What is YouTube Premium?
YouTube Premium, formerly known as YouTube Red, is a subsidiary video streaming service of YouTube. It’s basically YouTube without the pesky advertisements and interruptions with a basic price of $11.99.
YouTube Premium offers much more than your free YouTube, which includes all YouTube content, ads-free videos, an ever-expanding selection of original shows, and much more in terms of features.
YouTube Premium is owned by Google Inc and was formerly known as YouTube Red, launched in 2015 until its rebrand into YouTube Premium in 2018. Google understands YouTube’s popularity- its audience, its attraction, and its unique content.
So, Google has capitalized on its moneymaker to make more money by offering YouTube Premium. It’s YouTube that we know but with an experience that’s much better, and it comes with an assortment of perks and features that will make your viewing experience better. While YouTube Premium is a rebrand of YouTube Red, most of the features have remained the same and got better over the years.
We know Google’s naming has always been a mess, and you’ve probably heard half a dozen names associated with YouTube. So, here’s a list that will help you tell the difference:
- YouTube Premium: YouTube’s main ad-free paid subscription service.
- YouTube Music: YouTube’s free music streaming service with its own app launched by Google as a competitor to Spotify and Apple Music.
- YouTube Music Premium: The paid ad-free subscription version of the YouTube Music service. The subscription costs a monthly $9.99, but you can get it as a part of your YouTube Premium subscription for no extra charge.
- YouTube TV: A live TV streaming service to watch live TV with cloud-based DVR launched by Google to compete with live TV streaming services like Sling TV, Hulu, DirecTV Now, etc.
- YouTube Kids: A specific premium app with YouTube Premium features, developed for kids with age-appropriate content.
If you enjoy watching a lot of YouTube videos daily or you like the available music, YouTube Premium is a service you should definitely check out.
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Features of YouTube Premium
So you may be thinking, who would ever pay for a service that is already free? Well, you might be wrong when you try YouTube Premium and find out it’s a completely different YouTube to what you’ve been using all these years. Offering great things for a modest price, here are a few features that may make you sign up for YouTube Premium:
- Ads-free YouTube: You’ve probably never experienced YouTube without the advertisements-and believe us, you’re missing out on some great viewing experience with YouTube Premium. YouTube has always been free, but it comes at a cost. Those pesky interrupting ads are sometimes longer than the video you want to watch.
YouTube Premium offers all the standard YouTube videos and premium content without pauses, interruptions, and anything other than the video you want to watch. YouTube Premium keeps the deal. No ads mean no ads of any sort in any of its content. You can watch hours and hours of YouTube content, and you won’t get any hint of an ad whatsoever. - Play in Background: One of the most frustrating things while using the YouTube app is its restriction on background video streaming. How many times have you been enjoying an excellent video on YouTube when you’ve been pulled away by an e-mail or a notification, and you just wished the videos kept playing in the background? Now with YouTube Premium, you can switch between apps without worry while the video keeps playing- that is, if you’re okay with only the audio playing. With Premium, you could be blasting music while gaming or compose an e-mail while the video plays in the background.
- Offline video saving: With a premium plan, YouTube has a handy feature that allows you to save any YouTube video offline. If you’re a frequent flier or just someone without the best data plans- YouTube Premium has you covered as you can download any YouTube video you want and save it on your device for viewing anytime at your pleasure. Although YouTube also offers the same service without premium- the service is limited to select videos, and resolution is limited. Subscribers of YouTube Premium can save their videos at a maximum resolution of 1080p.
The offline saving feature can significantly reduce the amount of data by downloading videos for offline viewing or listening. The data required for YouTube Premium increases with video quality, so you can set videos for a limited data mode where HD steaming is stopped over mobile data networks. - Free access to YouTube Music Premium and Google Play Music: When you subscribe to YouTube Premium, you’re also getting the extra perk of having free access to two of Google’s prominent music streaming services- YouTube Music Premium and Google Play Music. Users subscribing to Google Play Music get access to YouTube Premium. Google Play music costs $9.99/month, and YouTube Music Premium costs $12/month, for which you get ad-free access to tens of thousands of music uploads and podcasts. Considering the two services are free with a subscription to YouTube Premium-it’s a great three in one package kind of deal just for $11.99 per month.
- YouTube Originals: Subscribers get full access to original content from creators described by YouTube as ‘YouTube’s best creators.’ While Google is mulling to make all its original content free in 2020, the plan has yet to materialize, and there are rumors that Google is decreasing the number of planned originals. Currently, YouTube premium offers a modest list of originals such as the acclaimed Cobra Kai and premium content from creators such as PewDiePie and Paul Brothers, and Google says the list is expanding soon. Some popular YouTube Original content include:
- The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash
- Viper Club
- Can You Survive The Movies
- Kevin Hart: What The Fit
- Dallas & Robo
- Lazer Team
- Impulse
- Escape the Night
Drawbacks of YouTube Premium
- Higher cost compared to competitors: YouTube Premium costs $17.99 for multiple users or families with up to 5 users. But it’s a much higher price compared to its competitors like Netflix and Twitch.
- No offers or discounts: Once you subscribe, you’re expected to pay the monthly fee regardless of commitment. YouTube Premium doesn’t offer any deals or promotions and will charge you the same every month. On the brighter side-you do get access to Google Play Music and YouTube Music Premium.
- Fewer originals and extras: You’re paying a higher price than Netflix Premium-so you expect a wide assortment of originals from YouTube Premium. But there are hardly any original titles coming out of YouTube Premium. The subscription also doesn’t include rentals, PPV, or extra channel packages.
YouTube Music also doesn’t give you the extra details of the music you’re listening to. Unlike Spotify, YouTube Music doesn’t display lyrics, details, and all the perks of listening to music on a premium service.
Where is YouTube Premium available?
At the time of YouTube Premium’s rebrand, it was available in only 17 countries. As of 2020, YouTube Premium is available in over 78 countries, and YouTube Music Premium is available in 77 countries. Here is a list of countries that YouTube Premium is available to use:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- South Korea (YouTube Music Premium isn’t available here)
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
What devices support YouTube Premium?
It is supported on any platform that can run the YouTube app. The list includes Android phones, tablets, Smart TVs; iOS devices like iPhone, iPad, Apple TV; gaming consoles like Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4; Roku and Chromecast. So basically, if you can use the YouTube app on the device, it’s likely that you can use YouTube Premium as well.
How much does YouTube Premium cost?
Before you’re sure that you want to pay for the premium, it’s definitely useful to try out the one-month free trial that YouTube offers. After the trial period ends, YouTube Premium costs $11.99 a month. Students who sign up for the service with an educational e-mail will get the service for a $5 discount. Users may choose to pay an additional $6 to add as many as five users to your premium subscription.
So, with a total cost of $17.99, you’ll be getting access to ad-free YouTube, Google Play Music, and YouTube Music premium on five user accounts. And at such a meager price – this is the best deal for getting all services. (Note that YT Premium comes with a month-long free trial)
Here is a list of offers for families, students, and individuals
- Individual($11.99/month)
- Family($11.99/month + $5/month for 5 users)- Users need to be above 13 year old
- Student($6.99/month) – Verification of student necessary once every year
How to sign up for YouTube Premium?
You can sign up through the standard YouTube app. Like most streaming apps, you’ll need to enter your billing details (credit card) in advance, even for the free trial. Once you’ve entered the details and accepted terms and conditions, you’ll use the same YouTube app to access your YouTube Premium subscription.
There’s a free one month trial before which you can cancel, and you won’t be billed. Subsequent billing is every month, and you can cancel any time before the end of the month without penalties. Follow these steps to get YouTube Premium memberships:
- Log into your YouTube app.
- Tap on the Profile picture.
- Select Get YouTube Premium
- Tap the TRY IT FOR FREE button
- Select the payment method. You can use a credit/debit card, Paysafecard, or PayPal.
- Hit BUY, and your premium service is ready to use.
I tried out the one-month free trial-How do I cancel now?
So you’ve got the free trial, or you’re searching how to cancel your membership. Here is how you can cancel your YouTube Premium membership.
Log in to Youtube.com or open the Youtube app from your device.
Click on the profile picture and select the option Paid memberships.
Open Manage membership option under Premium
It will show information about your premium membership, including the billing date and method of payment. Click the Deactivate option next to the billing date.
Next, on the pop-up screen, you can pause your membership for up to 6 months, which you can resume at any time. You can use that option or Continue to Canel.
Provide the reason for canceling
Click Yes, cancel to confirm the cancellation.