Google hikes prices in South Africa

Google has hiked the South African prices of its paid-for cloud storage service, Google One, by as much as 35.87%.

This is the first local price increase for Google One since it launched in South Africa in May 2019 — over four years ago.

Google offers accountholders the first 15GB of cloud storage free. This allocation covers content in Gmail inboxes, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

If a user wants more space on the same account, they must pay a monthly or annual fee for one of three Google One tiers — Basic (100GB), Standard (200GB), or Premium (2TB).

MyBroadband learnt of the price adjustments after one of our forum members posted a notice from Google about the increases.

“Effective 21 September 2023, the price of Google One plans purchased from Google will increase in South Africa,” Google said.

“New members of Google One can subscribe at the updated price beginning 21 September 2023.”

The user said he was not notified about the change on his account and saw the change while backing up his files.

It is possible that Google has yet to send out emails about the changes, as existing members will only be charged the new prices for their subscription renewal after 20 November 2023.

Breakdown of price changes

The Google One Basic plan’s monthly price has been increased from R29 to R34.99, Standard has been hiked from R39 to R52.99, and Premium has gone from R159 to R184.99.

These new prices are between 16.35% and 35.87% more expensive.

The annual plans — which previously cost ten times the price of the monthly plans — have been increased by nearly the same percentages.

An annual Basic subscription now costs R349.99, Standard is R529.99, and it’s R1,849.99 for Premium.

Therefore, the effective saving of 16% — or two months’ fees — remains in place.

The table below summarises the old and new prices of Google One in South Africa.

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