Spotify Just Announced Another Price Increase

If you’re feeling subscription fatigue, you’re not alone. Spotify just confirmed another price hike for U.S. subscribers, and it’s arriving at a time when a lot of people are already looking at their monthly bills and asking, “Do I really need all of this?”

This isn’t Spotify’s first increase in recent years, either. The price is creeping up little by little, and even though a dollar doesn’t sound like much, it starts to feel different when it keeps happening.

New Spotify Premium Prices for 2026

Starting with your next billing cycle in February 2026, here’s what Spotify Premium costs in the U.S.

• Spotify Premium Individual: $12.99/month (up from $11.99)
• Spotify Premium Student: $6.99/month (up from $5.99)
• Spotify Premium Duo: $18.99/month (up from $16.99)
• Spotify Premium Family: $21.99/month (up from $19.99)

No matter which plan you’re on, the price is going up.

Why Is Spotify Raising Prices Again?

Spotify’s public explanation is pretty broad, basically that pricing updates help them keep improving the service and continue delivering value.

But the bigger reason is easy to understand: Spotify is massive.

When a platform gets to the point where most people who want it already have it, growth slows down. And when growth slows down, the easiest way to bring in more revenue is to raise prices on the people who are already subscribed.

It’s not exciting, but it’s how these subscription businesses work, especially when the service has become part of people’s everyday routine.

What Spotify Still Does Better Than Most Streaming Apps

Even with the price increase, Spotify is still the “default” music app for a lot of people, and that’s not an accident.

Spotify’s biggest strengths are still:

• Convenience: It works everywhere and it’s easy to use.
• Discovery: Spotify is great at suggesting music you’ll actually want to play.
• Playlists: Both curated and personal playlists are a huge reason people stick with it.
• Social features: Sharing music with friends feels built-in, not tacked on.

In other words, Spotify isn’t just selling you music. It’s selling you a system you’ve probably built your listening habits around.

The Real Question: Is Spotify Still Worth It at $12.99?

For plenty of listeners, the answer is still yes. If you use Spotify daily, have years of playlists saved, and love the recommendations, paying an extra dollar probably won’t change much.

But it does create a natural moment to pause and ask what you actually want out of a music streaming service.

Spotify is still a great fit if you care most about:

• Finding new music easily
• Having everything feel familiar and effortless
• Sharing playlists and listening socially
• Listening across multiple devices all day

You might consider other options if you care most about:

• Getting the best sound quality possible
• Hi-res and lossless catalogs
• More value per dollar
• Not dealing with price increases every year

That’s really what this comes down to. Spotify is still excellent at the experience. But once the price keeps climbing, you start comparing what you’re getting to what else is out there.

Want the Best Value? Compare Your Options

If this price hike has you thinking about switching, you’re not crazy. A lot of listeners only re-evaluate their streaming service when the price changes, and this is one of those moments.

At Audio Advice, we’ve already put together a full breakdown of the best music streaming services, including which platforms are best for sound quality, which ones are best for discovering new music, and which ones make the most sense for real-world listening. If you want to figure out whether Spotify is still your best option, that guide is the perfect next step.

The Audio Advice Take

This increase isn’t shocking, but it’s still frustrating, mainly because it’s becoming a pattern.

Spotify is betting that convenience, habit, and the ecosystem you’ve built around it will outweigh the annoyance of a higher monthly bill. And for most people, that’ll be true.

But if you’ve been on the fence about switching, or you’ve been trying to cut monthly costs without giving up music, this is the perfect time to take a fresh look at your options and make sure you’re paying for the service that actually fits how you listen.