YouTube Premium
Google's paid YouTube subscription offering ad-free videos, background play, and YouTube Music.
HN commenters pay for it mainly to remove ads, especially on TVs and phones,123456 and like that YouTube Music comes bundled in.78910 Common complaints are that creators' own in-video sponsorships still appear,1112 and that the apps can be buggy and the feed pushes Shorts and weak recommendations.13141516
Why people recommend it
No ads · 3
The main reason commenters pay is to watch without YouTube's ads.
“I also pay for youtube premium to avoid seeing ads”
“I pay for YouTube Premium. No ads; I feel like it respects my time.”
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YouTube Music included · 3
Several say the bundled ad-free YouTube Music let them drop Spotify.
“So I pay for YouTube, get rid of the ads, and get free music streaming as a benefit. Win win win!”
“I pay for Youtube premium, which gives me unlimited Youtube Music usage with no ads.”
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“switched to YouTube Premium (no ads + YT Music)”
Ad-free on TVs · 3
Valued for removing ads on TVs and phones where ad blockers are impractical.
“I pay for YT premium to drop the ads”
“the only media subscription i pay for (to avoid ads on TVs)”
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“I also pay for YT Premium. It means I can use the official YouTube client on my Android devices without ads.”
Worth the price · 3
Some kept it as their only media subscription and see good value in it.
“kept YouTube Premium”
“The only thing I pay for now is YouTube premium.”
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“I see a ton of ROI on the $16.”
Supports creators · 3
Commenters like that creators get paid from Premium subscribers' views.
“Google offers an option: Youtube Premium. That give both me and the creator what we want”
“I see a ton of ROI on the $16.”
Show 1 more
“I also pay for YT Premium. It means I can use the official YouTube client on my Android devices without ads.”
Family use · 3
Used by families, including for kids' music on smart speakers.
“We have Youtube Premium which I use to play music”
“Besides youtube premium (because kid)”
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“just ended up paying for premium for my family”
Caveats and dissent
Sponsor segments · 2
Creator-inserted sponsorships still appear, which Premium does not remove.
“Google advertises an ad free experience, which it's not.”
“I pay for youtube so I don't have to watch ads”
Buggy apps · 2
Some report unreliable features like the playback queue and a poor music app.
“That queue had 5 separate bugs I found within an hour.”
“I have premium because of Google Music”
Feed and Shorts · 3
Commenters dislike Shorts and weak recommendations, and some need extensions to hide them.
“I pay for YT premium but noticed the quality of recommendations is subpar”
“the only media subscription i pay for (to avoid ads on TVs)”
Show 1 more
“I pay for YouTube Premium. No ads; I feel like it respects my time.”
Ad blockers instead · 2
Some stopped paying and found ad blockers or SponsorBlock a better experience.
“I used to pay for YouTube Premium and have since stopped doing that.”
“Google advertises an ad free experience, which it's not.”
Often compared with
3 moved from Spotify to YouTube Premium
1 moved from NewPipe to YouTube Premium
1 moved from YouTube Premium to SponsorBlock
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Why is Google still serving dodgy ads? 3 mentions
- Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years 2 mentions
- HackerTube: YouTube built from videos recommended by HN 1 mention
- Google Search is now less than half of Alphabet’s revenue 1 mention
- Dear Software Makers 1 mention
- Search – A small, fast WebKit browser for macOS 1 mention
Data: youtube-premium.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 29
“I pay for YT premium but noticed the quality of recommendations is subpar”
“I also pay for youtube premium to avoid seeing ads”
“That queue had 5 separate bugs I found within an hour.”
“youtube premium exists because I dont want to waste my precious time on stuff I dont want to see”
“kept YouTube Premium”
“Google advertises an ad free experience, which it's not.”
“I Use happily YouTube premium”
“I use adblock and on my TV, Youtube Premium.”
“Google offers an option: Youtube Premium. That give both me and the creator what we want”
“I see a ton of ROI on the $16.”
“Besides youtube premium (because kid)”
“I pay for youtube so I don't have to watch ads”
“I have premium because of Google Music”
“I pay for Premium YouTube”
“It's definitely worth it; ads can be really annoying at times.”
“YouTube Premium is not that bad you know.”
“I also pay for YT Premium. It means I can use the official YouTube client on my Android devices without ads.”
“I pay for Youtube premium, which gives me unlimited Youtube Music usage with no ads.”
“I pay for YT Premium so I don't see ads”
“I pay for YouTube Premium. No ads; I feel like it respects my time.”
“the only media subscription i pay for (to avoid ads on TVs)”
“We have Youtube Premium which I use to play music”
“switched to YouTube Premium (no ads + YT Music)”
“just ended up paying for premium for my family”
“I have youtube premium to avoid youtube ads”
“So I pay for YouTube, get rid of the ads, and get free music streaming as a benefit. Win win win!”
“I pay for YT premium to drop the ads”
“I used to pay for YouTube Premium and have since stopped doing that.”
“The only thing I pay for now is YouTube premium.”