You already know YouTube. Google's video platform is a load-bearing pillar of the internet that houses everything from the dumbest memes to the most radical political content. It's all there, and it's all free. However, there's an option to pay for a slightly better version of YouTube. YouTube Premium offers convenient perks such as an ad-free experience and offline viewing on mobile devices. But the other benefits are so slight compared with what you get from basic YouTube that we have difficulty recommending the video streaming service to anyone who isn't a YouTube die-hard. The cheaper Lite option is a good addition, but it has fewer features. You're better off paying for one of our more well-rounded Editors' Choice winners for streaming video services, such as Hulu or Netflix.

How Much Does YouTube Premium Cost?

YouTube knows most viewers are accustomed to using the site without spending a dime, so YouTube Premium offers a one-month free trial. You must enter payment information into your YouTube account before enjoying the features. After that, you can choose between the different pricing tiers. 

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The standard individual tier costs $13.99 per month, which is a bit expensive given what YouTube Premium offers. However, the standalone YouTube Music costs $10.99 per month, making YouTube Premium an appealing way to access that service alongside the video library. The $22.99-per-month Family plan lets six people experience YouTube Premium. The student discount knocks the price down to a more reasonable $7.99 per month.

YouTube also has a lower-cost option called YouTube Premium Lite. At $7.99 per month, it's nearly half the cost, but its reduced features are disappointing. Like the regular Premium plan, Premium Lite removes ads from videos. There's one difference: It doesn't remove all ads. YouTube says "most" Premium Lite videos are ad-free, like ones in the comedy, cooking, and gaming categories. In addition, ad-free music and background play remain locked to the higher tier. It reminds us of Netflix's ad-supported plan that doesn't include all videos. Although a more affordable package is welcome, YouTube Premium Lite needs additional benefits to be worth the cash.

Other ways to spend money on YouTube have nothing to do with YouTube Premium. For example, you can buy and rent popular movies and TV shows a la carte. YouTube also offers YouTube TV for $82.99 per month. Confused? Check out the differences between YouTube Premium and YouTube TV.

YouTube Premium enhances your existing YouTube account, so you gain those benefits on any platform where you use YouTube. That includes the web, mobile devices (Android and iOS), video game consoles (PlayStation, Switch, Xbox), smart TVs from all major manufacturers, and media streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku). 

What Can You Watch on YouTube Premium?

Anything you can watch on YouTube, you can watch on YouTube Premium. That's an unfathomable amount of videos to consider, with uploads from companies, influencers, or regular folks in their living rooms. However, the list quickly becomes much less enticing regarding the content you can only watch on YouTube Premium.

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Previously, YouTube called its premium tier YouTube Red and launched it alongside a slate of original programming. Mostly, those videos felt like existing popular YouTube shows with slightly bigger budgets rather than full-on professional shows that other streaming services include as exclusives. It's telling that one of YouTube's biggest exclusives, the Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai, graduated to Netflix. In addition, you can watch PewDiePie freak out while playing a video game or check out Bad Internet, College Humor's take on Black Mirror.

These days, YouTube seems to put less promotional effort behind its exclusive Premium shows. The YouTube Originals channel doesn't frequently upload new content. Many shows have ended, including a few original anime series. The target audience seems to be younger viewers primed to enjoy cooking reality shows or documentaries about pop musicians like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato. Overall, YouTube Premium's anemic exclusive library doesn't compete with what you'll find on Hulu or Max. Tubi lets you watch movies and shows for free. Disney+ is the far better option for families.  

Like Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, YouTube lets you subscribe to additional premium channels, such as AMC+, Paramount+, and Starz. Note that these Primetime Channels don't come as part of YouTube Premium; they're each a separate paid subscription.

Premium Extras: Music, Games, and Early Access to New Features

On the upside, YouTube Premium has gradually rolled out intriguing perks. The service includes an ad-free YouTube Music subscription, a welcome addition. It's not our absolute favorite music streaming service, but it's an excellent option thanks to its music videos, collaborative playlists, lyric searching, and other cool features. 

YouTube Premium now has casual games for all desktop and mobile users under the YouTube Playables banner. You can fire up familiar hits like Angry Birds, The Daily Crossword, or Solitaire. The catalog includes more than 75 games, playable via mouse or touch screen, depending on the platform, and you can save your progress and high scores. This is closer to, say, Netflix's game offerings or Google Play Games than Google's ambitious (and now shuttered) Stadia. Gaming is so interwoven into YouTube culture that these Playables have appeal.

YouTube Premium subscribers also gain early access to experimental YouTube Studio features before they roll out to all users, including higher-quality audio and a redesigned watch page. You can even be among the first creators to try out new and upcoming AI tools like a video conversation assistant, comment summaries, music recommendations, intelligently jumping ahead to key moments in a video, and image generation.

YouTube Premium on the Web and Mobile

YouTube Premium isn't an app unto itself; it's just an upgrade to the existing YouTube app. Subscribers see the word "Premium" next to the red YouTube logo upon signing up for the service. As a result, YouTube and YouTube Premium have essentially the same interface on mobile or the web.

This isn't a bad thing, as YouTube is a premier platform for a reason. I experienced smooth video playback over my home Wi-Fi connection (60Mbps download), even with 4K videos. You can easily share videos, like them, clip them, and save them for later. If nothing else, the YouTube commenter community is very passionate and large, but many Premium videos turn comments off. 

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YouTube Premium adds useful features that make watching YouTube more convenient. For example, Premium removes YouTube's commercials. Many YouTubers incorporate ads as part of their content, so you must skip those manually. But now you can watch videos without being randomly interrupted by entirely separate commercials. No more dealing with self-aware ads that talk about the fact there's a skip button before shaming you into not clicking it. 

On mobile, YouTube Premium lets you keep listening to a video in the background even when you turn your screen off. This is great for listening to music, but it has potentially even more uses. I watch many YouTube videos that are more about the discussion than anything happening on screen—podcasts, essentially. Now, I can listen to those videos while doing other things and not waste my phone's battery life by leaving the screen on. On mobile, you can now watch YouTube Shorts while browsing elsewhere thanks to picture-in-picture.

With an individual plan, you can simultaneously stream YouTube Premium on two devices; the Family plan bumps that limit to four per account. YouTube Premium also lets you download videos for offline viewing on mobile, with the Smart Downloads feature automatically adding recommended videos to your library. Smart Downloads supports regular YouTube videos as well as YouTube Shorts. Offline downloading works on up to 10 devices regardless of plan. This is a cool feature, something we like to see in premium video subscriptions, but with clever workarounds, there are already ways to download YouTube videos without paying. 

Other features make the YouTube Premium viewing experience even more convenient. For example, queuing tools empower mobile viewers to decide which videos play next and to watch videos together via FaceTime or Google Meet. In addition, you can easily switch from one device to another for uninterrupted viewing and watch 1080p videos with an enhanced bitrate.

Although these are nice perks, they feel like the extra features a premium service includes to pump up its overall appeal. They're not strong enough to be major selling points in their own right, which is the case here.

YouTube has a ridiculous amount of content, so check out our list of the best YouTube channels for recommendations.

Accessibility and Parental Controls

YouTube Premium features the same accessibility options on regular YouTube, such as customizable subtitles (where applicable) and adjustable playback speed. Premium videos typically have multiple language options for closed captioning. 

For parental controls, YouTube has a separate app for children, YouTube Kids, where young ones can only watch select content (even if that algorithmically served content can get pretty freaky). With YouTube Premium, parents can rest easy knowing their kids won't be exposed to commercials. Offline downloads ensure children can watch their favorite shows when a wireless signal isn't available.

Can You Watch YouTube Premium With a VPN?

Depending on what rabbit holes you stumble down, YouTube is arguably one of the most dangerous online places. The least you can do is keep yourself safe and secure with a VPN. Typically, VPNs don't work with most video streaming services because the geographic location spoofing interferes with regional licensing deals. Still, I suspected YouTube Premium would be a special case, since it is just YouTube.

I tested YouTube Premium with a Windows PC connected to Proton VPN servers and encountered zero issues streaming premium shows from around the globe. This may change in the future, though. Video streaming services have been known to block VPN traffic after the fact. 

Verdict: Premium Is Only for the YouTube Faithful

If you watch a lot of YouTube, YouTube Premium improves your viewing experience thanks to offline downloads and zero ads. You might even find a YouTube Premium show you enjoy, a fun YouTube Playables game, or use the subscription as a gateway to the excellent YouTube Music. However, casual YouTube watchers are better off sticking with the free service as you don't miss out on much by upgrading (besides the time spent watching ads). The cheaper but even more limited YouTube Premium Lite doesn't change that. If you're looking for a traditional premium streaming subscription, check out our Editors' Choice winners: Netflix for original shows, Hulu for live and on-demand content, and Tubi for free TV programs and movies.