I tracked my YouTube Premium usage for a full year to see if it was actually worth the money

I watched a lot of movies and web series on several popular OTT platforms when COVID-19 happened, to the point that I almost became an addict. I no longer use any of those subscriptions, and I don't regret my decision.

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I used that money to buy something actually useful, or something that provides more entertainment value. I thought a YouTube Premium subscription could do both, so I bought one.

A few years have passed, and I haven't looked back since. I was never in two minds about continuing to pay for YouTube Premium every year because the viewing experience was much better with a Premium subscription.

However, I'm currently in a state of hyperfocus, where I'm more analytical about the benefits I get from the app subscriptions I pay for. I did the same for my YouTube Premium subscription.

I tracked my YouTube Premium usage for a full year to see if it was worth the money. I now have a more definitive answer.

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By  Rahul Naskar

Tracking YouTube Premium usage is surprisingly easy

This is the right strategy from Google

I've noticed that the number of ads has increased for free accounts in the last couple of years. This is one smart way to bring more users into the Premium fold, though Google does more.

After converting users, the Mountain View tech giant also keeps telling Premium customers about the benefits they get. It doesn't spam users with messages or emails every day; instead, Google has a separate page that displays usage data.

This isn't hidden deep in YouTube Settings. You can find it easily by clicking the profile icon in the upper-right corner. Next, tap Premium benefits. That's all I did to get my Premium usage data.

The option is available on both desktops and mobile devices. If you use the YouTube app on your phone, the Premium benefits option appears right beside the View channel option after you tap the profile icon.

I love this transparency. The Premium benefits page gives you a clear idea about whether it's worth continuing to pay for your subscription.

While the usage stat isn't new, I only found the page recently. It showed me all the important details about how I consume content on YouTube. I couldn't have been happier after seeing the numbers.

My YouTube Premium usage data was reassuring

There was also an element of surprise in the data, though

The YouTube page showed me that I watched more than 1,330 hours of ad-free videos. That's almost 56 days of watching videos without any advertisements on YouTube.

This wasn't a surprise because YouTube is the app I use most on my phone. However, without a Premium subscription, the watch time would've increased by at least 200 hours.

That's more than a week of watching advertisements on the platform. No one wants that.

While you can watch YouTube videos ad-free without buying a subscription, the experience isn't as good as watching ad-free videos on the official YouTube app. Ad-free viewing is the biggest reason I keep paying Google for a Premium subscription.

However, one data point surprised me. It shows that I used more than 10 hours of background play. I expected the numbers to be higher, as I listen to many audio stories on YouTube without staying on the playing screen.

I also listened to audio tracks for more than 40 hours on YouTube Music. This is ad-free music listening, which is bundled with a YouTube Premium subscription. This is a major win for YouTube Premium.

It also shows that I downloaded 39 videos for offline viewing. This is the least relevant, since I have unlimited data and rarely need to download videos to watch offline.

All these benefits are available with the $15.99-a-month plan. The Lite plan costs less, but it isn't completely ad-free and doesn't include YouTube Music Premium.

My YouTube Premium usage data shows it is worth the money

A Spotify Premium Individual subscription costs $12.99 a month. For $3 more a month, you get both ad-free videos and music. It's hard for any streaming platform to outclass YouTube Premium's value proposition.

Although I have a subscription to both Spotify and YouTube Premium, if I were told to pick just one, I would easily choose the latter. No one has made ad-free video and music streaming more accessible than YouTube.

I love YouTube Music's recommendations more than Spotify, so I don't force myself to use it because it's bundled with a Premium Individual plan.

If you are looking for entertainment, YouTube Premium is worth considering because it is a near-perfect product. I won't stop paying unless Google messes this up in the future.

YouTube Premium is my favorite subscription plan.