When Does YouTube Premium Get Cheaper in 2026? | Cut Your Real Cost with the Right Sign-Up Route and Plan
Prices, point rates and sale details in this article were checked by the mottoku editorial team against each service's official site and API (as of the last update). Always check the official sites for current prices, stock and campaign terms.
Same plan, different monthly price, depending on where you sign up
YouTube Premium works a little differently from most subscriptions. What you get is the same for everyone: ad-free videos, background play, offline downloads and YouTube Music in one bundle. Yet your monthly bill can change depending on where you signed up. Subscribing without knowing this is the most common way people end up overpaying.
The reason is simple. If you pay inside the smartphone app, the price may include an extra amount to cover the App Store or Google Play fee. If you sign up directly on the official youtube.com page in a browser on your computer or phone, you pay the base monthly price without that extra. The service is exactly the same, and only the entry point changes the price. That's why the one thing we most want you to remember from this article is: don't make your first step "tap the subscribe button in the app."
An easy way to remember it: "subscribe in the browser, watch in the app." Once you've become a member through the official page in a browser, just log in to your usual YouTube app and every benefit works. You don't have to keep logging in again in the app. Exact prices change over time, so the safest move is to check the base monthly price on the sign-up screen before you continue.
If you've already subscribed through the app, don't panic. Later in this article we walk through how to cancel and sign up again from a browser. For now, just keep in mind that this is a service where the price depends on how you get in.
What are you paying for? The 5 benefits, broken down
Premium isn't a single feature. It's a bundle of several benefits. Whether the monthly fee feels expensive depends on which of them you actually use day to day. Use them all and it's good value; use just one and it's overpriced. Thinking of it that way makes the decision easier. Let's look at what each one does.
No ads: the benefit you'll notice most often
Ads before and during every video disappear. Longer videos have more mid-roll ads, so the difference is biggest for people who leave cooking, study or work videos running in the background. Many people say, "I thought I could just skip a few seconds of ads, but once they were gone I couldn't go back." This is the benefit behind that.
Background play: the real draw for phone viewers
In the free YouTube app, the audio stops when you turn off the screen or switch to another app. With Premium, you can keep the audio playing with the screen off. Using it as background music with your phone in your pocket, or listening to an explainer video while you look something up, becomes much easier. For people who mainly watch on their phone, this is the other headline feature alongside ad-free viewing.
Offline downloads: insurance for data use and weak signal
Download videos to your device on Wi-Fi, and you can play them away from home or where the signal is weak, using zero data. If you regularly watch videos on the train, on planes or underground, this alone can be worth the monthly fee.
YouTube Music: a second subscription comes with it
Premium includes the full YouTube Music streaming service. You can pick songs, build playlists, view lyrics and so on, so if you pay separately for a music subscription, you may effectively be paying twice. This is a big point to review, so we cover the pros and cons versus subscribing to Music alone later on.
Picture-in-picture and multitasking features
Multitasking features, like floating a video in a small window while you use other screens, also become easier to use. They're not as central as the two above, but they quietly help if you often do other things on your phone while watching.
Put the other way, people who only watch on a big TV screen, or who rarely open YouTube, tend to find it hard to get their money's worth. A simple rule of thumb for whether it's worth paying: do you use at least two of ad-free viewing, background play and YouTube Music every day?
How does YouTube Premium fit alongside Netflix and music subscriptions?
Most people considering YouTube Premium already pay for some video or music streaming service. The common trap here is paying twice for similar things. But YouTube Premium plays a very different role from other subscriptions, so simply thinking "I'll narrow it down to one" can lead you to the wrong decision. Let's sort out what overlaps and what doesn't.
It doesn't really compete with video streaming services
Services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are "catalog" services that license titles from studios and distributors. They decide what's available, and you choose from that. YouTube, on the other hand, is mostly videos uploaded by individuals and small teams, with countless creators supplying content. Tips for prepping ingredients, step-by-step teardowns of a specific appliance model, views from the window of a rural local train, explanations for certification exams: you'll almost never find these on a service that offers movies and dramas.
In other words, the two compete for the same "time spent watching videos," but their content isn't a substitute for each other. And even if you cancel YouTube Premium, you can still watch YouTube with ads, so it really isn't a replacement. This is the decisive difference from other subscriptions: what Premium sells is a viewing experience, not content. Keep that in mind and the basis for comparison becomes clear.
The idea of "joining YouTube Premium and cutting another video subscription instead" doesn't really hold up. What you should cut is a service you hardly ever open. Joining Premium doesn't make the others unnecessary.
It clearly overlaps with music streaming services
On the other hand, YouTube Music goes head to head with music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. This is where double subscriptions really happen. Joining YouTube Premium automatically gives you YouTube Music's paid features, so quite a few people end up with two music services without realizing it.
Which one to keep depends on how you listen. Here are some points to help you decide.
| Listening habits that suit YouTube Music | Live recordings with no official release, covers, remixes, TV soundtracks, old kayōkyoku (Japanese pop classics), doujin music, and long mixes for working. Anything uploaded to YouTube can be played as is |
| Listening habits that suit other services | Listening carefully album by album, caring about accurate lyrics, valuing well-crafted playlists and good recommendations, or having used the service for years so your history and library are well built up |
| People for whom keeping both is worth it | People who spend a lot of time seriously listening to music and also follow tracks that exist only on YouTube. In that case, though, you'll treat Premium's music features as a bonus |
If you've used another music service for years and have hundreds of songs in playlists and favorites, leaving all that behind to move to YouTube Music takes a lot of effort. Migration tools exist, but they don't transfer everything. In this case, you'll probably have fewer regrets if you keep your music service as it is and think of YouTube Premium as paying for "no ads, background play and offline downloads."
The catch with using an ad blocker instead
Someone always asks, "Can't I just remove ads with a browser extension and skip Premium?" But this is becoming hard to rely on, for several reasons. First, YouTube has stepped up ad blocker detection, and there are reports of playback stopping or viewing limits kicking in when one is detected. It's a cat-and-mouse game, so you always run the risk of suddenly being unable to watch one day.
The bigger issue is that it basically doesn't work on smartphones. Most YouTube viewing happens in the phone app, and you can't add extensions to the official app. Opening the browser version may get around some of it, but the inconvenience remains: the sound stops when you turn off the screen or open another app. Background play and offline downloads are features an ad blocker can't replace.
Also, YouTube runs on ad revenue, and part of that goes to the people who upload videos. If you have channels you watch often, it's fair to factor in that part of your Premium fee is shared out based on watch time.
So who should choose Premium?
Putting all this together, here's how it breaks down.
- People Premium works well for: those who spend a lot of time listening to audio only, without looking at the screen, while commuting or doing housework. Those who watch where the signal is poor or where they worry about data use. Those who let their kids watch videos and are concerned about what ads show up
- People who don't need to rush: those who watch for blocks of time on a TV or computer screen over home Wi-Fi. Those who don't really mind pressing the skip button on ads
- People who should review other things first: those juggling three or four video subscriptions and only opening each a few times a month. Take stock of those first
Individual, Family, Student: the plan ladder and cost per person
Premium has three main plans, and the key question isn't the price itself but how much it works out to per person. With the same service, the cost per head changes a lot depending on who you use it with and how.
| Plan | Best for | Effect per person |
|---|---|---|
| Individual plan | The basic plan for one person | Base monthly price. Most important: don't overpay through the wrong route |
| Family plan | Sharing with family you live with | A fixed price split by more people gets cheaper; cheapest near the member limit |
| Student plan | Currently enrolled students | Cheaper than individual after student verification. Only while enrolled |
The individual plan is the simplest, but for that very reason it's also the plan most likely to get hit with the app-route markup we mentioned earlier. If you use it alone, simply making sure you subscribe in a browser lowers your real cost.
With the student plan, once you pass verification showing you're enrolled, you pay less than the individual plan. After graduation you switch to a regular plan, and you may be asked to re-verify periodically. Eligible schools, verification methods and the number of years you can use it may change, so check the official conditions before signing up. If you're a student, it makes sense to take advantage of the discount while you can.
The plan with the biggest impact is the family plan. It's not something you think about alone, so we look at it in detail in its own section.
Family plan break-even and who counts as "family"
The classic way to get Premium at the lowest cost is to fill the family plan up to the member limit and share it. Since a fixed price is split among everyone, the cost per head drops as more people join. Near the limit, it's far cheaper than everyone having their own individual plan.
- Break-even: the more you fill, the better: even with 2 people it's often cheaper than two individual plans, and value peaks as you approach the member limit. Rather than asking "how many people do we need to break even," it's easier to ask "can we fill more seats?"
- Every member gets the full benefits: each family member uses their own account with ad-free viewing, background play and unlimited YouTube Music. Watch history and recommendations are separate for each person, so there's no worry about everyone's tastes getting mixed together.
- "Family" comes with conditions: not just anyone can join. It covers members registered in your Google family group. Conditions such as living in the same household may apply, and you can't use it if you don't meet them.
Sharing with parents back home or friends who live elsewhere "because there are spare seats" may break the household condition. If you ignore the conditions because it's cheap, people could later be removed from the group or lose access. If several people you live with watch YouTube a lot, the family plan is the most reliable way to save.
Here's the order of steps: first, one person (the manager) creates a family group and invites the family members they live with, then subscribes to the family plan on that manager account. Setting up the group first means no scrambling after you join. The number of members and household conditions can change, so check the latest information before setting it up.
Settings you need to change to get the benefit, and things you're often told to buy but can skip
Some parts of YouTube Premium get better automatically the moment you subscribe, and some only work once you set them up yourself. Ads disappearing is the first kind, but it's actually the second kind that decides whether you get your money's worth. When people say "I joined but not much changed," in most cases they're just using it without knowing about the features.
Settings to do on day one
- Choose the quality and storage location for offline downloadsWith the default settings, the quality is middling and downloads take up more space than you'd expect. If you mainly listen to audio, lower quality is fine; if you want to properly watch the video, go higher. If your device supports an SD card, changing the storage location to external storage keeps your phone's internal storage from filling up.
- Turn on "download over Wi-Fi only"With this off, you may end up downloading a lot over mobile data. It prevents the mishap of joining to save data and then using more of it.
- Check how Smart Downloads behavesThis feature automatically downloads new uploads from channels you subscribe to, but it can also pile up videos you're not interested in. If storage is a concern, limit the number of videos or turn it off and save manually instead.
- Install the YouTube Music app separatelyThe music features are in a separate app from the main YouTube app. A surprising number of people don't install it and end up "paying for Premium but not using the music."
- Clean up your watch history and subscribed channelsOnce ads are gone, the quality of your recommended videos becomes what shapes the experience. Unsubscribe from channels you've lost interest in and delete unwanted items from your history, and you'll enjoy what you see the moment you open the app much more.
Device-side conditions that make a big difference to Premium's value
Something people often overlook is their viewing setup. Premium is a software subscription, but a lot of the experience depends on the devices you have.
First, earphones and speakers. More time listening to audio with background play means more time listening, period. If your audio gear is cheap, long sessions become tiring even with the ads gone. In particular, you'll find yourself taking out one earbud to hear what's around you, or listening with your hands full while doing housework, so whether you can wear them and forget about them matters. Bone conduction or open-ear designs may suit some situations.
Next, your device's storage. If you plan to make heavy use of offline downloads, a device with only a few GB free won't cut it. Download a few long videos and it fills up fast. If you're planning to replace your phone, choosing one storage tier higher lets you make full use of Premium's features.
Third, your TV setup. Households considering the family plan probably spend a lot of time watching YouTube on the living room TV. In the YouTube app on a TV, you won't see ads as long as you're logged in with a Premium account. But if the family stays logged in to one shared account, nobody can tell whose watch history is whose, and recommendations get mixed. A big advantage of the family plan is that each person has their own account, so separating profiles on the TV too gives you the experience it's meant to have.
On older TVs or external devices connected via HDMI, some features may not work if the app version is out of date. Before joining Premium, check whether the YouTube app on your living room devices is up to date, and you'll avoid the confusion of "ads only showing up on the TV."
Things you're often told to get, but that aren't a high priority
On the flip side, there are things you don't need to buy just for Premium.
- A high-capacity power bank: using offline downloads means less data streaming, which actually tends to improve battery life. Premium members probably don't need to buy a big battery on the assumption that they'll stream videos nonstop
- Switching to a plan with more mobile data: same idea. Once you're used to downloading on Wi-Fi, your data use outside actually goes down. It's not too late to upgrade your mobile plan after using Premium for a few months and seeing your actual data use
- Upgrading to a high-performance phone: removing ads has almost nothing to do with processing power. Unless you have a clear problem like choppy video, Premium is unlikely to be a reason to change devices
- Paid video editing apps or accessories: not needed if you're joining Premium as a viewer. Creator features and Premium benefits are separate things, so don't mix them up
To sum up, the priorities that suit Premium are: audio gear and storage are worth spending on; your mobile plan and the device itself can wait.
How to start the free trial wisely, and the pitfalls when billing begins
A free trial is often available for first-timers, and the standard approach is to try it first and then decide whether to continue. There are a few points to watch, though.
- Start the trial from the official page in a browser tooWhen the free period ends it switches to paid automatically, so if you start through the app, you'll keep being billed through the more expensive route. If you start the trial in a browser, the paid subscription will also be at the base monthly price.
- As a rule, it's for first-timers onlyAccounts that have subscribed before are often not eligible for the free trial. If your family has several accounts, try it from one that hasn't been used yet to get the most out of it.
- Put the end date in your calendarThe trial is billed automatically once it expires. If you don't plan to continue, set a reminder for 1–2 days before it ends so you don't get charged by accident.
- Try the "everything included" lifestyle during the trialUse ad-free viewing, background play, offline downloads and YouTube Music the way you normally would. Once you know which ones you actually use, deciding whether to continue and which plan to choose becomes much clearer.
Depending on the campaign period, the number of free months may be extended. The exact length and eligibility change from time to time on the sign-up screen, so check the conditions on the screen when you join before you continue.
When is the best time to join? Work backward from your life's rhythm
Appliances and gadgets have clear cycles, like "around a new model launch" or "during sales," but subscriptions don't. There are basically no discount sales, and the terms are the same whenever you join. Does that mean timing doesn't matter? Not at all. With subscriptions, the savings come not from discounts but from starting when you can make full use of it. It's a fundamentally different way of thinking.
With monthly billing, every month you don't use is money lost
Unlike a one-time purchase, with a subscription you lose the whole month's fee if you don't use it. Put the other way, if you start when your viewing time is about to go up, you get more out of the same price. So the first thing to think about is when in your life you'll be watching more videos.
Typical situations include:
- When your commute changes: if a transfer, move or starting school makes your travel time longer, that's where offline and background play shine. On the other hand, if you switch to working from home and your commute disappears, Premium becomes less valuable
- Before a long holiday: New Year, Golden Week, summer vacation. Join before a stretch of free time and your viewing during that period will jump. Offline downloads are especially handy when traveling home or on trips, in airplane mode or on stretches with weak signal
- During a hospital stay, recovery or parenting: when you're tied up or can't move around for long periods, being able to play audio without watching the screen becomes much more valuable
- When you start learning something new: studying for a qualification, an instrument, cooking, DIY. When you're rewatching tutorial videos, ads breaking your concentration are your biggest enemy
When to use the free trial is a one-time decision
You can basically only use the free trial once. As a rule, you can't get a second one with the same account or the same payment method. That means choosing when to use your trial is effectively playing a card you only get once.
If you use it up on some random weekday, the trial may end during your busiest stretch when you have no time to watch, and you'll end up with "billing started before I really figured it out." It's much better to line it up with the start of a long holiday or a period when you know you'll be traveling more, which also gives you far better information to decide with.
Sign up for the free trial at a time when the end date won't get buried in your schedule. If it ends in the middle of a trip or a busy period, you won't have time to calmly decide whether to cancel, and it will just renew automatically.
How to think about annual or long-term plans when they're offered
At certain times, you may see an annual plan that's cheaper per month than monthly billing, or a limited-time discounted way to join. The thing to watch here is the structure: long-term plans lower the price in exchange for giving up your freedom to cancel.
If you pay a year up front, you can't easily get out even if your life changes and you stop watching. Switching to remote work, a shorter commute after moving, changes in your family: the things that affect how much you watch change more often than you'd think. If you're someone who can predict what your life will look like over the next year, a long-term plan makes sense. If you're expecting changes like a new job, starting school or returning from parental leave, staying on monthly billing and seeing how it goes will usually work out cheaper.
Times when it's fine to decide "not now"
Timing isn't only about when to start. There are also times when you should pause.
- When you'll be outside Japan for a long time, such as a long business trip or study abroad: what's offered and how billing works can vary by country, making it complicated to manage while you're away. It's safer to sort it out before you leave
- Right after signing up for several other video or music subscriptions: you only have so much time for each service. Rather than adding more at once, use them for a few months, see which ones you keep using, and then decide
- When someone in your family already subscribes and you're considering moving to the family plan: if you join individually first, you'll have an overlap period when you combine later. Decide how your household will subscribe before you act
In short, the equivalent of the "best time to buy" here is a turning point in your life when your viewing time structurally increases. The right answer is to look at your own schedule, not to wait for a sale.
Switching if you joined through the app, and knowing when to stop
"I realized I'd subscribed through the app at a higher price." "I've been paying even though I barely watch lately." Both can be fixed after the fact. Here's how to handle each.
Switching from the app to the official browser route
- Check how you're currently subscribedOn iPhone, open your subscriptions in the App Store; on Android, open Subscriptions in Google Play. If YouTube Premium is listed there, you subscribed through the app.
- Cancel through that routeApp subscriptions can often only be stopped from the settings of the store you subscribed through. You can keep using it until the end of the billing period, so time your cancellation for the end of the period.
- Sign up again on the official page in a browserOnce the cancellation goes through, log in at youtube.com and subscribe again from a browser. You get the same service, now at the base monthly price without the markup.
If you're using it less, don't let it become a fixed cost
You can cancel Premium anytime with no cancellation fee, and in many cases you can keep using the benefits until the end of the billing period. Your account and history stay even after you cancel, so if you rejoin, your recommendations and playlists come right back. That makes it practical to stop during busy months when you don't watch and sign up again when you start watching more, shifting your spending with the seasons.
When you cancel, videos saved for offline viewing stop playing and ads start showing again. It's fine to stop with the idea of "taking a break" rather than "quitting for good," so when you're watching less, take a cool-headed look at it. That's the trick to keeping your fixed costs from creeping up.
Note that you'll sometimes see guides on using a VPN to join a cheaper overseas plan, but this violates the terms of service and puts your account at risk of suspension. If it's suspended, you could lose your purchase history, subscribed channels and playlists along with it. If you want to pay less, stick to the official family and student plans and the right sign-up route. That's enough to bring your real cost down.
Don't just leave it running: review every six months and tips for managing it
The scariest thing about subscriptions isn't making an expensive purchase. It's forgetting you're paying. YouTube Premium's bill isn't big enough to strain your budget, which makes it even easier to forget about. On the flip side, if you set up a way to keep it on your radar, you can keep it only when you need it and drop it when you don't.
The only measure of whether it's worth it
You can't judge whether Premium is paying off by how many videos you watch, because you can watch them for free too. What you should look at is how much you use the things only Premium can do. Checking just three things is enough.
| What to check | Where to find out | What it means if you're not using it |
| Time spent on background play | Whether you remember listening with the screen off, and whether it's a habit | If you don't use it, you're paying only for ad removal |
| Number of offline downloads | The downloads list in your library | If it's been zero for months, you don't have a habit of watching on the go |
| How often you open YouTube Music | Whether you've opened the app recently | Check that you're not double-subscribed with another music service |
If all three come up empty, all you're getting from Premium is "no ads." If you still feel that's worth it, keep it. If you don't think it's worth that much, it's a candidate for cancelling.
Make a habit of looking over your payments twice a year
We recommend checking a list of your active subscriptions twice a year at set times. Any time works, but tying it to the month your credit card renews or to a year-end budget review helps you remember.
Here's what to check:
- Which route you subscribed throughAre you still subscribed through the app, or did you manage to move to the official site? Are family members signed up through different routes? This is where losses quietly pile up the most.
- Whether your plan still fits your situationYour kids moved out, you're no longer a student, or your family grew. On the individual-family-student ladder, the right rung changes when your life changes. The student plan asks you to re-verify your enrollment periodically, so that may be when you notice.
- Whether your family plan members are real, active usersAre there seats registered but unused, or members who no longer meet the household condition? If there's a free seat, giving it to an eligible family member lowers the cost per person for your household.
- Whether it overlaps with other music or video subscriptionsHaving both YouTube Music and another music service is the most common overlap. At least once a year, think about whether you can consolidate into one.
- When your payment method expiresIf billing stops because your card expired, everyone on a family plan loses access at the same time. In your card renewal month, check your payment information too.
What you lose and what you keep when you stop
When you're thinking about cancelling, it's natural to wonder what happens to everything you've built up. Knowing this ahead of time makes the decision easier.
- What you keep: subscribed channels, playlists, watch history, liked videos and comments. These are tied to your account, so they don't disappear when you cancel
- What stops working: offline downloads stop playing after a certain period. Even if they're still on your device, the license check will no longer pass. If you have study videos saved, knowing this before you cancel will save you a scramble
- When you rejoin: if you sign up again with the same account, your playlists and so on work as before. As a rule, though, the free trial won't apply again
Premium isn't "once you quit, it's over." Using it seasonally works perfectly well: subscribe during periods when you travel a lot and pause while you're at home. Not overthinking cancelling actually makes you better at spending your money.
If you share it with family, agree on just one rule
If you use the family plan long term, most problems come from a gap in awareness between the person paying and the people using it. If family members don't realize the manager is paying, someone may sign up for their own individual plan through another route, or there's confusion when the manager cancels without telling anyone.
You don't need complicated rules. Just say once: "This is who pays for the subscription, and we'll let everyone know before cancelling." That's enough. Also check that everyone is logged in with their own account, which keeps recommendations accurate and watch history private. A family passing one shared account around is throwing away almost all the advantages of Premium's family plan, so it's worth sorting this out at the start.
FAQ
Why does the same plan cost different amounts in the app and on the official site?
When you pay inside the smartphone app, the price may include an extra amount to cover the App Store or Google Play fee. The service is exactly the same, so if you subscribe on the official youtube.com page in a browser, you pay the base monthly price without the markup. Remember "subscribe in the browser, watch in the app," and check the amount on the sign-up screen before you continue.
I already subscribed through the app. Will switching save me money?
It might. First cancel your current subscription in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings, wait until the billing period ends, then sign up again on the official page in a browser. App subscriptions can often only be stopped from that store's settings, so the key is to cancel through the route you subscribed with.
Should I get YouTube Music on its own or YouTube Premium?
If you only listen to music, Music alone is cheaper. If you also watch videos every day, Premium usually feels more worth it, because the price difference adds ad-free viewing, background play and offline downloads. Decide based on whether the difference is worth the video features. If you pay for another music subscription, see if you can consolidate into Premium to cut costs even further.
Who counts as "family" on the family plan?
Members registered in your Google family group, up to the set member limit. Conditions such as living in the same household may apply, and each member gets the full benefits on their own account. The closer you fill it to the limit, the cheaper it is per person, so it's the best deal if several people you live with watch a lot. Check the conditions on the official site.
Can I share a family plan with relatives or friends who live elsewhere?
We don't recommend it. The family plan has conditions such as living in the same household, and sharing with people who live elsewhere can break them, which may lead to members being removed from the group or losing access later. Don't force a share just because it's cheaper; it's safest to keep it within the family you live with. Household conditions can change, so check before you set it up.
Can I use the free trial more than once?
Accounts that have subscribed before are, as a rule, usually not eligible. If your family has several accounts, start with one that hasn't been used yet. The trial switches to paid automatically when it expires, so if you don't plan to continue, put the end date in your calendar and cancel before then.
What happens to my saved videos and data if I cancel?
Videos saved for offline viewing stop playing, and ads start showing again. However, your account, watch history, subscribed channels and playlists stay, so if you rejoin, everything returns, including your recommendations. There's no cancellation fee either, so you can take a break during months when you don't watch and sign up again when you do.
What are the student plan requirements, and what happens after I graduate?
You need to verify that you're enrolled, and you pay less than the individual plan only while you're a student. You may be asked to re-verify periodically, and after graduation you're moved to a regular plan. Eligibility, verification methods and the number of years allowed may change, so check the official conditions before signing up. If you're eligible, it's worth using the discount.
So will it actually be worth it for me?
A simple rule of thumb: do you use at least two of ad-free viewing, background play and YouTube Music every day? If you watch a lot of YouTube on your phone and also play music, it's likely well worth it, and even better if you can drop another music subscription. If you only watch occasionally on a big screen, it tends to feel overpriced, so use the free trial first to see if it fits how you watch.
Does YouTube Premium also remove the promotions creators talk about inside their videos?
No. Premium removes ads served by YouTube. Sponsor segments and product mentions that creators speak themselves inside their videos are part of the video, so they stay. Premium can't skip these; you'll have to fast-forward yourself. Quite a few people misunderstand this and feel that "the ads haven't gone away."
I'm going to stay overseas for a long time. Can I keep using the Premium I signed up for in Japan?
It works as usual on short trips, but if you stay in another country for a long period, how your subscription is treated may change depending on which country you're judged to live in. Some plans may require you to switch to local terms, so if you'll be away for several months or more, check your subscription before you leave and consider pausing it if needed.
If downloaded videos are still on my device after I cancel, can I watch them?
No. Offline downloads regularly check that your Premium subscription is active, so after you cancel they stop playing after a certain period. You don't get to keep them as files. If there are videos you rewatch for study, keep this in mind when deciding whether to cancel.
If a family plan member moves out, do they lose access right away?
Not immediately. However, the family plan requires members to live in the same household as the manager, and location is checked periodically. If someone stays outside the conditions for a long time, they'll be removed from the group and lose Premium features. Once a move is decided, it's safest to plan for that person to switch to an individual or student plan.
* This article is for reference only. Sale dates, point rates and campaign terms can change, so check each store's official page for the latest details.