How to Cancel YouTube Premium (or Pause It Instead)

Quick answer: Open the YouTube app or go to youtube.com, tap your profile picture, then Purchases and memberships, then Manage membership, then Deactivate. If you subscribed through Apple or Google, cancel through them instead. You keep Premium until the end of the billing period you have already paid for.

Before you do: you can pause instead of canceling, for anywhere from one to six months. That is often the better move if you are just taking a break, and we cover it below.

YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium?

Worth checking which one you actually pay for, because they are separate subscriptions with separate prices.

• YouTube Premium ($15.99/month) covers ad-free video, background play, downloads, and includes YouTube Music Premium at no extra cost.
• YouTube Music Premium ($11.99/month) is music only. It does not remove ads from YouTube videos.
• Premium Lite ($8.99/month) removes ads from most videos, but has no YouTube Music, no downloads, and no background play.

All three cancel through the same route. Check which appears under Purchases and memberships before you start.

Before you cancel: two alternatives

Pause it. YouTube lets you pause for one to six months rather than canceling outright. Your membership resumes automatically afterwards, and you are not billed during the pause. Steps below.

Downgrade to Premium Lite. At $8.99 a month you keep ad-free viewing on most videos and cut your bill by $7. You lose YouTube Music, offline downloads, and background play. If ads were the only thing you were paying to avoid, this is worth considering before you cancel entirely.

Moving to another music service? Transfer your playlists with Free Your Music first, while your account is still active.

How to cancel YouTube Premium on mobile

1. Open the YouTube app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
3. Tap Purchases and memberships.
4. Tap your Premium membership.
5. Tap Deactivate.
6. YouTube shows a warning. Tap Continue to cancel.
7. Select a reason, or skip it.
8. Tap Cancel Premium to finish.

You will get a confirmation email. Premium benefits continue until your next billing date.

How to cancel YouTube Premium on iPhone (App Store)

If you subscribed through the App Store, YouTube cannot cancel it. Apple handles the billing.

1. Open Settings on your device.
2. Tap your name at the top.
3. Tap Subscriptions.
4. Select YouTube Premium from the list.
5. Tap Cancel Subscription and confirm.

If YouTube Premium is not in that list, you did not subscribe through Apple. Use the app or web method instead.

How to cancel YouTube Premium on Android (Google Play)

If you subscribed through the Play Store, cancel there.

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top right.
3. Go to Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
4. Select YouTube Premium.
5. Tap Cancel subscription and confirm.

You can also do this at play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions in a browser.

How to cancel YouTube Premium on the web

1. Go to youtube.com and sign in.
2. Click your profile icon in the top right.
3. Click Purchases and memberships.
4. Click Manage membership.
5. Click Deactivate.
6. Click Continue to cancel on the confirmation prompt.
7. Select a reason, or skip.
8. Click Yes, cancel to finish.

YouTube stops billing at the end of the current cycle. You keep every Premium feature until then.

How to pause YouTube Premium instead

Pausing is the better option if you are unsure, trying another service, or just want a break. You are not charged during the pause and the membership resumes on its own.

On mobile:

1. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture.
2. Tap Purchases and memberships, then your membership.
3. Tap Deactivate, then choose Pause.
4. Use the slider to set the number of months.
5. Tap Pause membership.

On the web:

1. Go to youtube.com and open Manage membership.
2. Click Pause.
3. Set the duration with the slider.
4. Click Pause membership.

Things worth knowing:

• You can pause for one to six months.
• The pause starts at the end of your current billing cycle, not immediately.
• Premium features are unavailable during the pause.
• Billing resumes automatically when the pause ends.
• Annual plans cannot be paused.

To resume early, go to Manage membership and click Resume.

What you stop paying

US prices after the increase announced in April 2026, applied to existing subscribers from their June billing date:

Plan	Price
Premium Individual	$15.99/month
Premium Individual, annual	$159.99/year
Premium Family, up to 6 members	$26.99/month
Premium Student	$8.99/month
Premium Lite	$8.99/month
YouTube Music Premium only	$11.99/month

Individual rose from $13.99, Family from $22.99, and both Student and Lite from $7.99. Full breakdown in how much YouTube Premium costs.

Note for students: since January 2026, student memberships convert to the full individual plan at $15.99 once you hit the four-year cap or fail re-verification. If your bill jumped unexpectedly, that is usually why.

What happens when you cancel

• You keep Premium until the end of the paid period. Cancelling mid-cycle does not cut you off immediately.
• Downloads stop working. Offline videos and music become unplayable once Premium ends.
• YouTube Music Premium ends too, since it is bundled into YouTube Premium.
• Your playlists stay. Both YouTube and YouTube Music playlists remain in your account on the free tier.
• Ads come back, along with the loss of background play and picture-in-picture.
• Family members lose access, if you are the plan owner.
• Annual plans are not refundable, so you keep access for the rest of the year you paid for.

Transfer your music from YouTube

You do not need Premium to keep your playlists, and you do not need to rebuild them if you are switching services.

Free Your Music moves playlists between YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, and 40+ others. Pick your source and destination and the app handles the rest, keeping track order intact.

Worth knowing that YouTube lets free users create playlists, so you do not need Premium for that either. More on what the free tier includes in is YouTube Music free.

FAQ

How do I cancel YouTube Premium?
Open YouTube, tap your profile picture, go to Purchases and memberships, then Manage membership, then Deactivate. Cancel through Apple or Google instead if that is who bills you.

Can I cancel YouTube Premium at any time?
Yes. There is no minimum term and no cancellation fee. You keep access to the end of the current billing period.

How do I cancel YouTube Music but keep YouTube Premium?
You cannot. YouTube Music Premium is included in YouTube Premium and cannot be removed separately. If you only pay for YouTube Music Premium as a standalone subscription, cancel it the same way as Premium.

Can I pause YouTube Premium instead of canceling?
Yes, for one to six months. Billing stops during the pause and resumes automatically. Annual plans cannot be paused.

Will I lose my playlists if I cancel?
No. Playlists on both YouTube and YouTube Music stay in your account. You lose downloads, not playlists.

Do I get a refund if I cancel?
Monthly plans are not refunded for partial periods, and annual plans are not refundable at all. You keep access for what you have already paid.

Is there a cheaper option than canceling?
Premium Lite at $8.99 a month removes ads from most videos. It excludes YouTube Music, offline downloads, and background play.

What happens to my downloaded videos and music?
They stop playing when Premium ends. Offline downloads require an active subscription.