A YouTube free trial is widely available. If you're fed up of adverts playing on YouTube videos every five seconds and want to access even more content on the platform, you're in luck – there's a free trial of YouTube Premium in the US, UK and Australia.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two decades, you'll have likely used the free version of the platform, whether it was following your favorite YouTubers in the golden age of the 2010s, or uploading your own creations and hoping they went viral – it is the biggest online video sharing platform in the game.
- US: Sign up for a YouTube Premium free trial
- UK: Sign up for a YouTube Premium free trial
- AU: Sign up for a YouTube Premium free trial
YouTube Premium was launched in 2018, taking over from 2015's YouTube Red. You might even remember the very first stages of the platform having its own subscription service with 2014's Music Key, which eventually morphed into the all-encompassing Premium.
If you'd like the chance to be able to try out a paid subscription without committing to a monthly or annual contract, then there's a way to get a YouTube Premium free trial, however, there is no way to try out YouTube's Premium Lite tier at the time of writing.
For more information about all the ways you can get a free trial, how long it lasts for, what you actually get for your buck and how to cancel your plan, keep reading.
How to get a YouTube free trial
- Create or log into a Google account
- Head to YouTube Premium's trial page
- Select which plan you'd like to trial
- Enter your payment details when prompted
- Sit back and enjoy watching!
Step by step guide for how to get a YouTube free trial
Create a Google or YouTube account
If you've ever used YouTube before, you'll know a Google and YouTube account are basically one and the same. If you normally use one to log into other features such as Google Chrome, you won't need to do anything extra.
If you've never made a Google account before, you've got the choice to head directly to Google or YouTube to make one. You'll be taken straight to the same starting point, which you can see above. You'll be asked for standard details like your name, emergency contact information and what you want your Gmail address to be, and then you're all set.
Head to YouTube Premium's free trial page
As you can see from the Google results above, the easiest way to find the landing page for the trial is to simply Google "YouTube Premium free trial." Under the main search result, you'll see an option titled "Try 1 month for $0 / £0 / AU$0." Click here, and you'll be taken to the plans option page below.
Select your YouTube Premium plan
Thankfully, all of YouTube's available plans have the option for a one month trial. You can choose from the standard individual plan, the family plan (where you can add up to five members aged 13+ in your household), and the student plan (eligible students only, annual verification required). Click the "try 1 month for $0" button and you'll be taken to the next stage.
Enter payment details
Don't panic – just because you're being asked to put payment information in here doesn't mean you'll actually be charged. Once you've selected your preferred Premium plan, you'll need to put these details in to secure the free trial.
As you can see from the above, billing starts exactly a month after you say yes to the free trial, continuing on a rolling monthly basis unless you actively cancel your plan (more on that later).
Once you agree with the terms and click to start your trial, you're all good to go!
YouTube free trial: FAQs
What do I get with YouTube Premium?
The main benefits of a YouTube Premium subscription include ad-free access to all videos on YouTube, the ability to download videos for offline viewing and background playback on mobile devices. On top of this, a YouTube Music subscription is also included, which means ad-free access to music and podcasts, offline downloads and background playback within the YouTube Music app.
That doesn't mean the benefits extend only to YouTube, though. Premium members will find advantages on other software such as Google Meet, where afterparties and live chat, smart device integration, smart downloads and co-Watch features are all included.
For movies and TV, subscribers can stream multiple movies at once (how many is dependent on which plan you choose), with the platform's selection of movies and YouTube-own movies and shows playing without ad interruptions.
Is a YouTube Premium subscription worth it?
This really depends on how you watch YouTube, and how much of it you watch. If you're a real platform binger, the ad-free viewing is going to make how you spend your time a lot more enjoyable, with the addition of YouTube Music meaning you could cut back on additional subscriptions like Spotify or Apple Music if you wanted to.
However, if you're only a casual watcher, you're unlikely to see much of a difference. As annoying as the constant stream of adverts gets, it's more cost effective to grin and bear it if you aren't going to regularly use the other features.
In this instance, the way to get the best of both worlds would be to opt for a family plan, meaning you can split the cost among more of you while reaping the same benefits.
Can you access the YouTube Premium free trial from anywhere?
This one's an easy answer: yes! It doesn't matter where you are in the world, the process for getting a free trial is exactly the same as the one shown above. Obviously, prices for full subscriptions are going to fluctuate a bit depending on currency.
You might notice that some of the buttons for finding your next step look slightly different from the US version. The basic structure remains the same, but information placement on the same pages does tend to change slightly.
How to cancel YouTube Premium free trial
You can cancel your free trial from your YouTube app, desktop, or whichever device you're using to watch it. The process is exactly the same whether you're cancelling the trial itself or your paid subscription after the trial has ended.
Regardless of which you're doing, there's going to be a cancellation period. You can cancel your free trial at any point within the month itself and still get benefits for the full period of time, with your monthly paid subscription operating on the same basis. If you cancel outside of the month, you will be charged for it.
Here's how you cancel YouTube Premium:
- Go to www.youtube.com and sign in
- Select your profile pictures in the top right corner
- Select Purchases and Memberships
- Click "Manage Memberships"
- Click "Deactivate"
- Select a reason for cancellation and click "Next"
- Click "Yes, cancel" to confirm
You can cancel your free trial from your Smart TV, computer, or mobile, but the process might be slightly different if you're doing it via something else. If you're cancelling through an Amazon device (such as a Firestick), Apple or Google Pay, you'll need to go to your account page, access your current subscriptions and click Manage.
Other YouTube Premium free trial offers
There are a number of other ways to claim an extended YouTube Premium free trial, which can be up to six months long. In the US, this can be done through particular retailer deals, phone plans, and other device sign ups.
However, there are currently no extended deals in the UK, Australia or other international territories.
US YouTube Premium free trial deals
- Get 6 months of YouTube Premium with a Unlimited Premium plan on Google Fi Wireless
- Free YouTube Premium for 3 months for My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members (new subscribers only)
It's worth keeping an eye out on this list, as Google-affiliated and other national companies frequently do temporary offers for free YouTube Premium you have to snatch up quick. The same applies for Google devices such as the Pixel 9a.
At the moment, the best deal for US customers is the six month free trial Google Fi Wireless is offering. If you have the Unlimited Plus plan on Google Fi, you can get this offer. You need to stay on the Unlimited Plus plan for all 6 months. After 6 months, you have to pay for it monthly until you cancel.
Here's how you can get it:
- On your phone, go to fi.google.com/account#plan.
- For iPhone and iPad users
- To sign in to fi.google.com, they must use a web or mobile browser
- To subscribe to YouTube Premium, they can use their Google Fi username and password
- For iPhone and iPad users
- Go to your "Member Profile”
- In the “Devices & Subscriptions” list, tap YouTube Premium Get started
- Follow the steps on screen
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