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YouTube Music and Premium Subscriber Base Crosses 150 Million in Q3 2026 Despite Price Hikes

YouTube Music and Premium Subscriber Base Crosses 150 Million in Q3 2026 Despite Price Hikes

YouTube is reportedly planning to bring Peacock Premium to its paid subscribers next year.

Written by Sucharita Ganguly, Edited by Rohan Pal | Updated: 30 October 2026 13:33 IST

YouTube Music and Premium Subscriber Base Crosses 150 Million in Q3 2026 Despite Price Hikes

Photo Credit: YouTube

YouTube's subscriber figures include users on free trials

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Highlights

The combined subscriber count rose by 25 million earlier this year
Connected TVs account for over a third of YouTube's ad revenue
1. Creators upload more than 20 million videos to YouTube daily

YouTube Music and YouTube Premium have a combined subscriber base of more than 150 million worldwide, highlighting the growing role of paid services in YouTube's business. The milestone comes as the platform expands its subscription offerings and develops additional features for users and creators. YouTube also continues to generate substantial revenue from advertising, supported by audiences watching videos across devices, including connected televisions. The latest figures were announced alongside Alphabet's financial results for the third quarter of 2026.

YouTube Music, Premium Cross 150 Million Subscribers

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the latest figures during the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings update. The combined subscriber base has grown by 25 million since the 125 million reported earlier this year. However, both figures include people using free trials, so the total does not reflect paying subscribers alone.

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The increase comes despite YouTube raising subscription prices in several markets. In the US, an individual YouTube Premium plan now costs $15.99 (roughly Rs. 1,500) per month. The latest figures do not show whether the price hikes have affected sign-ups or led existing subscribers to leave.

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YouTube is reportedly planning to bring Peacock Premium to its paid subscribers next year, and audiobooks could follow. For those who find a full Premium subscription too expensive, YouTube Premium Lite offers a cheaper plan with fewer ads, although it does not include the full range of music features.

Subscriptions are only part of YouTube's business, with advertising continuing to bring in billions of dollars. The platform earned $11.21 billion (roughly Rs. 1,06,000 crore) from ads in the third quarter of 2026, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier, according to figures reported by Variety. More than a third of its ad revenue now comes from people watching YouTube on connected TVs.

YouTube sees more than 20 million videos uploaded every day, Google executive Philipp Schindler said. The company has also been adding AI-powered editing features to YouTube Studio.

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Notably, the company has not said how many subscribers use YouTube Music and how many pay for YouTube Premium, or which countries account for the largest share of its 150 million subscribers.

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Further reading: YouTube, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, YouTube Premium Lite, Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, Google

Sucharita Ganguly

Email Sucharita Ganguly

Sucharita is a writer with Gadgets 360 and is mostly found playing with her cat in her free time. She has previously worked at breaking news desks across organizations. Powered by coffee, The Beatles, Bowie, and her newfound love for BTS, she aims to work towards contributing to a better media environment for women and queer folk. More