Review
YouTube Music Review 2026 — The Biggest Catalog, The Most Missing Features
YouTube Music has the largest effective catalog in streaming because it includes everything on YouTube itself — live performances, remixes, covers, deep cuts that exist nowhere else. But the app is missing basic features that competitors shipped years ago, and at $13.99/month bundled with YouTube Premium, it is the most expensive mainstream option.
Updated 2026-03-27
Key takeaways
- •The largest effective catalog in streaming thanks to YouTube's video library.
- •Basic features like reliable queue management and library sorting are still missing.
- •The $13.99/month YouTube Premium bundle is expensive but includes ad-free YouTube.
- •Per-stream payouts are middling at roughly $0.007.
Pros
- •Largest catalog in streaming — including live versions, covers, and remixes only on YouTube.
- •YouTube Premium bundle eliminates ads across both YouTube and YouTube Music.
- •Strong integration with Google ecosystem and smart devices.
Cons
- •Missing basic app features that competitors have had for years.
- •$13.99/month (with Premium) is the most expensive mainstream option.
- •Discovery mixes YouTube video recommendations with music in confusing ways.
What YouTube Music gets right
No other streaming service can match YouTube Music's effective catalog. Every live recording, fan-made remix, obscure cover, and regional release on YouTube is accessible as audio. For music obsessives who chase rare versions, this is genuinely unique.
The YouTube Premium bundle, while expensive, adds real value if you already watch YouTube. Ad-free video plus a music streaming service is a coherent package, even if the music app itself is lacking.
Where it falls short
The app is the problem. Queue management is unreliable, library organisation is poor, and the interface constantly blurs the line between music and video in unhelpful ways. Features that Spotify shipped in 2015 are still missing here.
Google has the resources to build the best music app in the world and has instead built one of the most frustrating. The per-stream payout of roughly $0.007 is middling, and the pro-rata model offers no structural advantage for artists.
FAQ
Is YouTube Music worth it without YouTube Premium?
The standalone YouTube Music plan exists but is harder to justify. The main value proposition is the Premium bundle. Without it, you are paying for a weaker app than most competitors.
Does YouTube Music have the biggest catalog?
Effectively, yes. Because it includes all audio from YouTube's video library, it has access to live recordings, covers, and remixes that no other service can offer. The trade-off is a messier, less curated experience.
Want the head-to-head version?
Use the comparison library to see how each service stacks up against Lissen on price, discovery, catalog depth, and where your money actually goes.