FT that more price increases are expected this summer.
In February, Bloomberg reported that Spotify is readying the launch of a so-called ‘Music Pro’ tier, which would include various ‘superfan‘ perks. In July last year, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told analysts that the company was working on a pricier “deluxe” tier. The FT also reported about a “super-premium” tier that would cost an extra $6 on top of the $11 monthly fee in the US.
Most recently, the newspaper reported, citing several executives involved in these discussions that these premium subscriptions would be different across the major platforms. Apple, Amazon and YouTube are also reportedly preparing premium versions of their music streaming platforms.
The FT said some observers question how consumers will respond to higher price points after a decade of roughly $10 subscription costs.
“Do people want something new?” Midia analyst Mark Mulligan was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “It’s almost like you need the stick element of super-premium. And the stick element is: if you want to hear the music first, you need super premium.”
If confirmed, the upcoming price hikes by Spotify reflects the streaming giant’s pivot toward sustainable profit margins after reporting its first full year of operating profit in 2024. Operating profit for 2024 totaled €1.4 billion ($1.495bn), reversing the €446 million loss in 2023. This allowed shareholders to enjoy diluted earnings per share of €5.50 for the 2024 financial year, versus a loss per share of €2.73 a year prior.
Spotify’s positive earnings report for 2024 also helped boost the company’s stock price to an all-time high of $648.32 on February 13, a win for Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, who has been cashing out his shares in the streaming giant. Ek sold another $28.2 million worth of company shares about two weeks ago, extending a selling pattern that has netted him approximately $778.3 million since mid-2023.
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