Many students and teachers have asked the same exact question across the years: Is any premium service worth it? The endless number of websites offering a paid, ad-free service to its customers alongside other benefits has grown in size the last couple years with sites such as Spotify and Youtube offering removed ads and allowing for more customization. Other sites take the word “premium” to the next level, changing many functionalities for the better through certain editions, like Duolingo’s studying feature.
“I honestly never look at the prices for premium services, but if I do look and it’s more than $5.00, then I don’t even consider it,” says junior Benjamin Godfrey. “I often get Xbox Live because of the multiple games you can get for free with it, and I’ve often contemplated getting Spotify premium for less ads,” Godfrey adds.
“They don’t feel that pushed, but when you don’t have Spotify premium, for some people they could feel a little forced. It’s more of a gentle nudge by telling you why you should buy it and the positive effects. I like Spotify premium because I can listen to music on the go, skip many songs, and, the best part, is having no ads,” comments junior Lillian Billings. “I don’t like Apple Music, but I do like Spotify. When I first started Spotify, they were saying in the ads, ‘buy premium’, which got a little annoying. I think the services are worth it,” she concludes.
“I don’t feel that the premium services are pushed on us, but without them, it can leave things quite limited. However, some websites do use reminders or pop ups almost every time I login, so some people may find that as ‘pushy.’ For the most part, I feel the premium prices are not worth it and you usually can complete tasks with the free package,” says Mrs. Godwin. “I recently upgraded my Kahoot account because I use it all of the time for test reviews and the premium package has the option where I can upload my own documents and it automatically pulls the questions to make a Kahoot. It really saves a lot of time. Canva is another site that I use quite a bit when creating posters and assignments, but I feel its free package includes a lot of items and designs and its premium ones are expensive, so I have not felt the need to upgrade,” she concluded.