Spotify Will Raise U.S. Subscription Prices by Early 2026: Analysts

Brace yourself for another jump in your monthly bills: Spotify is expected to raise its subscription prices in the U.S. early next year. According to multiple equity analysts, the streaming company is likely to implement a price hike by the first quarter of 2026, continuing a trend that’s changed what consumers pay to stream music and vastly improved the company’s bottom line.  

In a Tuesday (Oct. 21) investor note, Morgan Stanley analysts pointed to Spotify’s price increases in Australia in September as “the beginning of a pricing cycle in ’26” and a move that “creates a template” for pricing in other markets in which Spotify bundles music and audiobooks. The price increase in Australia amounted to 14% for individual plans and 17% for multi-person family plans.  

Likewise, analysts at J.P. Morgan expect a U.S. price increase will come “by year end or early 2026,” they wrote in an Oct. 14 note. The analysts estimated that recent price increases — which included Germany, Austria and Lichtenstein — represent just 25% to 30% of subscription revenue and could account for incremental annual revenue of 380 million euros ($441 million). A U.S. price increase would be even more impactful, they added, driving 425 million ($493 million) of annual incremental revenue.  

Guggenheim expects a U.S. price increase to be announced by the end of the year, with the financial impact hitting Spotify’s income statement in early 2026, analysts wrote in an Aug. 18 note to investors. The analysts believe that the latest round of licensing agreements with record labels “included pending increases in per-subscriber minimum fees,” which would lead to higher prices paid by subscribers. 

In the U.S., a Spotify individual plan was raised to $11.99 per month in July 2024. The price had gone unchanged since launching in the U.S. in 2011 until Spotify bumped the price to $10.99 in July 2023. The family plan increased from $15.99 to $16.99 in 2023 and further rose to $19.99 in 2024.   

Spotify executives have not explicitly said they intend to further raise prices in the coming months. Instead, management frequently talks about the company’s efforts to make Spotify a more valuable experience, which gives it the ability to raise prices without losing subscriptions. This “value-to-price” ratio has become a key metric that helps guide Spotify. As co-president Alex Norström explained during a May 1 earnings call, the company “takes steps to balance the value-to-price ratio,” adding value and then adjusting the price “when it makes sense for the market.”  

Raising prices has been instrumental in helping Spotify become a more profitable company. Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley analysts believe Spotify is likely to achieve 14% to 15% compound annual revenue growth through 2028. Analysts Benjamin Swinburne and Cameron Mansson-Perrone “see significant margin potential still ahead as the company follows product enhancements with price increases and diversifies into higher margin products” in its subscription segment. Put another way, the analysts see room for Spotify’s financials to improve as it raises prices and adds additional products such as a “superfan” tier on top of the standard subscription price.  

Guggenheim has a $850 price target, suggesting 19% upside from Tuesday’s $689.21 closing price. Morgan Stanley has an $800 price target while J.P. Morgan is slightly more bullish, forecasting a price target of $805.