The Only Subscription I Keep
If I had to cancel every paid subscription except one, it would be YouTube Premium. Here is why it's the best deal in tech.
2026-04-15
Loading content...
If I had to cancel every paid subscription except one, it would be YouTube Premium. Here is why it's the best deal in tech.
If I had to cancel every single monthly subscription in my life and keep only one, it would be YouTube Premium.
I used to think paying to remove ads on a free video site was a waste. Now, I can't imagine going back.
It’s not just about the seconds saved.
Before Premium, I didn't realize how much pre-roll ads dictated what I watched. You sit through 30 seconds of unskippable ads, and you feel committed. You've paid a tax. You're going to sit there and watch a mediocre video because you already put in the time.
Now? If a video doesn't grab me in fifteen seconds, I just close it. Zero friction.
When I need a quick tutorial, I open five tabs, skim through them to find the exact frame I need, and close the rest. I don't watch a single ad. It changes how you browse.
Being able to download a few videos for a trip is nice. But smart downloads make it a no-brainer.
The app just keeps a rotating queue of videos downloaded in the background based on what I watch. I don't think about it. If I'm on a flight or public transit and realize I forgot to prep something to watch, there's always a full queue ready.
For parenting, having offline video on standby is a cheat code. It's saved us in more than a few waiting rooms.
I've also been using a couple of their experimental features lately.
I’ve been running videos at 2.5x to 3.0x speed for months now. It turns out I don't actually hate podcasts; I just hated how slowly people talk. Getting the visual component along with that high-speed audio changes the whole experience.
There is also the new button for skipping commonly skipped sections. When you double-tap to skip forward 10 seconds, a button pops up that says "Skip to..." and jumps you right past the sponsor segment to where everyone else resumed watching. It basically eliminates waiting for middle-of-the-video ad reads. It's like Nebula, but for every creator on the platform.
The subscription also includes YouTube Music.
Which meant I could cancel Spotify.
YouTube Music isn't perfect—the UI feels clunkier than Spotify's—but it's more than good enough. I'd rather pay a slight premium to bundle music with ad-free video and downloads than pay for Spotify on its own, especially given Spotify's constant stream of controversies.
The family plan costs a bit more, but the price bump is minor.
Spotify's family plan pricing feels like a tax compared to their individual tier. For our house, getting ad-free YouTube and music for everyone is an easy decision.
One extra tip: you can create separate channels under a single YouTube account.
You don't need new email addresses or logins. I set up a secondary channel that I use exclusively for looking up random tutorials or TV clips.
This keeps my main feed clean. If I search "how to fix a squeaky hinge," I don't want my homepage filled with home improvement videos for the next six months. The tutorial channel absorbs the noise, and my main feed stays useful.
Most subscriptions feel like they are constantly trying to extract more money for less value. YouTube Premium is one of the few that actually makes the internet feel better to use.