X Hikes Premium+ Sub Price

X has raised its Premium+ subscription price in the U.S. from $16 per month to $22, or from $168 to $229 for annual subscriptions, citing enhanced access to Grok AI models, more creator benefits and even less ads as reasons for the price hike.

MediaPost reports the increased price went into effect on December 21, according to a post from X, forcing new subscribers to pay the updated price immediately. However, existing subscribers will continue to pay the cheaper price until the next billing cycle on January 20th.

To justify the price hike, X says that Premium+ is now “completely ads-free,” presumably meaning that subscribers will no longer see the “occasional branded content in less common areas” – an ongoing annoyance among subscribers.

X is also promising “higher priority support from @Premium, access to new features such as Radar,” and higher limits on the company's newest Grok AI models.

In addition, X is claiming that its revenue-sharing program, which it reinvented in October, is “now more directly” fueling creator payouts to “reward content quality and engagement rather than ad views alone.”

“When your followers subscribe to X Premium and engage with your content, they support you directly,” the company explained in the fall.

Since taking over the platform in 2022, Elon Musk has prioritized building out a subscription model in order to provide a new revenue stream outside of advertising. However, over two years later, less than 1% of X's total user base are Premium subscribers.