YouTube Music offers an ad-supported free tier as well as a paid subscription option. The free version allows you to search, play, and discover music on YouTube without seeing video ads. There is no time limit on how long you can use the free version.
What features are included in the free version of YouTube Music?
The free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music gives you access to the full YouTube Music catalog. This includes over 80 million official songs, albums, thousands of playlists, and artist radio stations. With the free tier you can:
- Search and play any song in the YouTube Music catalog
- Create your own playlists of songs and videos
- Get customized recommendations based on your taste
- Listen to radio stations based on your favorite artists
- Discover new music through daily mixes and recommendations
- Offline mixtape – download up to 100 songs for offline listening
The main limitation with the free version is that you will hear audio ads while listening to music. The frequency of ads will depend on your location but is generally an ad every few songs.
What features require a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription?
While the free tier gives you access to millions of songs, a YouTube Music Premium subscription unlocks additional features such as:
- Ad-free listening – Enjoy music with no interruptions
- Background play – Keep the music going while using other apps
- Offline listening – Download songs to listen when offline
- High quality audio – Listen to high fidelity audio (256kbps AAC)
- YouTube Music app – Use the full featured YouTube Music app
- Downloaded videos – Watch videos you’ve downloaded offline
The paid YouTube Music Premium plan also gives you access to YouTube Premium (ad-free YouTube video streaming).
Is there a time limit on the free YouTube Music service?
No, there is no time limit on using the free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music. You can continue using all the core features like searching, playing music, creating playlists, and getting recommendations for free indefinitely.
YouTube does not impose any monthly time restrictions or cap how many hours you can listen for with a free account. The only limitation is you will hear audio ads while listening to compensate artists and creators.
What happens if you stop paying for YouTube Music Premium?
If you subscribe to YouTube Music Premium for a while but then cancel your membership, your account will revert back to the free tier.
This means you will still have access to the full YouTube Music catalog and all your playlists, likes, and recommendations. The main differences are:
- You will hear ads while listening to music
- Background play and offline listening will stop working
- You’ll lose access to YouTube Premium video perks like ad-free viewing
So you won’t lose anything you created while subscribed, but some features will be limited or disabled once you cancel Premium.
Does the free tier include video access?
The free YouTube Music service focuses on audio streaming only. It does not give you access to ad-free YouTube video streaming.
However, you can still search and play music videos on the free tier. When playing a music video, you will see ads like on the regular YouTube platform. You just won’t be able to use background play or other video-specific features.
Can you use YouTube Music offline with the free version?
Offline listening is not included with the free tier of YouTube Music. To download songs for offline playback, you’ll need a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription.
The free tier does allow you to add songs to a limited “Offline mixtape” playlist. This lets you download up to 100 songs at a time for offline access. But the songs will expire after 30 days and need to be refreshed.
How does the free trial work?
YouTube Music offers new users a 1-month free trial of YouTube Music Premium. This gives you full access to all Premium features like ad-free listening, background play, and offline downloads.
At the end of the 1-month trial period, your membership will automatically renew to a paid subscription. But you can cancel anytime during the trial month to revert back to free if you don’t want to pay.
If you’ve used a YouTube Music Premium trial on your account before, you won’t be eligible for another free trial. However, there are occasionally promotional trials even for previous users.
Is the free YouTube Music service really free forever?
Yes, YouTube has stated the core free streaming tier will always be available at no cost. There is no obligation to ever upgrade to a paid membership.
YouTube earns money from the audio ads played between songs on the free tier. So it benefits them to maximize the number of users on this ad-supported model.
As long as YouTube Music exists, you should be able to continue using the free ad-supported version indefinitely with no charges.
Can you get features like no ads on the free tier?
On the genuine YouTube Music app and web player, background listening, offline downloads, and an ad-free experience are only available with a paid Premium plan.
However, there are some unofficial third-party apps and modded versions of YouTube Music that claim to unlock Premium features for free users. The legality and safety of these mods is questionable.
In general, the only way to get a completely ad-free and unrestricted YouTube Music experience is to pay for an official Premium subscription through YouTube.
What devices support the free YouTube Music app?
You can use the free YouTube Music app on:
- Android phones & tablets
- iOS devices including iPhones & iPads
- Google Chromecast devices
- Android TVs, smart TVs, and media players
- Gaming consoles like Playstation and Xbox
- Google Nest and other smart speakers
- CarPlay and Android Auto
- Desktop web browser on Mac, Windows, and ChromeOS
The free service has broad device support so you can stream music on the go, at home, and across multiple platforms.
Is the audio quality good on the free tier?
The default audio quality on the YouTube Music free tier is 128kbps AAC. This provides decent but not hi-fi level sound.
For comparison, Spotify’s free streaming quality is also 128kbps while their Premium tier offers up to 320kbps. So YouTube Music’s free audio quality is on par with other music services.
If you want higher 256kbps AAC audio, that requires a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription. But the free 128kbps quality will be sufficient for most users, especially when listening on smartphones or Bluetooth.
Can you use YouTube Music free if you have Premium?
If you already subscribe to YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium, you cannot directly switch over to use the free ad-supported YouTube Music. Your account will have Premium features enabled.
However, you can create a separate free YouTube or Google account to sign up for the free tier. Just don’t link it to any existing paid account.
Using separate accounts lets you experience both the Premium and free tiers. You could use free accounts for background music and paid ones for uninterrupted listening.
Is the library limited on the free tier?
The free YouTube Music tier gives you full access to search YouTube’s entire music library of over 80 million official songs. There are no limitations on searching or playing any track.
You also get personalized recommendations and can create playlists with any songs you want. The library is essentially unlimited for free users.
The only catch is you will hear ads intermittently while listening to those songs. But the catalog itself is wide open, which is rare for a free streaming music service.
Can you use YouTube Music free on multiple devices?
Yes, one of the nice perks of YouTube Music’s free tier is you can use it on unlimited devices. Many streaming services restrict free accounts to 1-2 devices.
You can be logged into YouTube Music with the same free account across your phone, computer, tablet, smart speakers, TV, and any other devices. It makes it convenient for household or family listening.
The only limitation may be that you can only play on one device at a time. But you can switch seamlessly between devices which is great for free users.
Is there customer support for free users?
Yes, YouTube Music provides customer support access to all users on both free and paid plans. Support is available through:
- Email support form – Can submit questions or issues
- Twitter support – @YouTubeMusicHelp
- YouTube Music community forum – Online knowledge base
- Google support pages – Troubleshooting guides
Free users have the same access to official support channels as paying subscribers. So you can get help resolving account, streaming, or app issues.
Can you upload your own music for free?
Unfortunately, the ability to upload your personal music library is limited to paid YouTube Music Premium subscribers. This was a legacy benefit from Google Play Music.
Free YouTube Music users cannot upload their own song files to listen alongside streaming content. However, you can find unofficial uploads of most music available to add to playlists.
Uploading personal tracks gives Premium subscribers a way to fill any holes in YouTube’s catalog. But free users will have to search for songs to play them.
Is the free version worth it?
YouTube Music’s free ad-supported tier provides quite strong value compared to other free streaming music options. Being able to search and play any song on demand in a huge catalog for free is an unparalleled offering.
The audio quality is decent, you get customized music recommendations, and can use it across all your devices. While ads are frequent, there are no restrictive caps or limits.
For casual listeners who want a free service to play popular music, YouTube Music has one of the most fully-featured free tiers available.
