Is YouTube Premium worth it? Learn all about the service

Table of Contents

1. What is YouTube Premium?
2. How much does YouTube Premium cost?
3. What are the advantages and what needs to be improved?
4. YouTube Music or Spotify?
5. Os “YouTube Originals”
6. Is it really worth subscribing to YouTube Premium?

O YouTube is the pioneer in the field of video for the internet. For years we just had it as a major brand for consumer video production. We currently have streaming services, but none of them compares to YouTube in terms of freedom and variety of content. But have you ever imagined ad-free videos? Can download YouTube videos? How YouTube Premium you do that and it still helps the content creator you follow, in addition to some other benefits that the service gives you.

However, the idea of ​​having to pay for something that was always free might sound mercenary and bizarre, which is why I, as a user of the service for a few months now, am here to clarify whether the YouTube Premium compensates or not, and also explain why it exists.

Basically, one of the reasons for creating the YouTube Premium it's the user's desire not to have ads when watching videos — as the platform inserts commercials at the beginning of the videos and, depending on the size of the video, in the middle of the display, detracting from the experience. There are options such as the use of ad-blocks (ad-blockers, in free translation), however this is restricted to web browsers, and the advertisements continue on smart TVs and devices like the chromecast e Fire TV Stick.

it is precisely the fact that there are so many ad-blocks out there. Keeping the videos and creators comes at a cost, and when that cost doesn't pay off, someone has to do something. The idea was to create an “official ad-block”. What sells the service, however, is that unlike the ad-block, with the paid service you are free of ads on any platform, as long as you are using a subscriber account.

What is YouTube Premium?

Despite having given a brief summary of the origin of the service, I still haven't fully explained what it is. before becoming YouTube Premium, the service was known as YouTube Red and at that time — mid-2016 — it was not even dreamed of having something like that in Spanish lands. The service was sold as something that would bring exclusive content to those who subscribed, becoming a kind of Netflix within YouTube. Despite having some good original production, instead of focusing on content creators, the platform started to focus on celebrities and after a while releasing these exclusive content to everyone, but with ads.

Because of this, the name YouTube Red would be losing ground and in its place would come what is now known as YouTube Premium, a much more robust and more inclusive service. In addition to doing what Red already did, it also brought with it a number of exciting new features that might make you think about subscribing to it. Check out the main features:

• ad-free videos: The official alternative of the platform to watch your videos without advertising is the main attraction of the service and it works on any device that your Premium account is connected to;
• Background playback: With this function you can listen to music, podcasts or long videos with the screen locked or while using another app;
• Video downloads: The feature of downloading videos was also built into the paid version of the app, so you can enjoy the videos when you're out of internet or to watch later;
• YouTube Music Premium: Basically Google's “Spotify”, with all the necessary resources, being able to download songs, create playlists, listen with the screen locked and among others;
• YouTube Originals: Access to original YouTube content without having to see ads on them.

How much does YouTube Premium cost?

Google's official "ad-block" has 3 ways to sign up, therefore with 3 different values, and you are entitled to 1 month free to test (I suggest that if you do that, prepare the card to sign permanently) and the conventional plan for one person goes by $ 20,90 / month. This value already includes all the benefits mentioned in the previous topic. The other subscription plan is the family plan, where you and 5 other people who live with you can enjoy the benefit for the price of $ 31,90 / month. Finally, we have the student plan that goes out $ 12,50 / month and need an annual proof of studies.

As you can see, unless you live alone, the family plan is the most interesting and also the one that matters the most. All benefits will be activated for all family members and on any device the account is connected to. In my case, I subscribed to YouTube Premium for my parents to have access to streaming music, so my sister and I gain access to the songs and also the videos without ad. Despite the great price, the service makes you extremely uncomfortable and using YouTube on accounts that don't have Premium becomes a very bad experience. All plans can be checked and subscribed directly from YouTube.

What are the advantages and what needs to be improved?

The main compliment for the subscription is given by the fact that it does not have any ads. And when I say none, I mean literally. From the moment you signed up for the service, both the videos and the timeline of YouTube they are clean in that sense and rely only on the videos and their personalized recommendations. The fact of paying to not have ads on something that was always free may sound like something wrong, but due to all the benefits that are included in the subscription and in the form of monetization towards the creators, through YouTube Premium, it makes the service pays off.

And finally, the fact that you can use the resources on literally any device your account is registered on is a boon. Listen to your music on your smartphone or TV, or on your PC while you work. However, the feature that I think is the most interesting and that may interest a lot of people is that you can literally use the same account to listen to music on different devices at the same time. For example, you can work listening to music on the PC and leave something playing on the TV in the living room.

YouTube Music or Spotify?

You are not reading it wrong. With a YouTube Premium subscription you gain access to YouTube Music Premium, that is, you will be able to listen to millions of songs on Google's “Spotify”. Music services are no longer new, however YouTube Music has some very interesting exclusives that I'll talk about below. The music part of YouTube Premium is available both for computers in a tab of the video site and for mobile devices as an app (Android e iOS).

If you're a long-time Spotify user, you'll probably find YouTube Music quite strange, but it works just as well — and even better in some ways. On the home screen both are good-looking, using the algorithm to recommend new songs and playlists. However, in my use I felt that the YT Music indications were more interesting and attractive. Instead of just creating playlists, as is done on Spotify, YT Music's home screen offers you what's called "quick picks". This option allows you to find what to listen to in a faster and more efficient way.

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In terms of usability, both are great and efficient for their purpose. In the case of YT Premium I didn't find some songs, but they were usually more niche things. Obviously that's no excuse for YT not finding a way to get them there. On the other hand, in some songs I felt that the audio quality was better on YT, even using the maximum quality in both apps.

Both also have that song lyrics system, but then Spotify wins 10 to 0 from YT Music. On Spotify the lyrics are synchronized with the music in most of them, in addition to the visual that is often more elegant. On YouTube, on the other hand, we only have a text with lowercase letters without any accompaniment or synchronization with what is being played. In addition, the absence of lyrics on YouTube is much greater, especially in Spanish songs.

Lyrics on Spotify:

As letras no YT Music:

Still about the players, on Spotify we have something more “clean”, but less intuitive. When tapping the center when in the playback screen in Spotify, nothing happens. With YT Premium, we already have the option to to share, download, add to playlist e start a radio. To perform any of these functions in Spotify, we have to tap on the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and search for it. Also, on YT Music you can see the clip of that song with just one button. If the song has a clip available, just tap “video” at the top of the player.

As a Spotify user for a few years, these problems with YT Music lyrics bother me a lot. On the other hand, having to tap more to access simple functions on Spotify is also a problem. Recently, a history of songs heard on the “green side of music” was also implemented, which helps when finding that song that you missed, but it's not YT Music's “quick recommendations” yet.

After starting to use YT Music, I started to see many design flaws in Spotify. I'm used to the same thing, but let's face it, treating everything like a playlist or throwing everything in your face without explaining what it is doesn't help much for you to decide what to listen to. With YouTube Music, I started to have a more interesting experience in this regard, as it suggests not only single songs, but also “moods” (humor, in free translation).

With this function you will have recommendations based on 4 categories: Training, Focus, Relax e In transit. They are very useful for each of these actions. However, they are more explicit in the mobile versions. On PCs, we don't have the 4 categories very well divided. Despite this all other features work the same way and very well. The only thing that is unavailable in the PC version is watching the videos directly through YT Music.

The fact of YouTube Music Premium being included in the package is a great argument to speak well of the subscription. In addition to comparisons with Spotify, we also have the possibility to listen only to the audio of unofficial cover videos available only on YouTube, for example.

Also, both YouTube and YT Music work perfectly well with Google's “cast” function, after all they are part of the house. With this button you can cast videos and music to your smart TV or Chromecast just by tapping the “cast” icon (the one that looks like a TV with a Wi-Fi symbol). After tapping the “cast” button, you will only need to choose where you want to mirror your video or music.

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Finally, we have the question of prices. For comparison purposes, the main competitors of the YouTube Music are Deezer and Spotify. Deezer prices are currently $ 16,90 / month for 1 person and $ 26,90 / month the family plan. Spotify, on the other hand, has undergone a price change currently and the solo plan is coming out for $ 19,90 / month e R$ 35,90 in the family plan, in addition to having a Duo plan worth BRL 24,90/Month.

As I used Spotify for comparison until then, nothing more fair than putting it here again to close the subject of YT Music with the question of prices. With the pandemic, home office and all that that brings, being able to have both ad-free videos and music all over the house for one price is a huge cost-benefit.

I still love Spotify for a variety of reasons, but these price increases with no improvement to justify the same make the YouTube Premium package even more attractive. My tip is to grab a few free months of each and see what works best for you.

Os “YouTube Originals”

Although it is no longer exclusive to subscribers, the so-called YouTube Originals need more prominence on the platform. I admit that so far I have not been interested in anything that fits the Originals label, but that is due to the fact that finding them, even with a Premium subscription, is something more difficult than it should be. When using the YouTube site on PC, we have a tab called “Originals“, but even when clicking on it, everything is messed up, instead of dividing things by the program name. Even not having consumed anything of original creation, something that is highly recommended is the documentary Mind Field do canal Vsauce.

The issue is that we have few suggestions and incentives to watch these contents, even if they have Spanish subtitles and are accessible to people. Another point, as I mentioned above, is that much of this original content focuses more on celebrities than the creators themselves. This tab would be great for promoting channels with great potential, but that still don't have as much visibility, and also for those that are successful on the platform, with very interesting content, such as Mind Field.

Is it really worth subscribing to YouTube Premium?

This will depend on how much time you spend watching videos within the platform. If you already subscribe to any other music streaming service and if the ads harass you to the point where you need to take them down anyway, it's a case to consider. In my case, the ads situation was becoming unbearable, mainly because they were always boring and repetitive ads, in addition to having a bizarre excess of them. Despite the illustrative video I used at the beginning of the text to break the ice a little, Kwai ads became a torment in my day to day.

The combination zero ads + YouTube Music Premium is excellent, and coupled with the other bonuses that the subscription offers, maybe it's a one-way street, because once the red site's videos run out of ads, you'll never want to use it with ads again. If the intention is to subscribe just for you and you are not a student, the subscription ends up being a little salty, but if the intention is to subscribe for the whole family I would say cancel other music services and be happy with the YouTube Premium kit.

I hope I was able to answer all your questions regarding YouTube Premium. If anything is missing or if you have any further questions, don't forget to leave a comment below.