Subscriptions are going from being a simple and cheap way to access content on the Internet, to a real ordeal that can leave our bank account empty if we are not careful. Netflix’s price increase is just one example of a general trend in the technology sector, which is affecting all types of services and platforms.
The last one to join the ‘party’ is X, Elon Musk’s social network, which today confirmed a price increase of no less than 59% in the Premium+ subscription (also known as ‘Premium Plus’); In this way, we will have to pay more than ever to access the greatest advantages of X payment accounts, although the company has tried to sweeten the situation with some changes.
Specifically, X’s Premium+ subscription now costs 25.41 euros per month in Spainwhile the price for the annual subscription becomes 264 euros per year. That’s more than most streaming services cost, something unheard of for a social media platform. Previously, this service cost 16 euros per month, so we will have to pay 9.41 euros more each month to use it. The only good news is that the Premium service continues to cost the same, 8 euros per month.
If the prices seem high to us, we must remember that they are only valid if we buy the subscription through the X website; If we use the X app for Android, the plans are even more expensive, with the Premium+ reaching 35 euros per month or 349 euros per year if we buy it in the app. X tries to justify this difference in the costs derived from the Google and Apple app platforms.
To add insult to injury, X has published a price for Premium+ in Spain that is incorrect. According to the official announcementthe price of the subscription should be 21 euros, but if we try to buy the subscription in the X Premium pagethe price that appears is 25.41 euros; the explanation is that X is publishing the prices without taxessomething that is not allowed in Spain because it can precisely prevent companies from representing well the final price that the consumer pays.
New prices for X Premium in Spain
The Free Android
New subscribers can now see this new price by accessing the Premium website in X, while users who are already subscribers will start paying the new price starting January 20, 2025; Therefore, if we have to pay for our subscription before that date, we will pay at the lower old price, but from that date on, we will have to pay the new price.
X has tried to justify this brutal price increase with two new features. To start, Premium+ users You will no longer see advertising of any kind.neither in the form of publications nor responses. This was one of the big criticisms from users, who had to watch ads even if they paid the most they could afford.
Additionally, Premium+ users will now receive a higher priority in supportsomething important considering that Musk has boasted about laying off many employees since he bought Twitter for $44 billion. These users will also receive new features before everyone else, and will be able to use Grok, X’s AI, with fewer limitations.
Finally, X has tried to appeal to users by stating that the price increase helps content creators, who receive a portion of the subscription if their publications are successful. The company states that it has changed the model used to calculate this income, and that it now gives more importance to the interactions that publications receive and less to advertising impressions. X hopes that this system will be more “equitable” and that the creators who “bring the most value to X” are the ones who earn the most and not the ones that show more ads.
