YouTube Premium is Google's paid tier that removes ads across YouTube and adds background play, downloads and YouTube Music Premium. Heavy viewers and families tend to keep it for the ad-free experience, but successive price rises, most recently to $15.99 a month in 2026, have pushed some long-time subscribers to cancel, downgrade to Premium Lite or switch to ad blockers.
This entry is written from the 4 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
It depends on how you will use it. 62% would buy it again, which means roughly 38% would not. Repeated price increases push long-time subscribers to cancel or drop to Premium Lite.
For heavy viewers the ad-free, background-play experience stays the main reason to keep paying, but each price increase prompts a fresh round of cancellations and downgrades.
Repeated price increases push long-time subscribers to cancel or drop to Premium Lite. Some ex-subscribers switch to ad blockers or the Brave browser instead. Signing up through Apple's in-app purchase costs more.
Worth it for: People who watch youtube daily; Families with kids on youtube; People willing to use youtube music. Think twice if: Occasional viewers who tolerate ads; People committed to another music service; Desktop viewers happy with ad blockers.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 8.0 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 8.0 / 10 |
| One month | 7.6 / 10 |
| Six months | 7.2 / 10 |
| One year | 6.6 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 6.2 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Lists the ad-free, background play, download and Music features, calls it worthwhile for heavy viewers, and criticises the weak Originals line-up.
Reviewer enjoyed uninterrupted viewing and screen-off listening but decided it was not worth it for an Apple Music user who tolerates ads.
Covers the 2026 US price rise; commenters report cancelling, moving to Premium Lite or ad blockers, while some families keep paying for ad-free viewing for kids.
Reports increases of up to $4 across tiers and subscriber frustration over poor communication and little original content to justify the cost.