Youtube Premium Discount Family Plan

The Real Cost of YouTube Premium and How to Lower It

Paying for multiple streaming services can quickly drain a monthly budget. YouTube Premium has become one of those "nice to have" luxuries that many people struggle to justify at its full retail price. If you have several people in your home all trying to avoid the constant barrage of ads, the individual $13.99 monthly fee feels like a heavy lift. Look, nobody wants to pay nearly $140 a year just to skip commercials, but the alternative is sitting through unskippable segments every few minutes.

The YouTube Premium family plan is often the most logical way to cut those costs down. It allows you to split the benefits across several people, making the individual cost much more manageable. Finding a direct discount on this specific plan is rare, but the structure of the plan itself functions as a built-in savings mechanism. Here is how the math works out and what options you have to keep more money in your pocket.

Quick Answer: The Best Way to Save on YouTube Premium

The most effective way to get a YouTube Premium discount for a family is to use the official Family Plan at $22.99 per month. This plan covers up to six people in total. If you maximize the slots, the cost drops to about $3.83 per person. For those who do not have a full household to share with, the Individual Annual Plan at $139.99 offers a 15% discount over the monthly rate, though it must be paid upfront. If you are looking for even deeper discounts, third-party services like AccsUpgrade offer access to family groups at a lower price point, though these operate outside of Google's direct billing system.

Why the Standard Monthly Rate Is a Problem

The price of digital entertainment is creeping up across the board. In the United States, as of 2026, a single YouTube Premium subscription costs $13.99 every month. For a household with four or five active users, paying for individual accounts is financially impossible for most. Totaling up six individual plans would cost $83.94 per month. That is a staggering amount of money for a single platform.

Google has designed its pricing to push users toward the $22.99 Family Plan. It is a significant jump from the single-user price, but it is the only way to officially share benefits without sharing passwords. Sharing a single login is a poor experience because the algorithm gets confused. You might be interested in tech reviews while your younger sibling wants to watch Minecraft videos. A shared account would result in a messy homepage that serves neither of you well. The Family Plan solves this by giving everyone their own private space under one bill.

Legitimate Ways to Save Money on YouTube Premium

Finding a "coupon code" for YouTube is almost impossible. Instead, you have to look at the different plan structures and promotional windows Google offers. Here are the primary ways to reduce your monthly bill.

1. Use the Family Plan Bundling

The Family Plan is the primary "discount" offered by YouTube. It costs $22.99 per month. This plan allows the account owner to invite up to five other family members. Every member must be at least 13 years old. The math is simple. With just two people, you are already saving money compared to two individual plans. With six people, the savings are massive. Each person gets their own YouTube Music account and their own personalized recommendations. It is the most common way to get Premium features for less than $4 per person.

2. The Individual Annual Plan

If you are the only person in your house who needs Premium, the Family Plan is not a good deal. You should look at the Annual Plan instead. It costs $139.99 for 12 months. This works out to roughly $11.66 per month. You save about 15% compared to the month-to-month price. The downside is that you have to pay the full amount at once. It also does not renew automatically, so you have to remember to buy it again every year. There is currently no annual option for the Family Plan, which is a significant limitation for larger households.

3. Student Verification

Students can get YouTube Premium for $7.99 per month. This is the lowest official price available for the full suite of features. You have to verify your status through a service called SheerID every year. It is only available for individual accounts. You cannot share a student plan with a family. If you are a student living with roommates who also want Premium, it might actually be cheaper to get a Family Plan and split the $22.99 six ways than for everyone to pay $7.99 individually.

4. Premium Lite (Where Available)

Google has been testing a "Lite" version of the service in certain regions for $7.99. This plan removes most ads from videos. It does not include YouTube Music, background play, or offline downloads. If your only goal is to stop seeing commercials and you do not care about the other features, this is a budget-friendly choice. Availability is inconsistent, so you have to check your specific account settings to see if it is offered to you.

5. Third-Party Discount Providers

Services like AccsUpgrade provide an alternative for users who want the Family Plan price without having five people to share with. These platforms typically place your existing Google account into a managed family group. This allows you to pay a discounted rate that is often lower than the official individual price. Here's the thing: while this is much cheaper, you are not the "manager" of the family group. You lose some administrative control, but you gain the full suite of Premium features for a fraction of the retail cost. It is a solid middle ground for people who find the $13.99 or $22.99 prices too high.

How to Set Up a Family Plan: Step-by-Step

If you decide to go the official route, setting up the group is relatively straightforward. You will be the "Family Manager," which means you are responsible for the billing and for inviting or removing members.

1. Open the YouTube app or go to the website.
2. Click on your profile picture and select "Purchases and memberships."
3. Select the "Family" option under the Premium section.
4. Enter your payment information. Google will charge the $22.99 immediately if you are not on a free trial.
5. Once the plan is active, go to "Family sharing settings."
6. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite. They will receive an invitation to join your family group.
7. Each member must accept the invite and confirm they live in your household.

Now, keep in mind that Google has specific rules about who can join. Members must reside in the same household as the manager. Google occasionally checks this by asking for a location confirmation or checking the IP addresses used by the accounts. If you try to share a family plan with friends across the country, you might run into issues with account verification.

Deep-Dive: YouTube Premium Features and Limitations

Understanding exactly what you are paying for helps determine if the Family Plan is worth the investment. YouTube Premium is more than just a "no ads" button.

Ad-Free Video Content

This is the main draw. You can watch videos on your phone, computer, or smart TV without interruptions. It applies to the YouTube Kids app as well. Some creators might include their own "sponsored" segments inside the video. Premium does not remove those because they are part of the video file itself. It only removes the ads served by Google.