I’m usually against subscription services, but there are a few I use that I think provide enough value to justify the cost. Are there subscriptions you think are worth the money for you?

  • nbailey@lemmy.caEnglish
    652·
    2 months ago

    I donate about $5/month to a bunch of nonprofits that I benefit from.

    • Debian project
    • openbsd project
    • wikimedia foundation
    • EFF
    • Internet Archive

    My career wouldn’t exist without these folks, so it’s the least I can do.

    • anon6789@lemmy.world
      313·
      2 months ago

      I like having no commercials on something by legitimate means, and unlike most streaming services, the content stays there once it’s there. For the hours we use it, it’s still a hell of a deal.

      I adblock and sail the seas, but Premium gives what it promises without any real hassle. We use it way more than we used Netflix or Disney+.

      • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        the content stays there once it’s there

        my bookmarked/liked videos lists don’t agree. A lot of videos, and even a few complete channels have disappeared over time. This is not a new issue.

        Premium gives what it promises

        well it does not promise to respect you and your privacy

        • anon6789@lemmy.world
          1·
          2 months ago

          It isn’t perfect, and there are a number of reasons content can leave. I know a few of my favorite channels have had issues dealing with content getting pulled due to things like it having certain World War 2 imagery in historical context, or analysis of music theory of modern songs for having too many seconds of copyright music. People can also delete their accounts and things will disappear. Some is also just plain pirated content.

          But for how much content there is on YouTube, the vast majority stays there, at least compared to more traditional media. Many things I’ve been watching lately have been over a decade old. It really helps in repairing older things for finding lessons on things that haven’t changed much in recent years.

          As for privacy, we’re all at least moderately tech savvy people here. We know we’re dealing with an advertising company here and what that entails. That doesn’t thrill me, but that’s the deal to get the content. Google does make at least some data available to view and delete, so that’s still a bit better than most places tracking us.

          While there is room for improvement, I still feel it beats most everything else legitimate on cost vs what you get.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
      132·
      2 months ago

      Same, I have the Family tier and it just makes sense. At 23/month if all 5 slots are filled it works out too $4.60/month/person.

      No ads AND no hassle with this and that instance going down or that app being blocked or browser shannigans

      • linearchaos@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        Every time I talked myself into it they ended up raising the rate. I’ve stopped trying to talk myself into it.

    • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
      122·
      2 months ago

      Same here. I’m mostly paying because at least some of the money goes to creators, and I don’t want to have to constantly be fighting with the adblocker stuff. I watch a lot of youtube (perhaps more than is healthy) and realistically it does cost Google money to host it.

    • wjs018@lemmy.world
      102·
      2 months ago

      This is mine too. I use the hell out of it and YouTube music that comes with it. If we look at $/hr, then this is a no-brainer for me.

    • Jackthelad@lemmy.worldEnglish
      92·
      2 months ago

      Same here. I use YouTube a lot so it’s nice to have no ads, and the inclusion of YouTube Music is great and I’ve switched from Spotify because of it.

    • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
      61·
      2 months ago

      I watch a lot of YouTube videos and hate ads. It’s a pretty good value.

      I do also have Spotify, because I had it way before YouTube Premium and all my playlists are there. For how much I listen and discover, also a pretty good value.

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      I got Yt premium as a side effect of the Google one thing. I don’t necessarily need the extra space I got the Google one thing for, but I’ll probably keep it because I’m too lazy to clear out my storage and the side perks like Yt premium are probably worth more than I’m spending on one.

  • kubok@fedia.io
    283·
    2 months ago

    Bring in the downvotes, but Spotify. I listen to music several hours a day, both old and new and it helps me discover lots of new music and even genres. For me personally, that’s worth the money.

    • ALQ@lemmy.world
      11·
      2 months ago

      I feel the same. I like not having commercials in my music and being able to listen to a wide variety.

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
        10·
        2 months ago

        Also offline mode and list syncing. I would die on long flights if I didn’t have music to listen to and my tastes change frequently.

    • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
      7·
      2 months ago

      Same, I think it’s worth it. I rarely listen to the radio, so I get to discover new music with them. And the offline play saves on data when I’m just going around the corner or something.

    • linearchaos@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      I’ve been trying to unravel my Google workspace for months now to head toward proton. I’ve signed up for so many things that use my workspace for auth

    • Worx@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      10·
      2 months ago

      I also really like Dropout. I will sub for a few months then put it on pause for a few months, so it’s basically half price. The company allegedly treats its staff very well, they produce lots of good shows, very inclusive for queer, disabled, non-white etc people which I love. They also recommend password sharing and stopping your subscription if you can’t afford / don’t want any more. And all that obviously worked since I’m advertising for free for them 😂

  • kitnaht@lemmy.world
    221·
    2 months ago

    Amazon Prime; I run a business repairing things. I’m small enough that I can’t afford to keep everything in stock for various makes/models. Getting it here quickly allows me to repair more machines faster. There are no places to get the parts I need locally.

  • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
    222·
    2 months ago

    I know this is the “wrong answer,” but YouTube. I watch it a lot, and mostly on my PS in the evenings. If I only watched it in my phone or PC, I wouldn’t bother.

    I also pay for Spotify for my mom and I, and ProtonVPN/Mail for myself. Oh, and PS+, which I still think is bullshit. 🙄

    • SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml
      152·
      2 months ago

      It’s only a ‘wrong answer’ because people here downvote on an ideological basis. If it works for you, then it’s okay 👍

  • missingno@fedia.io
    14·
    2 months ago

    $20/year for Nintendo Switch Online. That’s $20 more than it should be, but at least it’s not nearly as expensive as the other consoles.

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.caEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Wait… It’s how much? For online access?

      And others are more??

      I’m a dedicated PC gamer, so I’m out of the loop on what’s happening with consoles, but this seems nuts to me

      • missingno@fedia.io
        2·
        2 months ago

        PSN Plus is $80/year, XBox Live is $60/year. And both of those are for the lowest tier.

  • Makeitstop@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    2 months ago

    Ground News because I want to see what’s going on in news across the media spectrum and they make it a lot easier.

    Discord nitro classic because I don’t have a better alternative and I get the features I actually need at half the price I’d pay for the normal subscription.

    A VPN because none of your goddamn business.

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 months ago

    YouTube premium. Mostly for music but no-ads is nice.

    I have the basic iCloud sub but it feels like a scam. I should at least get more storage if I buy more Apple products. If you have two devices your backups get too big for the free storage amount.

    I offloaded a bunch of things from iCloud but it becomes a hassle for how cheap their subscription is.

  • Meltrax@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 months ago

    Hulu. Best collection of shows for me, right now.

    Spotify. I listen to music constantly, it’s a necessity.

    Libro.fm for audiobooks, and supporting my local book store.

    My gym membership (lumping Zwift in there too). I exercise a lot, like 15+ hours per week. These are part of my chosen lifestyle.

    Opensnow. The only phone app I pay for. It’s a weather app but better if you’re a skier/snowboarder.

    RuneScape. I love OSRS and I enjoy playing in my downtime. I’m an adult, I can do what I want.

  • Nate@programming.devEnglish
    9·
    2 months ago
    • Tidal ($5.82/month student), like my HiFi music, even if it’s indistinguishable on most of the speakers I use
    • Nebula ($2.50/month), mostly the same shit as on YouTube but as-free (without adblock) and usually a bit early access
    • PIA (~$2.33/month), avoids a Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, Discovery +, Paramount+, you get the gist+ subscription. You had a good thing going but you got greedy and fucked it
    • Recurring donation to Lemmy dev ($5/month), despite any of the devs political views, I appreciate the service and continued support of the software and recognize that dev isn’t free,though I do need to sit down and set one up for my instance as well as my mastodon & pixelfed instances.

    Some of these are yearly but reduced to monthly for ease of viewing