Every December, Spotify hands us a glossy, neon‑gradient slideshow reminding us who we were this year: the songs we looped, the artists we obsessed over, the genres we pretended to understand.
But this year, Spotify Rewind forgot to include one very important stat:
“You spent more on Spotify this year than last year. Congrats on leveling up your monthly bill.”
Because while we were busy vibing to our Top 5 Artists, Spotify was busy doing its own character progression, mostly in the Price Hike skill tree.
Let’s break down the year in true Rewind fashion.
Your 2025 Spotify Stats
Times Your Subscription Price Increased:
Two, with another one coming in early 2026.
Total Cost Increase Since 2023:
Individual Premium rose from 10.99 to 11.99.
Duo rose from 14.99 to 16.99.
Family rose from 16.99 to 19.99.
Spotify calls this “adding value.”
Your bank account calls this “a DPS check.”
Your Top Genre This Year
Corporate Monetization Core.
Spotify executives openly said price hikes are now “part of our toolbox,” which is wild, because most toolboxes contain hammers, not recurring financial damage.
But they are investing in new features such as AI DJ mode, audiobooks included in Premium, and infrastructure upgrades.
It’s like they’re saying, “We know we raised prices, but look — shiny things.”
Your Most Played Mood
“Should I switch to Apple Music?”
You weren’t alone.
2025 was the year people started quietly slipping out the back door of Spotify’s party.
When you raise prices multiple times in two years and announce another one for early 2026, customers start doing the math. And the math starts doing them back.
The vibe across social media has been:
“I love my playlists, but not enough to pay rent on them.” (Fear not, Apple Music and apps like SongShift provide ways to import playlists)
Your Top Artist
The Financial Times.
They broke half the news about Spotify’s price hikes this year. They reported that Spotify is raising prices again in early 2026, that price hikes are now a long‑term strategy to hit one billion users and boost profitability, and that investors love it. Users, less so.
Spotify even hit its first annual profit in 2024 thanks to these increases.
So yes, your top artist this year was capitalism.
Your Listening Personality
The Loyalist, but only because migrating playlists is painful.
Spotify knows exactly how to keep you.
Not with features.
Not with pricing.
Not with exclusive content.
But with the psychological chokehold of ten years of playlists, hundreds of liked songs you forgot existed, and that one playlist you made during a breakup that still hits.
Switching platforms feels like switching save files in an RPG. Technically possible. Emotionally devastating.
Your 2025 Wrapped Aura
Cautiously Subscribed.
You’re still here.
But you’re watching.
You’re side‑eyeing every press release.
You’re waiting for the next “We’re raising prices to bring you more value” email like it’s a jump scare.
And honestly, you should be.
The Big Picture: Why People Are Actually Leaving
Spotify’s price hikes aren’t happening in a vacuum. They’re happening in a world where subscription costs are rising across the board, consumers are cutting back, streaming fatigue is real, alternatives are getting better, and audiophiles are rediscovering local files like it’s 2007.
Spotify’s bet is that you’ll stay because you’re locked in.
But the cracks are showing.
When price hikes become annual events, customers start treating Spotify like a gym membership:
“Do I actually use this enough to justify it?”
And increasingly, the answer is becoming:
“Maybe not.”
