Elevate Your Listening Experience: Switch to YouTube Premium Now!

These days we all pay for too many subscription services, whether that’s for music, cloud storage, streaming Netflix, food delivery, and more. However, I’m here to tell you why I’m also paying for YouTube Premium and why you probably should too.

If you don’t already have a music streaming service, you’d greatly benefit from all the perks of YouTube Premium . It’s not just a music streaming subscription like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music. No, it’s way more than that, and now more than ever, it’s an option you should strongly consider. Why? Because you get endless YouTube music and videos, all ad-free, plus more. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is YouTube Premium?

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

Sure, you can watch videos on YouTube for free, but you’ll have to deal with endless ads before and during the content. And yes, you can get YouTube Music for free, but it also has a slew of ads, just like any free music streaming service. With YouTube Premium , you get all of the above with zero ads .

In case you haven’t heard or noticed, YouTube is cracking down on ad-blockers and preventing users from enjoying the millions of videos on its site for free. And while I’m not a fan of this approach to push users to sign up for Premium, there’s no arguing just how valuable a Premium subscription is.

YouTube Premium is Google’s highest-tier offering, which delivers ad-free viewing of all videos while supporting your favorite creators. Finally, no more ads at the beginning of every video. It also gives you offline video playback (downloads) and background playback, along with access to exclusive video.

More importantly, it also includes a subscription to YouTube Music, so you can listen to endless songs, save music offline, and enable background listening. Essentially, you’ll get the best of YouTube and Music all for one monthly payment.

How Much Is YouTube Premium?

For U.S. subscribers, YouTube Premium at the time of writing costs $13.99 a month. If you enjoy listening to music and watching videos on YouTube, you’ll absolutely want to subscribe to Premium. Yes, that’s a few bucks more than Spotify Premium or Apple Music , but think about everything you’re getting here. Endless music without ads, and no ads on YouTube either. It’s a compelling package.

YouTube Music alone is already $10.99, so for a few more bucks, you’ll get to take advantage of Premium.

Why I Chose YouTube Premium Over Music

Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek

For some background, I’ve been a fan of Google’s music services for years, dating back to the original Google Play Music subscription service. I also watch plenty of videos on YouTube, but I certainly stream music more than I watch content. I’ve paid for Google/YouTube Music for as long as I can remember.

Over the last year, YouTube Music has become more expensive, just like everything these days. This summer, it went from $9.99 per month to $10.99 per month , and that included grandfathered YouTube Red plans. Google used that same increase to bump Premium to $13.99.

I was frustrated by the price increase, but then I realized it was inevitable, and I might as well bite the bullet and get Premium. I won’t be looking back. Look—I know we’re all trying to stick to a budget—but if you’re already paying $11 a month for Music, whether with Google or elsewhere, what’s another $2? Now, you’ll get all the music you love while enjoying ad-free videos on YouTube. It’s a win-win, at least for me. I wish I would have subscribed to YouTube Premium years ago. There’s something to be said about how much time I save not waiting to skip ads.

It’s Even Better for Families

Where YouTube Premium really shines, more than almost any other service is for families. If you have kids (or siblings) and you all watch YouTube, Premium is perfect. It’s a bit more than some of the competing music streaming family plans, but that’s because all six users are getting far more than music.

YouTube Premium’s family plan is currently $22.99 monthly, which gives six family members (or different Gmail accounts) access to both YouTube Music and ad-free videos. That’s less than $4 per month (per person), making it quite the deal. If YouTube is popular in your household, everyone will appreciate a membership to Premium.

As you can see, Premium is an all-around excellent option. That said, those who already use and love a different music streaming service may be unable to justify the switch. Personally, I think it’s worth it. At the end of the day, if you watch YouTube with any frequency and are looking for a new music service or are simply sick of all the ads plastered on YouTube, give Premium a try. You’ll be glad you did.

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