YouTube Music is one of the best Spotify music streaming alternatives that users swear by, and it might also have the best family plan overall. The basic YouTube Music family plan costs $18.99 per month and supports up to six accounts on the plan. But what’s even more attractive is the YouTube Premium Family Plan which offers all the benefits of YouTube Music and YouTube Premium for up to six accounts. This plan costs $26.99 after a recent price hike from YouTube Premium, but let’s talk about why it’s probably still worth it compared to other music platform family plans.
YouTube Music offers ad-free listening, offline downloads, and the ability to upload your existing music library to the platform. These are all features you can also get through a Spotify Premium Family Plan for $21.99, but for just $5 more, the YouTube Premium Family Plan also gives you ad-free videos, offline viewing, and background playback on mobile. On top of that, it removes a lot of friction from the viewing and listening experience.
However, it is worth mentioning that music is more compressed on YouTube than on platforms like Spotify or Tidal. Power users know how to get the best audio quality on YouTube Music, but even so, it can be a problem if you have a family of die-hard audiophiles, even if the subscription has considerable value elsewhere.
You could save more money with YouTube Premium Family
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The appeal of a YouTube Premium family plan isn’t just about what you get for your money; it’s also what you no longer have to pay for. An individual subscription to YouTube Premium costs $15.99 per month. So your family will save money even if only two people use a family plan. And YouTube Premium offers enough ad-free content to warrant canceling some other subscriptions. In fact, YouTube Premium now offers Peacock shows and movies that you would normally have to pay a separate monthly subscription of $10.99 to access.
Another tip that can help you save money is to make sure you’re not paying Apple extra. If you’re accessing YouTube on an iPhone or iPad, you may be making a common mistake that’s costing you 30% more for YouTube Premium. Access to YouTube Music and YouTube Premium for an entire family is a bargain at $26.99 per month, especially compared to other subscriptions that offer music services and not much else, but its value diminishes if it makes you spend more money rather than save.
