Prices for online services are shooting up way faster than usual. This morning, it was Todoist. It nearly doubled its price today. But honestly, I’m noticing that extreme price acceleration is happening with almost every kind of product: entertainment, productivity, creative tools, and business software.
Pricing It In
Part of it is certainly inflation, but that doesn’t explain the speed or the disproportionate size of the increases. It feels like a deeper shift. The companies behind the tools and services we use every day are reacting to changes in the economy itself. Job numbers have been flattening or falling in many sectors and there’s a growing belief that AI is replacing more work sooner than most people realize. Businesses might already be adjusting their pricing to prepare for a world where fewer customers can be added each year. I believe they’re pricing it in early.
When customer growth slows, subscription-based companies often make up the difference by charging existing users more. Instead of growing through sign-ups, they grow through price increases. On top of that, the cost of cloud computing and AI infrastructure has gone up sharply, and companies are using that as a reason to raise prices. It’s not just a few cents here or there anymore. These increases are significant.
Recent Price Hikes
Here are just a few significant examples from the past year or two:
Todoist: Nearly doubled its Premium plan pricing for new users in 2025.
Microsoft 365: Raising license prices by about 5 percent in 2025, with more changes coming as bulk discounts are phased out.
Salesforce and Slack: Each announced price increases around 6 to 20 percent, following similar hikes in previous years.
YouTube TV: Now $82.99 per month, up $10 in early 2025.
Apple TV+: Increased from $9.99 to $12.99 per month in August 2025.
HBO Max: Raised prices again in October 2025, now $18.49 for ad-free and $22.99 for the premium tier.
Disney+: The annual plan in the UK went from about £59.99 in 2020 to £129.90 in 2025.
Spotify and Apple Music: Each quietly raised subscription rates last year, bringing standard plans to $11.99 or higher in many regions.
Adobe Creative Cloud: Went up again in 2025, with individual app plans around $25 to $35 per month depending on region.
Slack: Raised prices by about 20 percent for some plans.
And I’d love to support each individual person and group that I like on Patreon, but it’s impossible to budget a couple hundred bucks a month to do it.
Getting Ahead of It
I’m leaning back toward simpler tools and self-reliance. Things that don’t quietly drain my bank account each month. What’s really important and what’s not. It’s not just about saving money, it’s about staying aware of how easily these costs creep in when everything else around us keeps going up too.
