Hi there! If you‘re subscribed to YouTube Premium but no longer feel it‘s worth the monthly fee, you may be looking to cancel before your next billing cycle. I‘m going to walk you, step-by-step, through how to fully cancel your YouTube Premium membership.
Whether you want save some money each month or simply get frustrated with the interface, this straight-forward guide makes canceling Premium a breeze. I‘ll provide visual aids along the way so you know exactly where to click.
Let‘s get started!
What is YouTube Premium and Is It Worth It?
Before jumping into the cancellation process, let‘s briefly recap what exactly YouTube Premium is and does.
YouTube Premium (formerly called YouTube Red) is a $11.99 USD monthly subscription that offers:
- Ad-free video watching
- Background/offline video play
- YouTube Music Premium access
I‘ve put together a table showing the key differences between the paid Premium tier versus the free YouTube offering:
| Features | Free YouTube | YouTube Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Ad-free videos | ❌ | ✅ |
| Background play | ❌ | ✅ |
| Offline downloads | ❌ | ✅ |
| YouTube Music Premium | ❌ | ✅ |
As you can see, upgrading to the paid Premium version allows an uninterrupted viewing experience along with audio-only listening via YouTube Music.
But there‘s an ongoing debate amongst creators and power users whether the $144 per year charge is truly worth it.
The annual cost of YouTube Premium has steadily risen over time. Is it still worth it for you?
According to recent surveys, the #1 reason subscribers have canceled their YouTube Premium membership is the monthly price is more than they want to pay.
Especially when many people don‘t use or need all the features like offline downloads.
So let‘s get into how you can cancel your paid subscription if you‘ve decided the price no longer matches the value you get from it.
Step 1: Click On Your Profile Photo
From any YouTube page, look in the top right corner and click on your Google account profile icon:
This expands a dropdown menu.
Step 2: Select "Purchases & Memberships"
In the dropdown, click on Purchases & memberships to manage your paid content across Google services:
This brings up your Purchase history page.
Step 3: Click "Manage" Next to YouTube Premium
Under Memberships, you‘ll see YouTube Premium. Click the blue Manage button:
Now you‘re in the cancellation flow!
Step 4: Select "Deactivate"
In the menu that appears, click the red Deactivate button to disable auto-renewal:
Note that you‘ll still have access until your current month ends.
Step 5: Share Why You Are Cancelling
Select your reason for no longer wanting Premium – pricing, lack of features used, switching services, etc:
Your feedback will help YouTube improve the platform.
Step 6: Confirm Cancellation
Double-check you definitely want to cancel, then click Next and finally Cancel Premium:
🎉 That‘s it, you‘ve successfully cancelled your YouTube Premium subscription!
You‘ll continue to have access until your current billing cycle ends. Enjoy ad-free viewing while it lasts!
Have You Considered Downgrading Instead?
Before cancelling completely, another option to consider is downgrading from the full Premium plan to YouTube Music Premium instead.
For $9.99/month, you still get:
✅ Ad-free music
✅ Background listening
✅ Downloads
Just sacrificing the ad-free, background, and offline video benefits.
Could be a nice middle ground if you want to save a few bucks!
Closing Thoughts
I hope this step-by-step guide helped explain clearly how to cancel your YouTube Premium membership before the next auto-renewal payment.
Let me know if any questions come up! I‘m always happy to help walk through cancelling any tricky subscriptions.
Now get back to enjoying your videos ad-free before that access expires after this billing cycle comes to a close. Catch ya later!
