If you’re in Kenya and you’re paying for YouTube Music Premium, I’ve got one question for you: why?
Seriously. Because when you look at the numbers, it just doesn’t make sense.
Right now, YouTube Music Premium costs KES 419 per month, while YouTube Premium, which includes everything Music Premium offers plus the full ad-free YouTube experience, goes for KES 499 per month.
That’s a difference of just KES 80.
Eighty bob. That’s a bottle of dasani water depending on where you buy. The kind of change that disappears in your pocket. So why would anyone pay KES 419 for just YouTube Music, when KES 499 unlocks the full YouTube experience and includes YouTube Music Premium anyway? It’s like paying rent for the kitchen when the landlord is offering you the whole house for just a little more.
With YouTube Music Premium, you get ad-free music, offline downloads, and background play, which sounds great until you realize YouTube Premium gives you all that plus ad-free videos, offline viewing, background playback for everything, and yes, full access to YouTube Music Premium. By skipping YouTube Premium and sticking to YouTube Music Premium, you miss out on:
- Ad-free YouTube videos
- Background play on all YouTube videos
- Offline downloads for any content
- Ad-free Shorts & YouTube Kids
- Premium experience across all devices
All that for just KES 80 more per month.
And they’re absolutely right to question it. Spotify Premium is not only cheaper at KES 340, but it’s also laser-focused on music and podcasts. If you’re paying for a music-only service, why pick the one that costs more and sits awkwardly beside a better deal from the same company?
Of course, there’s always that one person who’ll say they don’t even watch YouTube that much. But let’s be honest — you do. Everyone does. YouTube is basically the internet’s TV. Whether it’s a quick tutorial, a football highlight, or a random comedy short, you’ll end up there somehow. Even if you don’t think you’re watching a lot, you are. And that’s where YouTube Premium shines. You get to watch and listen without interruptions. No “skip ad in 5 seconds.” No mid-video breaks.
Google needs to rethink this
Honestly, Google should just scrap YouTube Music Premium in Kenya altogether. It’s redundant. The full Premium plan already covers it, and YouTube comes pre-installed on nearly every phone sold here.
But — and this is important — if they ever do that, Google should also lower the price of YouTube Premium a bit. In India, for instance, YouTube Premium, which comes with YouTube Music Premium, costs INR 149 per month, which is about KES 216. There are those diehard music-only users who genuinely don’t care about videos. They just want their playlists, downloads, and ad-free music. For them, that extra 80 bob feels unnecessary.
Still, for everyone else, the math doesn’t math.
