Elon Musk's X hits users with steep Premium+ price increase

As the year wraps up, it's that time when companies start tweaking their subscription prices. YouTube recently made its move, and now Elon Musk's platform, X, is jumping on the bandwagon.

X is bumping up the cost of its Premium+ subscription by a hefty 37.5%, the steepest hike since Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022. For US users, the monthly price jumps from $16 to $22, while the annual subscription leaps from $168 to $229.

X is defending its Premium+ price hike with three key points. First up, the subscription now offers a completely ad-free experience, letting users browse without interruptions.

Second, Premium+ subscribers gain access to more perks, including priority support from @Premium, a new Radar tool for tracking keywords and trends, and increased limits on Grok AI models. Lastly, X emphasizes that subscription fees help fund its creator program, which rewards users for producing engaging and high-quality content.


New Premium Plus subscribers will be charged the updated rates right away, while existing subscribers will see the price hike take effect on January 20, 2025, or with their first billing cycle after that date. The changes aren't limited to the US. In the EU, the monthly fee jumps from €16 to €21, and in Canada, the cost rises from $20 to $29.

X is feeling the heat as competition heats up from Meta's Threads and Bluesky, both of which remain ad-free and completely free to use (for now, at least). With the subscription fees for Musk's app climbing even higher, I think there's a good chance more users will start jumping ship to try out these alternatives.