If you’re new to YouTube, you might be wondering what the subscribe button is for.
More importantly, you might be wondering whether you have to pay money to subscribe to a YouTube channel.
The “subscribe” button can be confusing for first-time users because it’s typically used to describe the monthly payment of a service.
That said, some users are hesitant on subscribing to a channel because they are afraid of recurring costs.
On YouTube, “subscribe” has a different meaning.
In fact, the “subscribe” button is similar to the “follow” button on social media platforms like Instagram.
In this article, you’ll learn what the “subscribe” button is and whether you need to pay for it.
- Do you have to pay to subscribe to a YouTube channel?
- What does it mean when you subscribe to a YouTube channel?
- What is the benefit of subscribing to a YouTube channel?
- Is it bad to subscribe to a YouTube channel?
Do you have to pay to subscribe to a YouTube channel?
No, you don’t have to pay to subscribe to a YouTube channel.
Subscribing to a YouTube channel is free, and it doesn’t cost you anything.
The “subscribe” button on YouTube is similar to the “follow” button on social media platforms.
There is no cost to subscribing to a channel on YouTube.
On social media platforms, following someone will show their posts on your feed.
Whenever they post something new, their photo or video will be shown at the top of your feed.
Similarly, subscribing to a channel on YouTube will show the channel’s videos on your subscription feed.
Whenever the channel uploads something new, the video will be shown at the top of your subscription feed.
As subscribing to a YouTube channel is free, you don’t have to worry about recurring costs.
You’ll only need to pay if you want to join a channel as a member.
Back on June 22, 2018, YouTube introduced channel memberships where users can join a channel as a member starting at $4.99 per month.
Channel memberships are similar to Twitch subscriptions.
In a nutshell, as long as you’re not providing your credit/debit card details, you don’t have to pay for anything on YouTube.
What does it mean when you subscribe to a YouTube channel?
You can subscribe to a YouTube channel if you are interested in its content.
When you subscribe to a YouTube channel, you will see updates from that channel in your subscription feed.
Whenever they upload a video or post a community update, it will be shown at the top of your subscription feed.
If you’ve enabled notifications for YouTube, you will be notified when the channel uploads a new video.
If you want to stay updated on a channel, you can subscribe to a YouTube channel.
To subscribe to a YouTube channel, navigate to it and tap on the “subscribe” button.
After you’ve tapped on the “subscribe” button, it will be changed to “unsubscribe”.
To view your subscriptions on the YouTube mobile app, tap on “Subscriptions” on the bottom navigation bar.
Once you’re on the subscriptions page, you’ll see the recently uploaded videos from the channels that you’re subscribed to.
What is the benefit of subscribing to a YouTube channel?
The benefits of subscribing to a YouTube channel include updates of their latest videos, community posts, and upload notifications.
The main benefit of subscribing to a YouTube channel is to stay updated on their newest videos.
When you subscribe to a YouTube channel, their uploads will be displayed on your subscription feed.
Your subscription feed provides quick access for you to see the newest videos from a channel.
If you don’t subscribe to a channel, you have to search for their name to see their latest videos.
This a problem because you might not remember the channel’s name.
On the other hand, if you’re subscribed to a channel, you’ll be able to see their latest videos on your subscription feed.
Hence, there is no need to search for the channel to see their latest videos.
Is it bad to subscribe to a YouTube channel?
Subscribing to a YouTube channel is not bad unless the channel uploads multiple videos every day.
No, it is not bad to subscribe to a YouTube channel as you’ll be able to stay updated on their latest videos.
However, subscribing to too many YouTube channels may flood your subscription feed.
Before subscribing to a YouTube channel, it’s important to check their uploading schedule.
If the channel uploads once a week, their videos will not flood your feed.
However, if the channel uploads twice or more a day, your feed will be flooded with their videos.
As a result, you might miss the latest videos from your favorite channels.
If you’re subscribed to a ton of channels, you might want to review your existing subscriptions and unsubscribe to the channels that you’re no longer interested in.
This will clean your subscription feed and make space for future subscriptions.
Final thoughts
Typically, “subscribe” is used to describe the monthly payment of a service.
However, subscribing to a channel on YouTube does not require payment.
If you like a channel’s content, you can consider subscribing to it to stay updated on their latest videos.
Moreover, you can unsubscribe to the channel at any time if you’re no longer interested in it.
Further Reading
How to See Your YouTube Comment History
How to See How Many Videos a YouTube Channel Has
What Does “Join” Mean on YouTube?
Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.
