Surely you have heard of YouTube Premium, a paid service from Google’s social network with which you will get advantages over the normal version. But is it really worth shelling out money to get this version of the streaming video service?
YouTube has always been free, and for many years there was talk that it could become paid. The first thing that was seen towards that path was when advertising began to be implemented, something that little by little has been taking over the social network.
Currently, we can find videos where ads are an important part of them, sometimes getting the viewer to move on to another in order not to continue seeing as much advertising as they expose.
And it is that in part this saturation is due to an attempt by YouTube that we end up succumbing to the idea of contracting YouTube Premium and thus make the ads disappear, in addition to other advantages that we are going to show you shortly.
The truth is that the paid versions that offer benefits compared to the free version are something that has been happening for quite some time and in all kinds of applications. But not only that, but you surely have some kind of video platform for which you are paying a monthly fee, such as Netflix or HBO.
We give you these examples so that you can see that YouTube’s idea of charging for exclusive services should not be seen as something strange, since it is the order of the day. It is quite another thing for us to consider that it offers enough to think about whether we make partners or not.
What is YouTube Premium, and what does it offer?
YouTube Premium is a paid service and improved from the offer that this video social network normally has.
These benefits are intended to improve the user experience in exchange for a monthly fee, although in this case the interface remains the same, but with several extra options that the free version does not have.
The benefits that YouTube Premium currently has are:
- Ad-free videos: from the moment you become Premium, you will not see any type of ad that the social network incorporates into its videos. Of course, you may still see branding or promotions that the creator has inserted into the content. Promotional links, shelves, or functions may also be shown, but are always inserted within the video by the person who created it.
- Download videos: you will be able to download videos and playlists so that you can watch them when you do not have an internet connection.
- Background playback: Allows you to play videos on a mobile device with the screen off or while other apps are in use. This option is present on YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube Kids.
- YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Originals: another facet that is achieved is access to these two parts of the YouTube family, where we can enjoy the best music (in the style of Spotify) as well as exclusive and unreleased content produced for all those who have Originals.
- Statistics: There are certain statistics that we will be able to see with respect not only to YouTube but also to Music Premium, such as hours or minutes of playback, videos we have watched, and other data that may be interesting.
- Offers: From time to time, offers and promotions that are exclusive to YouTube Premium members.
How much does YouTube Premium cost?
Now we know what the advantages of YouTube are over the non-paid version, but it remains to be seen what the real cost of this service is, since no matter how much it offers, everything will depend on how much you have to pay.
Currently, YouTube Premium offers a 1-month trial before the first payment for its services is made. The subscriptions are as follows:
- Normal plan: 12.84 dollar per month.
- Family Plan: 19.27 dollar per month, being able to add up to 5 members of the same family unit who are over 13 years old.
- Student Plan: 7.49 dollar per month for students who meet a series of requirements, being their annual verification by an external service.
Is it worth hiring?
The truth is that this is a question whose answer is really subjective, since it will depend a lot on the situation, taste, and usefulness that each one gives to YouTube.
From there, if we already have a contracted service such as Spotify, then the paid version of YouTube loses steam, because we would be talking about a duplicity since Music Premium would cease to make much sense, and let’s not forget that it is a very important part of the paid offer of Google’s social network.
On the other hand, having YouTube Originals would not have too much weight if we are already partners with platforms such as Netflix, HBO, or Amazon Prime Video.
If we spend a lot of time on YouTube and don’t have any paid music services, it may be a good idea to go Premium, since you’re going to have a great time and you can enjoy all the content without ads.
In this specific case, it can be good to get paid, even if you have other streaming services, since the advantage of YouTube Music is going to be quite substantial.
Another situation in which it is very convenient to pay is if we are a few relatives and we want to share all these services, since the price divided between five people is really good for some extremely interesting extras.
In the event that you are a student, the result is the same; you save a lot of money and have many extras, so being able to enjoy them only depends on becoming a member.
The conclusion is clear: YouTube Premium for a single person who does not have any other service of this type can be interesting, although it is a bit expensive. If you are already a partner of a similar platform, it no longer seems so viable.
But in the case of being a family member or a student, things change because the cost per person is greatly reduced, so it clearly compensates for all the extras it offers.
