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We all know about YouTube and likely use it every single day. But what about YouTube Premium? That’s YouTube’s paid subscription service, and it’s not as popular as YouTube itself is, which is not a surprise since it is paid. But what is included in YouTube Premium, and what exactly is it?
Well, in this article, we are going to go over everything you need to know about YouTube Premium, including what is included, pricing, what countries it is available in, and so much more. So you can make a better, more informed decision about whether you should sign up.
What is YouTube Premium?
YouTube Premium was born, originally in November of 2014, as YouTube Red. It was rebranded a few years later (in 2018) as YouTube Premium, which added more perks and also included YouTube Music, which was not even a service in 2014 when YouTube Red came out.
Originally, YouTube Red was really just a place for some YouTube Originals and included a subscription to Google Play Music.
When YouTube Premium launched in 2018, Google added a number of other features and swapped out Google Play Music for YouTube Music. It also raised the price to $11.99 per month, and given everything that is included, it is well more than worth that price.
What benefits are included with YouTube Premium?
There are five main features of YouTube Premium:
- Ad-free videos
- Background Playback
- Offline playback
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Originals
The first three features are what most people sign up for YouTube Premium for, especially the ad-free experience. Since YouTube has really littered its platform with a ton of ads, making it impossible to watch a ton of videos on the platform.
Being able to download videos to watch offline is also a really popular feature. Especially if you do a lot of traveling. Downloading videos to watch you’re on a plane, or on the subway, is definitely very helpful.
How much does YouTube Premium cost?
YouTube Premium costs $13.99 per month.
Like most other streaming services, there are family and student plans available. For students, it’ll cost you $7.99/month, and for a family plan, it’s $22.99/month. With the family plan, you can add up to five other people. Similar to how it works for YouTube TV and YouTube Music.
For the student plan, you will need to do some kind of verification to prove that you are indeed a student. Otherwise, everyone would sign up for the student plan and get that discount. Since it is nearly half the price.
Update: On July 20, 2023, Google announced that the price for YouTube Premium is going up. It’s now $13.99 per month ($2 increase), or $139 per year ($20 increase). YouTube Music Premium is also going up to $10.99 per month.
Verizon offers a discounted YouTube Premium
Verizon has announced that you will be able to add YouTube Premium to your plan as a “perk”, which will cost you $10 per month. That’s a savings of almost 30%. That’s a great way to get YouTube Premium for less. However, you still can’t get it for free.
Verizon offers plenty of other subscription services at steep discounts through its +play service, which can be added to your monthly bill for $10 each. Including Walmart+, Paramount+, Max, Disney bundle and much more.
Can I get YouTube Music Premium only?
While YouTube Music Premium is included in YouTube Premium, you can still buy it by itself. Google offers the service for $10.99 per month, when it is not included in YouTube Premium. Which if you just want a music streaming service, that’s right on par with the competition. But for $3 more per month, you can get ad-free YouTube, which is honestly worth it.
Keep in mind that Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify and Apple Music are all priced at $9.99/month. So it’s the same as the competition. And it also has a family plan for $14.99/month like the competition.
Where is YouTube Premium available?
According to Google, YouTube Premium is available in nearly 100 countries around the world. All of which are listed below. However, the paid membership may not be available in all states/provinces.
- American Samoa
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- French Guyana
- French Polynesia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- 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
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Oman
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- US Virgin Islands
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Can I still use my subscription if I travel to another country?
Imagine you live in the US, subscribe to YouTube Premium, and travel to another country for vacation or something. Can you still use YouTube Premium there? It really depends on where you travel to. If you travel to another country that has YouTube Premium, then you can keep using your subscription as usual.
But, if you go to a country that doesn’t have YouTube Premium – like Russia, here’s what happens:
“You won’t be allowed to download videos, videos won’t play in the background, and you may see ads. Any videos that you’ve downloaded before traveling will be available offline for 30 days.”
So the short answer is yes, you can still use it. But you may not get the same experience if you enter a country where YouTube Premium is not available.
Is signing up worth it?
Yes, totally worth it. Especially if you do watch a lot of YouTube. I know I watch around 3-4 hours of YouTube a day, and not having to watch ads is a huge bonus. The other features that this subscription has, I don’t even use. However, if we ever return to travel like before the pandemic, I’ll likely use the offline playback a lot more.
If you already use YouTube Music, then this bundle is worth the cost. You’re paying literally two dollars more to get ad-free YouTube. And that alone is worth the extra cost here. Of course, if you’re like me and are not a fan of YouTube Music, then it might be a bit harder of a decision. Paying $12 per month for ad-free YouTube is still quite a bit.
The best way to find out if this is worth it for you is to go ahead and sign up for one of the free trial bonuses. Google typically gives out two to six months of free trials for different things. Giving you plenty of time to try out the service. Then you can tap on your profile picture, then tap on “Your Premium Benefits” in the YouTube app, to see how you’ve used these benefits and whether it is worth the price.
Exclusive Experimental features for YouTube Premium users
Being that you’re paying for YouTube Premium, Google does typically allow Premium users to try out new features before they get rolled out to everyone.
Currently, YouTube Premium is offering two different features that you can opt into. This includes Shorts Smart Downloads, Ask questions, and get AI-powered answers.
Shorts smart downloads
This feature is likely pretty self-explanatory. YouTube already offers smart downloads for premium users, where it will automatically download some videos that you might watch, without you needing to go and download it. Now, YouTube is extending that to Shorts. If you head over the YouTube app, tap on your profile icon, then tap on “YouTube Premium benefits” you’ll see “Try experimental features”. From there, you can choose to “Try it out” for each feature. This particular feature is only available until July 15.
Ask questions, get AI-powered answers
Hopefully, this feature works better than the AI Overviews that Google had added to search. But basically, this experiment uses conversational AI to answers questions about videos you are watching, recommend content and help you learn. And this is all done without interrupting playback.
To turn it on, tap on “YouTube Premium benefits” you’ll see “Try experimental features”. From there, you can choose to “Try it out” button below this feature. This particular feature is available until July 31. After that, Google will decide if it wants to move forward with it, or go back to the drawing board.