How to cancel YouTube Premium

This one cancels from your account page in a couple of minutes, with nobody to talk to.

The catch

The single most common YouTube Premium mistake is cancelling on the wrong platform. A membership bought inside the iPhone app is billed by Apple and cannot be touched from youtube.com, and the reverse is true too. The second trap is scope: YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music, so cancelling takes both. And if you are on a family plan, only the plan manager can cancel it. Members can leave the family group, which stops nothing and still charges the manager.

Cancel YouTube Premium step by step

Go to youtube.com/paid_memberships
Click Deactivate
Click Continue to cancel
Select your reason for canceling and click Next
Click Yes, cancel

Open the YouTube Premium cancellation page Their help page

After you cancel YouTube Premium

Premium runs to the end of the current billing period rather than ending at once, and YouTube shows the date on the deactivation screen. There is no refund for the unused portion.

Ads return across YouTube and YouTube Music the moment the membership lapses. Background play stops, which is the feature most people miss first, because it means the audio cuts the instant the phone screen locks. Every offline download on both apps stops playing.

Nothing you created is lost. Playlists, subscriptions, likes, watch later and your uploads all belong to the Google account, not to the membership, so they are untouched and are all still there if you resubscribe later.

Cheaper than cancelling

If you would rather keep YouTube Premium than lose it, there is a cheaper way to have the same thing.

Pay yearly
Roughly 17 percent less than what you pay now
The same subscription, billed once a year.
Assumes if you pay monthly today.
Where to change it
Student plan
Roughly 43 percent less than what you pay now
The full subscription at the student rate.
Assumes if you are enrolled and can verify it.
Where to change it

Estimates, not quotes. The figures are a share of what you already pay, because a ratio survives currency and region and goes stale slower than a fixed price.

Every subscription with a cheaper plan

Worth knowing

If YouTube Premium was purchased inside the iOS YouTube app, it is Apple-billed and must be canceled via Apple Settings / StoreKit manage subscriptions (Settings > your name > Subscriptions) rather than on youtube.com. The web cancel flow above applies to memberships purchased directly from YouTube.

Questions people ask about cancelling YouTube Premium

Does cancelling YouTube Premium also cancel YouTube Music?

Yes. YouTube Music Premium is included in YouTube Premium rather than sold alongside it, so one cancellation ends both. Ads, no background play and no downloads apply to both apps from the day the period ends.

Why does youtube.com not let me cancel?

Because Apple or Google Play is billing you, which happens when the membership was bought inside the mobile app. Cancel it in iOS Settings under your name and Subscriptions, or in the Play Store. The web flow only works for memberships bought on the web.

Do I lose my playlists and subscriptions?

No. Playlists, channel subscriptions, likes, watch later and uploads are attached to your Google account rather than to the paid membership. Cancelling removes the paid features only, and everything you built stays as it is.

Is the family plan cheaper than cancelling?

Split across a household it usually is, since one family plan covers up to five other members at a fraction of five individual memberships. The student rate is a better deal still if you are eligible for it.

Written and checked by a person, 1 September 2026.

Other streaming subscriptions

All streaming subscriptions

Links checked 2026-07-26.

That is one. Most people have eight.

Cancelled puts every recurring charge in one list with a real monthly total, then reminds you before the next trial converts. No bank login.

Get early access

Free to start. No card. Coming soon to iOS.