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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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Is it worth paying for

YouTube

65
Value score / 100 Worth paying? Depends It depends

YouTube is a highly valued platform for free content, offering a vast library of educational and entertainment videos, but it is plagued by frequent app crashes and an overwhelming number of ads.

Free to download seen up to $49.99 4.7★ lifetime (48,050,001) since 2012

YouTube provides extensive free educational and entertainment content, making it a go-to platform for many users. However, recent updates have led to widespread complaints about app instability and an excessive number of unskippable ads, significantly impacting the user experience.

Free vs paid

The free version of YouTube offers a wide variety of content, including music, ASMR, movie clips, and full movies, with some users finding it provides everything they need R10R16R22R23. However, the free experience is heavily interrupted by numerous ads, with complaints ranging from 'too many ads' to 'hrs of ads' and ads playing simultaneously with videos R1R4R6R11. There are also issues with the free 'movies with ads' section not working R70. While the monetization section indicates in-app purchases, the reviews primarily highlight the ad-free experience as the main benefit of a paid subscription R6.

Value complaints

  • The app is perceived as having an excessive and intrusive amount of ads, making the free experience frustrating.R1R4R6R11
  • Ads are often unskippable, play simultaneously with videos, or appear too frequently, even after minor interactions like pausing or clicking links.R39R42R57R88
  • The free 'movies with ads' section is reportedly not working for months, indicating a lack of value even in advertised free features.R70

Where it delivers

  • YouTube offers a vast array of free educational and entertainment content, making it a primary source for many users.R10R16R22R23
  • The platform is highly engaging and keeps users entertained daily.R23R56R77
  • It provides diverse content choices and features like age restrictions for parental control.R22R31
Worth paying if

Paying for YouTube (presumably Premium, though not explicitly named in reviews) is worth it if you are highly bothered by the excessive and intrusive ads, as users note the ads are 'out of control' if you don't pay R6. It is also beneficial if you frequently use the app and experience the crashing issues, as some users link the ad-heavy updates to app instability .

Skip / stay free if

You should skip paying for YouTube if you are not significantly impacted by the ads or if you primarily use the platform for short, infrequent viewing sessions where ads are less disruptive R16R22. If you are unwilling to pay due to principle regarding the aggressive ad strategy, you should also skip paying R57.

Evidence note: The reviews heavily focus on app performance issues (crashing, glitches) and ad frequency. While in-app purchases are listed, there's no direct review evidence discussing specific IAP value or price points beyond the general desire for an ad-free experience, which is typically associated with YouTube Premium.

Frequently asked

Why does my YouTube app keep crashing?
Many users report that the YouTube app frequently crashes immediately upon opening or after a few minutes to hours of use, often requiring repeated uninstallation and reinstallation to temporarily resolve the issue R3R7R14R18.
Are there too many ads on YouTube?
Yes, a significant number of users complain about an overwhelming and obnoxious amount of ads, including multiple unskippable ads before and during videos, ads on the home screen, and even ads playing simultaneously with live content R1R4R6R11.
What are the common feature complaints in YouTube?
Common feature complaints include the removal of the dislike button on shorts and the dislike counter, the temporary or permanent change of the like button to a heart, difficulty with picture-in-picture mode, issues with comments appearing at the top of the screen, and the inability to search within a channel R5R8R9R12.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 4/5 · US Felipe: Muchos anuncios
  2. [R4] 1/5 · US Xem mà quản cáo quá nhiều: Chán
  3. [R6] 4/5 · US YouTube: Make it so you have no adds and it will be 5
  4. [R11] 1/5 · US Adds are obnoxious: The adds are obnoxious and drive me away. And it bothers me to YouTube pumping out its creators in this way. Shame on you
  5. [R39] 1/5 · US Way too many ads: Way too many ads nowadays.supposed to be able to block them and they show back up in the next cycle. Not sure if why it won’t update when new updates are available either. App crashes for almost a week and when an update shows it says it was available days before even after reinstalling/uploading the app because of crashes.
  6. [R42] 1/5 · US Search Is Awful + Block Button: You ever tried to look up a video? Nothing but sponsored ads instead of actual content and stupid shorts. Just ads everywhere. You’re already putting 800 different ads in the videos, another 800 on my Home Screen, now I can’t even look up something without even more ads? Just big and greedy. And then they don’t even show you anything relevant to what you searched fo
  7. [R57] 1/5 · US Keeps crashing on start: After recent update, it just crashes every time on start. I’ve offloaded, redownloaded, and restarted my iPhone, none of it works. When it did, during small screen video, the ads skip button is so TURNED SMALLER, so you can’t click it easily after recent update as well. That’s not a predatory method that will ever make me want to purchase YouTube premium purely out of pr
  8. [R88] 1/5 · US Used to be 5 stars: This app used to be and could be again a 5 star app. Ads during lives playing ad simultaneously with video is unnecessary and irritating. If you want to play an ad the play one but at least pause the video so we don’t have to rewind or play all the ads upfront so you can enjoy the programming. Also way too many ads in general. Used to get one now there are 2+ and are unskippabl
  9. [R70] 3/5 · US Eh, could be better: The free with ads section of the YouTube movies channel hasn’t worked for months. I’ve tried over multiple different devices and multiple different account. Other people I talk to have noticed the same thing. There’s other things too, but that’s the only one I feel like writing.
  10. [R10] 5/5 · US Luis: Excellent I can see what ever I need
  11. [R16] 5/5 · US Everything I need and want!: I enjoy all the free educational and entertainment content. YouTube has been my go-to on a regular basis.
  12. [R22] 5/5 · US this app is amazing!: This app is amazing! it has almost everything from music, asmr,movie clips, even movies! don’t forget about Youtube playables! there are 1-2 advertisements before videos and in the middle of videos but you should download! it’s worth it! five stars.
  13. [R23] 5/5 · US I love YouTube: I love you too, so much like the videos the music live streams the first thing when I wake up in the morning is literally go to YouTube in doom girl I love you too. Everyone needs to try it now. YouTube has one for kids and regular YouTube YouTube for kids called YouTube kids if you have kids you can use it. It’s so.
  14. [R56] 5/5 · US My opinion on yt!: I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVEE YT SO MUCH I WATCH AT LEAST ONE VIDEO A DAY GREAT FEATURES GREAT APP THANK YOUUU
  15. [R77] 5/5 · US Best app ever: Keeps me entertained daily 24/7 love it
  16. [R31] 5/5 · US Many choices and age restrictions: It gives people many choices, including age limits, to help parents know wha5 their kid watches.
  17. [R3] 1/5 · US Keeps crashing as soon as I open it: There’s a big that makes the app useless
  18. [R7] 1/5 · US Not working for me: Since the new iPhone update didn’t work. Deleted it redownloaded and then it worked for a bit loaded again and it kept saying offline again even though I’m connected and everything else works.
  19. [R14] 1/5 · US YouTube app immediately crashes in mobile: Not sure what happened with YouTube App on mobile lately as of around July 10, it will basically just crash when you click on it. Deleted the app, restarted phone and it will work for a few videos and then same issue occurs. Deleted and reinstalled multiple times but still experiencing same issue.
  20. [R18] 3/5 · US Crash! No start!: App Crashes without intention to start. Uninstalling and Reinstalling helps for a few, but the same issues occurs within a few minutes to hrs. Please Fix! :’)
  21. [R5] 4/5 · US Waiting for years: I’d love to know when the feature to search within a channel will be available. That’s the only thing missing on this app.
  22. [R8] 5/5 · US Please: Remove the heart and put back the like button
  23. [R9] 4/5 · US Good but…: Give me back the dislike button on shorts!!
  24. [R12] 1/5 · US Put comments at bottom.: The comment section being at the top is annoying. From spoilers to a CONCEPT BEING PUT IN HEAD BEFORE I CAN WATCH VIDEO

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store