How to Get a YouTube Premium Discount (Save Money) in 2024

How much fun is it to watch YouTube videos? If your answer is an enthusiastic “a lot!” you’re not alone. The video platform has 1.7 billion monthly individual users, so a sizeable chunk of the world’s population agrees with you. Of course, the only thing better than binge-watching YouTube is to do it without ads. YouTube knows that. That’s why it has set up a dedicated YouTube Premium facility for you.

YouTube has always counted on you getting fed up with ads at some point. Thus, it offers a YouTube Premium free trial available for users to test the feature first before spending their money. And once you try it, you get used to it. Soon you’ll forget the insane number of ads you had to swallow as a YouTube watcher in the past.

So yes, YouTube Premium is there to enhance your user experience. But it has a cost, and it could be a bit much for some users, especially if they already have monthly commitments to pay.

So, are you interested in saving money on your YouTube Premium fee? Here is the right guide for you!

The YouTube Premium service

But let’s get the basics right before we move on. Here is what YouTube Premium gives you:

• Ad-free viewing. You’ll never have to see those ads at each video’s beginning and middle. However, the platform is fraught with other types of publicity. So your fee will spare you those ads distributed by YouTube only. But that’s enough.
• Offline viewing. You can download videos to your device to watch them without an internet connection. Mind you. The videos are available within the app or the website only. Unfortunately, you don’t get files you can manage.
• Background play. When you have a Premium service, the content keeps playing while you do other things, even while your phone or tablet is locked.
• YouTube Music Premium. It is like Google’s Spotify, so there’s plenty of music for you to enjoy, even in the background.

Going Premium is a good idea if you’re an avid YouTube user. Of course, the YouTube Music part could be redundant if you are on Amazon Music or Spotify, but the other advantages could still be significant. Please note that your YouTube TV subscription doesn’t include YouTube Premium.

YouTube Premium pricing plans for different countries

YouTube’s reach is global, as you probably suspected. And so is the Premium plan, but the pricing is not. The monthly fee you pay depends on your country. So, for instance, in Argentina, you have to pay 1.20 USD, while in the UK, the price is 16.54 USD, which is more than ten times higher.

The thing to notice here is that all the users in every country get the same service and content. So why should you pay a fee that is orders of magnitude higher? Why should you be punished for living in your country? So let’s consider this problem and find a solution.

How to get a much cheaper YouTube Premium subscription

You can sign up for the free trial if you’d like to see how YouTube Premium works. Then, if you like it, you may subscribe.

However, before randomly joining the Premium version, try to research the subscription costs in different countries to ensure you have to pay a minimal amount.

1. Search for free trial offers

A standard one-month free trial is available for every new subscriber on YouTube. But don’t rush in. Sometimes you can find unique three-month free trials.

Remember: your free trial Premium account will automatically roll over to a paid version unless you cancel your Premium status before the trial ends.

Log into your Google account and go to YouTube Premium to find out if you qualify for a free trial and how long.

If the news Google gives you is that Premium is unavailable in your country, it will take a VPN to get started with your subscription. Also, if you don’t like the fee for your country, a VPN will give you a different virtual location to opt for a different price. Keep reading.

2. Signing up for YouTube Premium with a VPN

If you are an enthusiastic YouTube user, this is a life hack that you’ll appreciate, as it will get you all the YouTube content you can handle without ads and save you money simultaneously.

These steps will allow you to find the best possible deal for YouTube Premium. Of course, you will need to have a VPN beforehand –more on that later.

So let’s say you have an ExpressVPN account and use Mozilla Firefox for web browsing. Additionally, you want an Argentinian location because the YouTube Premium monthly fee is 1.20 USD from there. So here’s what you need to do:

• Login to your Google account. You may want to create a brand new one for this purpose alone.
• Launch your VPN software, log in, and pick a server in Argentina.
• Go to YouTube Premium. The price should appear in Pesos Argentinos (or the legal tender of the country you picked).
• If you’re not getting the Argentine price, double-check your IP number to ensure that you are in the correct virtual country. In addition, you may need to clear your browser’s cookies and cache.
• Click “try it free.”
• Type in your debit or credit card information.
• In the address, make sure to provide a local Argentinian address. Google can help you here. Run a search for an address in the country of your interest.
• Click on “buy.”

How to get YouTube Premium student discount

Students must meet a certain criterion in order to be eligible for the YouTube Premium student discount.

• The institution must be authorized by SheerID. The SheerID program determines the eligibility of an institution.
• The student must be in an institution where YouTube student memberships are accessible such as in the US.

Follow the following steps to check whether your institution has student memberships available.

• Open the official student’s landing page on YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium.
• Select Try it for free.
• Type your school’s name on the SheerID form. You can only access the student plans if your institution is listed.

The YouTube Premium student membership runs for four years, but you must re-verify your eligibility every year.

Things you need to know about using a VPN to save money on YouTube Premium

This neat little trick can save you a bit of money. But you will probably want to know the following things before you go ahead and run with it:

• The charge for your Premium service will be in the local currency of the country you want to use. It can trigger additional costs because of the conversion fees.
• Once your YouTube Premium is set, you can also use it without the VPN.
• The same procedure will work with other plans, like the YouTube Family plan. But you must agree with the other individuals involved.
• Don’t forget this is a hack. If YouTube notices, it could terminate your account. It’s not likely, but it’s possible, so it’s a risk.

Top VPN suggestions for YouTube Premium

So you don’t have a VPN? You should get one. A top-notch VPN will bring you many excellent benefits besides cheap YouTube Premium. You could save some money with every subscription you have.

A VPN hides the IP address your ISP gives you when you go online. That’s equivalent to hiding your digital identity and physical location. Also, it secures your data because everything you do is encrypted (with AES-256 most frequently).

And last but not least, a VPN will grant you the power to bypass all types of censorship and bans held by your ISP or government. Not to forget, many people need a VPN to unblock YouTube in their locations. Users in China are a good example of that.

We have several guides in which we review many of the best VPNs on the internet, so you can peruse them to pick a VPN that suits you. But if you’re in a rush and willing to trust us, choose ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

1. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN has the most prominent reputation in the VPN world for excellent reasons. It keeps no logs of user activity. Its speeds are lightning-fast, the security is flawless, it’s the most advanced service, and it gives its clients plenty of extra features.

One slight complication about ExpressVPN for this use case is that it has no servers in Argentina. However, this provider can still give you an Argentinian IP address through its virtual Argentinian servers in Brazil. The problem with virtual servers is that they are never as effective as the real ones.

2. NordVPN

In almost every list of the best VPNs for a given task, NordVPN and ExpressVPN usually are one and two or vice versa. 

This time, however, NordVPN is a better choice because, unlike ExpressVPN, it has physical servers based in Argentina, making the process more reliable.

Besides that, both services are very similar in that they offer the best VPN networks and functionality on the market.

Can I use a free VPN to get a cheaper YouTube premium subscription? 

Free VPNs have a limited server network and lack the advanced technology necessary to bypass geo-blocks and censorships. All major streaming platforms like YouTube Premium uses sophisticated VPN detection software that detects and blocks VPN connections. Unfortunately, many free VPNs cannot evade this kind of VPN detection software. Additionally, free VPNs pose a great threat to your privacy. Some VPNs claim to be absolutely free, but they collect your personal data and sell it to third parties, while others bombard you with annoying adverts. So, you should opt for a premium VPN like ExpressVPN or NordVPN to securely and privately spoof your location to unblock YouTube Premium effectively.

YouTube Premium not working even when using a VPN

Sometimes you may experience problems accessing YouTube Premium with a VPN because of the following reasons.

• Your IP address does not match with your spoofed location. 
• YouTube Premium is blocking your server IP. 
• The VPN has unlimited unblocking abilities.  
• Your browser cookies are leaking your true location. 

Use the tips below to resolve YouTube Premium connection problems with a VPN.

• Clear your cookies and cache
• Use a different web browser
• Switch on ‘Leak protection’ on your VPN’s settings
• Switch to a different server
• Reach out to your VPN’s customer support center
• Change to another, more reliable VPN

YouTube Premium: Is it worth it?

We described earlier the perks that come with a YouTube Premium account. They are all as good as they sound and enhance your YouTube experience significantly.

The background reproduction is one of the best features because you can keep listening to any video or song your YouTube is playing with your device locked. It turns your phone into an mp3 player that also plays YouTube videos.

The other notable feature is the lack of ads, which can often ruin the joyful experience of watching an exciting video. You can share YouTube Premium membership with your kids as a family manager.

So is it worth it? That depends. How much do you like YouTube? How expensive is the service in your country?

If YouTube makes you happy as it is, then upgrading to a Premium account will make you even more comfortable. But you need to understand that the Premium thing doesn’t magically turn it into an alternative to Hulu or Netflix.

In the final analysis, only you can decide if it’s worth it. And that’s where the free trial helps you.

Conclusion

A penny saved is a penny earned, as the saying goes. If, additionally, you manage to make that penny with your tech expertise, then turning that profit is even a lot of fun.

The key technology in this scenario is the VPN. And VPNs are turning into a vital tool for many other use cases. So you should jump on the VPN wagon as soon as possible because you will likely do it in the future anyway.

In this case, the VPN saves you money and enhances your entertainment with YouTube. But don’t forget that it will do a few other things that are much more important, such as keeping you safe, anonymous, and private while you’re online.

So this is a situation where you win something valuable from every possible angle. Why waste that opportunity?

FAQs