YouTube Premium 2025: Plans, Pricing & Benefits
YouTube Premium has grown far beyond a simple way to skip ads. In 2025, it’s a complete subscription package for anyone who wants a smoother, more flexible way to watch videos and listen to music. Between new features, experimental plans, and updates to student pricing, it’s worth looking closely before you decide which plan fits your needs.
Below, we’ll break down what YouTube Premium is, the current YouTube Premium cost for each plan, and what’s included in Premium vs. Premium Lite. You’ll also see how it affects creators and how to cancel if you decide it’s not for you.
What is YouTube Premium?
If you’ve ever asked yourself “What is YouTube Premium?”, it’s the platform’s paid subscription service designed to make your viewing experience ad-free and more convenient. It removes most ads from videos, adds background play, allows offline downloads, and includes a subscription to YouTube Music Premium.
Premium members can also access exclusive content, try experimental features before they’re widely released, and enjoy YouTube Kids without ads.
While the free version of YouTube works fine for casual viewers, Premium is aimed at people who watch frequently, prefer fewer interruptions, and use the platform across multiple devices.
YouTube Premium Cost (2025)
So, how much is YouTube Premium? As of 2025, YouTube offers several Premium plans with different features and prices. For an individual, YouTube Premium costs start at $13.99 but there are family and student options available as well.
Here’s what’s currently available:
| Plan | Monthly Price (USD) | Benefits |
| Individual | $13.99 | Ad-free YouTube, offline downloads, background play, and full YouTube Music Premium. Annual plan available for $139.99 (about 15% savings). |
| Family | $22.99 | Share with up to 5 household members (6 accounts total). Each user gets their own recommendations. Often comes with a one-month free trial. |
| Student | $7.99 | For verified full-time students at eligible schools. Re-verification required annually. From July 2025, older student plans without verification moved to regular pricing. |
| Two-Person (Test) | $7.99 | Pilot program in select countries allowing two people to share Premium at a lower cost than Family. |
| Premium Lite | $7.99 | Ad-free viewing on most videos, but no offline downloads, background play, or YouTube Music Premium. |
Plan availability depends on your country, and the lower-cost options aren’t yet available everywhere.
Features and Benefits of YouTube Premium
The standard YouTube Premium subscription (Individual, Family, or Student) includes:
Ad-Free Viewing Across Devices
Premium removes interruptions from millions of videos, so you can watch without pre-roll or mid-roll ads. You also won’t see third-party banner ads or search ads. Creator-added promotions, such as merchandise shelves or event ticket links, will still appear since they are part of the content.
You can enjoy ad-free videos anywhere you’re signed in with your Google account, whether that’s on the YouTube website, the YouTube app, compatible smart TVs, or gaming consoles. This also applies to the YouTube Music and YouTube Kids apps where available.
Watch Offline Wherever You Are
Premium members can save videos and playlists to watch later without an internet connection. You can do this in the YouTube app, download songs or albums in YouTube Music, or save videos in YouTube Kids for your children to enjoy on the go.
Smart Downloads makes it even easier by automatically adding recommended content to your library so you always have something new to watch or listen to.
Play in the Background and Use Picture-in-Picture
Background play lets you keep watching or listening while you open other apps or when your device’s screen is off. You can set it to always be on, completely off, or only on when headphones or speakers are connected.
With Picture-in-Picture mode, videos play in a small, movable window so you can browse or multitask without stopping playback. Premium members can use PiP for all videos, including music videos.
Full Access to YouTube Music Premium
Your subscription also unlocks YouTube Music Premium. This gives you ad-free listening, background play, offline downloads, and the option to switch to audio-only mode if you do not need to load the video.
Continue Watching Without Losing Your Place
If you stop watching a video on one device, Premium will save your progress so you can resume right where you left off on another.
Extra Playback Controls
Premium adds more flexibility to how you watch. You can skip forward or backward by 10 seconds, change playback speed, save videos for later, and turn stable volume on or off. These controls are available in the YouTube mobile app for phones and tablets.
Queue Videos on Mobile
Premium makes it easy to line up what you want to watch next without stopping the current video. On Android devices, you can also add recommended videos straight into your queue.
Higher Quality with 1080p Premium
Eligible videos can be played in 1080p Premium, an enhanced bitrate version of standard 1080p. The higher bitrate delivers a sharper, more detailed picture for videos uploaded in 1080p.
Badges for Long-Time Members
Premium members can collect badges that appear in the Your Premium Benefits section of their account. These badges reflect how long you have been subscribed and how you use your benefits. They remain linked to your account even if you cancel and return later.
Jump Ahead to Popular Moments
The Jump Ahead feature lets you skip straight to the parts of a video most people fast forward to. It is available on mobile, web, and living room devices for certain content in supported languages.
Additional YouTube Premium Features
Depending on your location and device, Premium members may also have access to Afterparty events with live chat, smart device integration, co-watching in Google Meet, and early access to experimental features.
YouTube Premium Lite
If you’re wondering whether you need all of Premium’s features, YouTube Premium Lite might be worth considering. It’s the budget-friendly option for those who only care about watching videos without ads.
Included:
- No ads on most regular YouTube videos.
Not included:
- Ad-free music videos.
- YouTube Music Premium.
- Offline downloads.
- Background play.
Where is YouTube Premium Lite Available?
YouTube Premium Lite isn’t available globally. As of 2025, YouTube Premium Lite is available in:
- United States
- Australia
- Germany
- Thailand
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Canada
- Great Britain
- Turkey
- Poland
- France
- Romania
- Spain
- Italy
- Taiwan
- Singapore
- Chile
- Colombia
Is YouTube Premium Worth It?
Whether YouTube Premium is worth the cost depends on how much you use YouTube and how important an ad-free experience is to you. If you spend hours on the platform each week for music, learning, entertainment, or background listening, the subscription can make watching and listening smoother while saving time.
That said, the YouTube Premium cost is higher than some other streaming services like Spotify, Netflix, or Twitch, which can make it feel like a bigger commitment. Some people choose to sign up only for the free trial, especially if they are traveling and want offline downloads for a short period.
If you only watch a few videos now and then, the free version might still work for you. But for frequent viewers who use YouTube daily across multiple devices, Premium’s extra features can make it a worthwhile upgrade.
Does YouTube Premium Hurt Creators?
Many people wonder if skipping ads through Premium means creators earn less. The good news is that it doesn’t. YouTube shares part of each subscriber’s monthly payment with the creators they watch, based on watch time. If you watch a channel often, they still earn money from your views.
YouTube Ad Blockers vs. YouTube Premium
If you’ve been using an ad blocker to avoid YouTube ads, you may have noticed it’s not working as well as it used to. In late 2023, YouTube rolled out a global crackdown on ad blockers, making it harder for viewers to bypass ads altogether. Now, if the platform detects an ad blocker, you might see warning messages, playback delays, or even be prevented from watching until it’s disabled.
This push is part of YouTube’s ongoing effort to encourage users to upgrade to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. While some ad blockers may still get around the system temporarily, these workarounds are becoming less reliable over time. For heavy YouTube users, this has made Premium a more tempting alternative, especially for those who want uninterrupted playback without constant troubleshooting.
How to Sign Up for a YouTube Premium Subscription
- Go to the YouTube Premium page in your browser or app.
- Sign in with your Google account.
- Choose your plan and start your free trial if it’s available.
- Enter payment details and confirm.
YouTube will send a reminder before your trial ends so you can decide whether to continue.
How to Cancel YouTube Premium
If you decide the service isn’t for you, you can cancel your YouTube Premium subscription under your account settings.
Here’s how to cancel YouTube Premium:
- Go to “Paid Memberships” in your YouTube account settings.
- Select Manage Membership.
- Click Cancel and follow the prompts.
You can restart your subscription anytime if you change your mind.
Manage Your YouTube Strategy with Metricool
Metricool continues to be one of the most complete tools for YouTube creators and marketers. Whether your audience is made up of Premium subscribers, ad-supported viewers, or fans from multiple platforms, Metricool helps you keep your workflow organized and your growth on track.
What Metricool Offers for YouTube Creators:
- In-depth analytics: View real-time and historical data on views, watch time, likes, comments, shares, subscriber trends, demographics, traffic sources, and revenue all from one dashboard. Easily compare performance over time to see which videos are driving the best results.
- Scheduling for videos and Shorts: Plan and upload both long-form videos and Shorts in advance. Add titles, descriptions, tags, privacy settings, and exact publication times. Bulk scheduling helps you maintain a consistent posting rhythm, which is vital for visibility in YouTube’s algorithm.
- Engagement and community management: Respond to YouTube comments directly from Metricool’s unified inbox, alongside comments from your other connected platforms. Monitor subscriber growth and audience interactions to guide your content decisions.
- Automated reports: Create branded PDF or PPT performance reports with data on subscribers, rankings, engagement, and monetization. Set up automatic monthly report delivery so you never miss a review.
- Competitor tracking: Keep tabs on other channels in your niche to compare growth, engagement, and content strategies. Use these insights to refine your own approach.
- Best posting times: Based on your channel’s data, Metricool suggests the times your audience is most active so you can post when engagement potential is highest.
- Cross-platform content calendar: Plan your YouTube uploads alongside content for other social media channels, making it easier to run coordinated campaigns.
