Quick summary
Spotify is raising prices for its Premium plans, with individual tiers going up by £1 to £11.99 and family plans by £2 to £19.99.
To avoid the price hike, you can buy a year-long gift card for £99 or switch to another music streaming service like Apple Music or Amazon Music.
Spotify is the go-to music streaming platform for many, that essential subscription that comes before all others. But there's bad news coming down the line: Spotify is going to be increasing prices, so it's going to cost you more every month.
Subscribers are being contacted to inform them of increased prices that will come into effect in May and could leave you paying up to £24 more a year.
For Spotify Premium subscribers, there will be a £1 a month increase, so you'll move from £10.99 a month to £11.99 a month. It might not sound like a big increase, but it's a 9 per cent price rise. This follows price increases in 2023 too - so it's likely that there will be many unhappy customers.
If you're on the Family Plan, the news is worse, as you're facing a £2 increase a month, taking the price up to £19.99. That means that Spotify will cost you more than the top subscription to Netflix, which is £17.99. These new prices are now reflected on Spotify for new subscribers.
Spotify has diversified its offering in recent years, adding podcasts, audiobooks and video content, but never managing to deliver what many music fans have been calling for - a Hi-Res offering. For many, the price increase might signal that it's time to dive over to Tidal, or move to Apple Music or Amazon Music - all of which offer higher-quality streams for your money.
How to avoid the Spotify price rises
There's no avoiding the fact that Spotify is going to cost you more at some point, but there are a couple of steps you could take to avoid the price rise. The easiest way is via the gift card route. Rather than paying for Spotify monthly, you can buy a gift card that will give you 1 year of Spotify Premium for £99. That's the equivalent of £8.25 a month and you can find these on Amazon and at other retailers.
The other option is to choose a mobile phone tariff that offers access to free Spotify. We say "free", but it will be bundled into the cost somewhere along the line. If that sounds like the solution for you, check out Vodafone's Entertainment Plan.
Alternatively, it's worth knowing that Apple Music is still £10.99 a month for its individual plan, as is Amazon Music (both with Hi-Res music included), while Tidal Individual is the same.
Of course, if you can handle the loss of features and adverts, then Spotify Free is still an option.
