Is YouTube Premium Worth It?
Worth it for daily YouTube watchers — free ad blockers make it hard to justify for others
The Full Picture
YouTube Premium removes ads, enables background play on mobile, and includes YouTube Music. For people who watch YouTube for 1+ hours daily, the ad-free experience on long-form content is genuinely valuable. The problem is that browser-based ad blockers accomplish the same thing for free on desktop.
✓ Pros
- No ads — particularly valuable for long-form content and tutorials
- Background play on mobile is a genuine quality-of-life improvement
- YouTube Music subscription included
- Offline downloads for travel
✗ Cons
- $13.99/month is expensive relative to what ad blockers provide free
- Ad blockers work fine on desktop — Premium mainly helps mobile
- YouTube Music is inferior to Spotify and Apple Music for discovery
- Less compelling than it was before effective mobile ad blockers
VerdictZio says: DEPENDS — Worth it for daily YouTube watchers — free ad blockers make it hard to justify for others
Related Decisions
Is Netflix Still Worth It?
DEPENDSWorth it for weekly active viewers — rotate it for occasional watchers
Is Disney+ Worth It?
DEPENDSExcellent value for families — thin content library for adults without kids
Is Spotify Premium Worth It?
YESAd-free music for daily listeners is worth it — especially on the family plan
Is Amazon Prime Worth It?
YESOne of the best-value subscriptions — if you shop on Amazon even occasionally