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YouTube

Is This Your Business?
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1,106 User Reviews

8.5

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: December 2nd, 2025
Owned by Google, YouTube is one of the largest video streaming platforms available online. With millions of views racking up every day, YouTube's platform has a little bit of everything for all interests and genres. Ranging from short viral videos and local channels to clips of a series you've been struggling to find, YouTube has access to channels all over the world through its streaming tv services. Stream any show, movie, or video you want and enjoy live tv. YouTube even has youtube music to enjoy and stream all sorts of music from your mobile device.
 
Anyone can create a video and upload it to YouTube today and could be seen by millions of viewers tomorrow using the video streaming services for all sorts of original content. Subscribers can even buy or rent some of the newest movies and TV shows for live tv streaming. Use multiple devices to watch your favorite subscription, premium channels, and cable channels. All you need is an account, device, wi-fi network, and you can watch tv, channels, and subscription from anywhere! With mulitple streaming tv services to choose from, you can easily find all of the top subscription you love using YouTube. You can also search for all sorts of original content to satisfy whatever watching situation you are in.

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The Good

  • Unique content
  • Device compatibility
  • Affordable pricing

Millions of YouTube Videos

Users can watch literally millions of easy "how-to" videos, music videos, commercials, and so much more for educational or entertainment purposes. With the freedom to post and view, find all of your live streaming needs with a simple search. You can even pay for movies like star trek or a handmaid's tale on YouTube to continue to watch all of your favorite movies and tv networks.
 

Compatible on All Devices

Because YouTube is a website, it can be accessed on any device. YouTube's streaming services are compatible with all devices, whether you are on Android or Apple. With great customer service, you can also easily type in questions and get an immediate response back regarding all of your subscription and streaming tv services needs.

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Ad Free Viewing

Due to movies having to be purchased or rented, users are able to watch rented or purchased movies and TV episodes on YouTube ad free. This makes your experience more enjoyable not just on mobile devices, but also on channels, cable, and on-demand service.

Competitive Pricing

YouTube offers rentals starting at $1.99 per TV episode, which is competitive for the streaming TV industry. Looking at top competitors prices like cable tv, netflix, vudu, prime video, pluto tv, and other streaming services, you can find all sorts of great deals and find all of the shows, movies, and video you love and enjoy.
 
Overall, YouTube is extremely well known for their viral videos and commercials, but now YouTube provides even more value by allowing users to rent or purchase movies and TV shows. Users are able to watch rentals or purchased media on any device, as YouTube is accessible from all devices. In addition, users can watch for an affordable price per rental/purchase and watch ad free.
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The Bad

  • Rental limitations
  • HD not available on web browsers
  • No parental controls

72 Hours to Finish Watching

Users have 30 days to watch and 72 hours to finish watching rented movies once they have started. This may be a disadvantage to users who are trying to watch a movie that is quite long. You also dont own the movies or video you rent which can be a bummer if you want to watch it again and again.

HD Version Not Available on Web Browsers

HD versions of movies and TV shows cannot be viewed within a web browser on YouTube. However, most streaming devices allow for HD viewing, such as Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, etc. Be sure to check compatibility on your mobile devices to ensure the most optimal viewing standards so you can enjoy your live tv streaming and video streaming.

No Parental Controls 

Currently, YouTube does not have parental controls for their movie streaming services. YouTube has many great features to their services, but it is good to note the few drawbacks we found. The main drawback to YouTube's streaming TV services is that HD isn't available through web browsers, only through streaming devices such as the Chromecast or Roku. Also, parents don't have filtering control if they are going to watch a movie with their children. This is an important family feature that is not available on YouTube. You can install an app that helps to enable stricter viewing standards to keep your family safe, but be aware of what premium channels, live streaming, and cable channels can present on live tv streaming. View Top Rated Companies
 
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The Bottom Line

YouTube is another great source to supplement streaming TV and movie needs. Users will find a variety of different rental and purchase prices depending on the release date and popularity of the movie or TV show. And don't expect to find favorite movies, or TV series, in the free content. Users will most likely have to pay for full movies or TV shows they are looking for on YouTube. However, if you're looking for free and interesting content, YouTube has got you covered. With millions of new videos uploaded by users every day, you're bound to find something completely unique. Don't expect many videos longer than ten minutes, but have fun following viral videos and trending content on the most widely used video streaming service today. Overall, we recommend reviewing the top rated companies before making a final decision.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

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4.5

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1,106 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

62%

4 grade

25%

3 grade

10%

2 grade

2%

1 grade

1%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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Elinés Avilés

My experience with this app have varied. I have been using YouTube since my teens. Love it then no comercials and did not have to deal with almost porn in some ofnthe videos. Now as an a adult and mother. I care for what my kids consume. I had to delete it, because of wrong tags in videos. Some videos are classified for children and is grooming what they are doing.

10 months ago

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Alexandra Federov Rochester, NY

The ads are out of control... One before the video starts, one every three-five mins and one at the end. We are calling it adtube now. If you are away from your device it's barely worth using. You will spend equally as much time listening to ads...usually the same ones over and over and over and over and over... BRUTAL. I get you need to run some ads but this is too much. I once subscribed to get ad free and changed my mind. They just kept charging my Paypal and would not stop. There is NO person to help. I just got ripped off for three straight months trying to find out how they were gaining access to even charge me. They started back door charging me through my google wallet which I had to shut down completely just because of youtube/adtube unauthorized and repeated. charges.

2 years ago

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Paid Reviewer

who doesn't use youtube? i love youtube because of their premium feature. It's kind of expensive but I feel it's kinda fair for the ad-less streaming. what I don't like about youtube is that, their service becomes very unfair and start suggesting you content opposite to your political ideology. i think streaming media should be unbiased. i will give it 5 stars, if they become apolitical.

1 year ago Edited June 12, 2024

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Shiroi

I have been using this app on my dad's phone when I was a kid before getting mine. First, to what I like about this app, is the download speed being acceptable, the fact that I can suscribe to certain notifications and that it suggests good reels on my home page. Now what I don't like is that I can't share my downloads outside the app and I can't find the 'download' button and subtitles on some videos but aside that, nothing else.

1 year ago

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Chase Victorson Yonkers, NY

Not sure how I feel about Youtube. Commercials are a pain. Even though you can skip them (sometimes) there are SO MANY. I have also found that the content I am exposed to has gotten tighter (in a bad way - I like to have a wide variety of exposure) Other than that, what is there to hate? Free content, and you can really go down the rabbit hole which is cool.

2 years ago

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Honest consumer Concord, NC

YouTube gives me mixed emotions! For me, I really enjoy the things I can search and watch but for my kids, not a big fan! It was better when the "shorts" and scrolling feature wasn't on there. Now my young son likes to "scroll" and there's no way to shut it off! YouTube's "Restrictions" feature is also a joke! A little slide switch that any kid can find easily and turn back on. Why isn't this feature password protected so a parent can make sure their child isn't turning it off?? Change this YouTube!!!

2 years ago

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Jasmin Mena

Youtube is the only streaming service I use every single day. I haven't watched TV in years, because independent video makes make content much more interesting to me. However it has been very annoying with how they have increased the amount of ads and how intrusive they can be. They are also usually extremely loud compared to the volume of the actual video. Can't appreciate the censorship either.

2 years ago

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scotty Saint Paul, MN

I will never give a tv streaming app five stars from me however YouTube does a pretty good job. it's now taken over as my main TV provider. I still have Xfinity but I use YouTube on top of it and using YouTube more. It's got a wide range of shows It's easier navigation It's also better on the advertisements. They are starting to play a few more but you can still skip through them. If You don't have a recorder box to fast forward through its a big help.

3 years ago

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Mark Frogley Phoenix, AZ

I was quite happy with YouTube as a creator of videos until they decided to "clean up their content". Thus cutting off all monetization on every single one of my videos. Every single one of my videos was for children. Nothing about them was not clean. The process of uploading and creating videos is awesome but I am not happy with their so called "clean up".

7 years ago

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Luke Gibson Provo, UT

YouTube is getting better all the time, and certainly has improved since its early acquisition by Google. It's interface is easy to use and it's super easy to find fun and interesting things to watch that relate to other things I've enjoyed. However, one major problem remains: the toxicity of the social media aspect of the site. This is common knowledge, but the fact that some of the most depraved and offensive things I have ever heard come from comments below relatively innocuous videos reveals an issue that could use some work so that the comments section even deserves to exist at all.

8 years ago

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Kenneth Okerlund

I'm not a big fan of the paid services that YouTube offers, because I have found better services for that elsewhere (Netflix, Hulu), but I love their plethora of videos on everything else. It's actually my most often used live viewing station whether it be for speech broadcasts or gaming events. I do get a little fed up with how it tries to manage my streaming and how I have to correct it to the settings I want but it's not terribly often that that happens.

8 years ago

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Josiah Phillips

youtube was once the standard for online video playback—while it’s still popular, it’s not as competitive as it used to be. the level of advertisements is extensive, and they just introduce more ways to blast you with ads every few months.

1 year ago

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Mario G

You can find anything you want but you will have no control on it. It keep pushing content you don't want just to keep you in front in the screen and this is very harmful for kids who uses fake date of birth to create accounts and Youtube knows that and does not care

1 year ago

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Francis Adesuyi

YouTube is slightly good streaming tv they need to work on their ads I have difficulties in saving my downloaded videos and it’s affecting because am a business man I need to watch some video about my project and save them but it won’t allow me everything is kinda awkward

1 year ago Edited March 29, 2024

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Joseph Peterson Milwaukee, WI

Of course I LOVE the videos on there. It's GREAT. I pretty much end my day every day with 15-20 minutes of videos. It's all my main source to watch news as it is all summarized and there's no need to watch the WHOLE show. HOWEVER the onslaught of commercials.....ugghh, NO, I don't want to pay for YouTube Premium.

2 years ago

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Keaton W Copperas Cove, TX

I'm split on YouTube. I used to love it and I still use it all the time. But they kicked off my favorite streamer when his page got bombarded with mass flagging. They didn't look into it at all and it forced me to download rumble.

2 years ago

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Mickey Mangum Long Beach, MS

Youtube is just a streaming video service. I use it quite a lot for educational purposes. The quality of the streamed videos are quite good and chances are there is a video on the service for whatever it is you are looking for.

5 years ago

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Yolanda Briganti Riverton, UT

Youtube has a lot of good videos. I like how I can find music, how to, and religious videos. I can upload my own videos and share them as well. I like the way it will find similar content and keep playing if I just let it keep going.

6 years ago

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Mark

YouTube is handy for learning new skills as well as for entertainment purposes. We are careful how we search YouTube's content because of the variety of media posted, but for the most part we are able to find what we are looking for.

8 years ago

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Maile Curtis Salt Lake City, UT

Youtube is good for fanny videos and tutorials but not streaming shows. The times that I tried to find a show to watch on youtube its always been bad quality, someone just recorded the show from their home tv. Also, youtube has so many advertisements.

8 years ago

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Quen Wilson Ogden, UT

I have really loved Youtube for the access to free videos and music, I have been able to discover new artists and expand my music genre. However, I am not a big fan of the constant commercials that impede on my viewing pleasure. As well, they sometimes show adult content that children have access to.

8 years ago

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RodrigoRamirez Austin, TX

I love youtube. I hate the direction it has gone advertising wise. Cutting videos midway to play some whack advertisement just sucks. It kills the experience and is always frustrating. I understand that's how a lot people make their money, just leave it at before the video starts and give me the ability to skip the advertisement. Otherwise, youtube is something I can't live without.

5 years ago

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Benjamin Walbrecht Provo, UT

I find myself spending a lot of time on YouTube and there’s an endless amount of content for almost every topic/genre. However, the company is not transparent and does very little to help content creators succeed on the platform. They push content made by companies, such as late night tv. It’s becoming increasingly more difficult for individual creators to be successful, despite viewers wanting to see that kind of content

6 years ago

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Amy Farmer Provo, UT

Youtube is like the OG video platform and it’s awesome for that. I’m there to watch funny and random videos. However, I am never there when I want to stream a tv show, movie, etc. I wouldn’t even think to check YouTube for stuff like that. Also the suggestions that come up for after you’ve listened to songs or watched a video are sometimes great but sometimes random and terrible. Consistency would be nice.

6 years ago

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Erika American Fork, UT

I like you tube and I do think there is some good to the website. I think it is too easy though to be redirected to inappropriate content. Kids can end up on something very inappropriate within a few accidental clicks. I also don't like how almost every channel spends so much time always talking about subscribing and liking their videos. I know that is a personal preference but it just is annoying that its all about likes every single video.

6 years ago

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Lindsey A Brown Lehi, UT

YouTube can be a good and a bad thing in my opinion. For those who have a large following of people and subscribers, it can be very good. On the other hand for those that have smal children like I do, there is quite a bit of very inappropriate stuff that can be easliy accessed on YouTube. I don't love how easy it is for some of that content to be viewed.

6 years ago

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Hannah Cummins Gilbert, AZ

Youtube needs to be more transparent about how they are distributing their users content. There have been so many problems with certain Youtubers and their content getting blocked for being "against policy" when it actually isnt. This needs to be less robotic/streamlined so that people can view great content and truly bad content can actually get blocked.

7 years ago

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Moureen Meggers

Not a big fan of this service. Videos are hard to search for and weird searches come up in place of what one is really looking for. When you do find the content of what you want the content is good.

2 years ago

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Heather Novus Palm Bay, FL

My child watches this daily, which is great because it keeps her learning constantly. The only concern I have is that even with protective filters for children, the ads can still be pretty adult.

3 years ago Edited April 12, 2022

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Krista Griffith Tulsa, OK

I really appreciate all the content. I like being able to find movies here that I can't find on other sites. I don't appreciate constantly being asked if I want to try YouTube Red. Ask me once a week but not daily.

4 years ago

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Christina Whelan Norcross, GA

youtube used to be a really cool website but i think it’s become too censored now. the videos recommended to me often repeat themselves even if i have watched them already. it’s alright but could use improvements

5 years ago

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Alicia Holman Gilbert, AZ

There entire process is very confusing for someone who isn't an experienced streamer. The best part about them is the exposure and once you figure out how to upload and stream, then it's good. There's no customer service!

7 years ago

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Kathryn Robinson Riverton, UT

I have mixed feelings about YouTube. There is a lot of great content on YouTube, but I don’t like that it is completely uncensored. I have a no-YouTube rule with my kids because I’m nervous about what may pop up unexpectedly. I like the Kids YouTube option, but it still makes me nervous.

6 years ago

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Kylie Alpine, UT

YouTube is a great way to easily find videos! I use it to pull up my favorite songs, find educational tutorials, watch funny dog videos, and so much more! YouTube is a great because anyone is able to submit videos, so you get a whole variety of talents and experience from people all around the world.

6 years ago

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Marissa Redwood Falls, MN

I have a love hate relationship with Youtube. My biggest beef is that they do "autoplay" when you are done with the video you've watched. With all the sketchy stuff on youtube, it's not safe and I would never let my children watch anything on it unattended.

6 years ago

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James Larson Pleasant Grove, UT

These days, it is impossible to use with an ad blocker, which is really annoying due to all the advertisements you are forced to see. I also don't agree with their censoring videos of content they deem offensive according to their interpretation of the First Amendment

6 years ago

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kelsey Saratoga Springs, UT

its the most used app and computer site out there. YouTube has launch many careers who are now celebrities. So many vines and memes that are hilarious and im glad there is a place we can put those videos but i think we need to add a filter on it to make it safer.

6 years ago

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Hadley heaps Lehi, UT

youtube is so good for many reasons. but for others its not. it can be so inappropriate sometimes. I mostly use it for help with homework and sometimes music. but I don't really use it a lot because of all the inappropriate things i could see in it.

6 years ago

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janalee sanders Valley Center, CA

you tube is a middle of the road site for me just because the wide variety and content of some of the things posted isn't always the most appropriate of thing for some people to be watching. sometimes I feel like I need to spend so much time filtering through posts before finding what I want.

6 years ago

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Jorden Laird Front Royal, VA

On one side of youtube, you have this fantastic user base of information and how to for day to day stuff that I'd never be able to learn otherwise. Then, you have all the adds every 5 seconds it feels like and youtube users that comment are the worst.

6 years ago

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jessica Mesa, AZ

I like Youtube but I feel like there needs to be more screening on the kids channels simply because you can put a block on the things that are not appropriate but the people that are making the videos know how to still do raunchy things that will bypass that censor.

7 years ago

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Sam Ekberg Gilbert, AZ

Youtube is a great way for people to connect to people of all personalities. Although there are some dangerous and inappropriate areas in Youtube, there are still many videos and channels that provide family friendly material.

7 years ago

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Travis Gorrell

Doesn't have all the channels one would want and the interface of a FireStick is not great.

5 years ago

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Abayomi Taiwo Los Angeles, CA

As a youtuber I like the way I can easily upload my content on my YouTube channel but one thing I dislike about YouTube is their ads it make my phone lag sometimes

1 year ago Edited March 11, 2024

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Steve Portland, OR

Used to be a lot better, but dear god, 2 commercials on a 5 minute video? Plus am not crazy about the censorship (demonetization) since I believe in free speech.

2 years ago Edited December 6, 2022

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Chris Bright Tempe, AZ

You tube used to be cool, but they fall short in keeping up with the times. I rarely use this service anymore, its much easier to rent and buy from Amazon

4 years ago

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Steve

Like that U can find information on just about anything U need/want 2 know. Not user friendly when it comes 2 finding next in a series or programing.

7 years ago

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Jakob barre Dallas, TX

YouTube has been through many changes over the years. Although it is great source of education many YouTube accounts have been shut down because of policy updates. Not a big fan of that.

5 years ago

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Lisa Kaysville, UT

Great place to listen and watch media. Wish there was a better way to control the content. I don’t like being forced to watch ads that are inappropriate, especially when Watching children content.

5 years ago

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Kate Gregory Pleasant Grove, UT

There are so many great things about YouTube, but there is so much disgusting garbage on there as well. App requires constant parental supervision if you don't want "related" videos to play. It all eventually ends in porn.

6 years ago

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