Comparison
ReVanced vs YouTube Premium
A neutral look at how ReVanced's patched YouTube app compares with an official YouTube Premium subscription — cost, platforms, and risk on each side.
ReVanced and YouTube Premium get compared constantly, but they're not really two versions of the same thing. YouTube Premium is YouTube's own official subscription, sold and supported by Google, running through YouTube's normal apps on essentially every platform. ReVanced is an open-source patching framework maintained by an independent community, which takes the official Android YouTube app and applies a set of community-built patches to it, producing a modified app you install yourself outside the Play Store.
One is a paid product you subscribe to. The other is a free, third-party modification you set up and maintain. That's a difference in kind, not just price — and it shapes almost everything else about how each one behaves day to day.
Quick answer
If you want something that works everywhere without setup, official support, and you don't mind paying an ongoing subscription, YouTube Premium is the straightforward option. If you're comfortable with Android-only sideloading, keeping an app updated yourself, and accepting that it's an unofficial modification outside Google's terms of service, ReVanced is the free alternative — but it comes with real technical and maintenance overhead that Premium doesn't. Neither is objectively "better"; they trade cost for convenience and official support in opposite directions.
At a glance
| ReVanced | YouTube Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A patching framework that modifies the official Android YouTube app | YouTube's own official paid subscription |
| Cost | Free | Paid, ongoing monthly or annual subscription |
| Platform support | Android only | Android, iOS, Android TV, Samsung TV, Fire TV, web/desktop, Firefox — effectively universal |
| Install method | Sideload ReVanced Manager, the project's official app, then use it to apply patches | Subscribe through the official YouTube app or website, no separate install |
| Source / openness | Open source patches and tooling, github.com/revanced | Closed, official first-party product |
| Maintenance | Requires re-patching or updating manually as YouTube's app changes | Updates automatically like any official app |
| Official support | None — community-maintained, no support channel from Google | Full official support from YouTube/Google |
| Terms of service | Falls outside YouTube's official terms; using it carries some ToS and enforcement considerations | Fully within YouTube's terms, since it's an official product |
Compatibility
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Android | Supported | Primary supported platform. Built as a patched version of the official Android YouTube app. |
| Android TV | Unknown | ReVanced is primarily built and tested for phones and tablets. Android TV builds exist in the wider community but are not the project's primary focus. |
| Samsung TV | Unsupported | Samsung Tizen TVs cannot run patched Android APKs. |
| Fire TV | Unknown | Not a primary target platform; behavior on Fire TV is not consistently documented by the project. |
| Firefox | Unsupported | ReVanced patches an Android app package and has no relationship to desktop browsers. |
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Android | Supported | Official, first-party solution across the Android YouTube app. |
| Android TV | Supported | — |
| Samsung TV | Supported | — |
| Fire TV | Supported | — |
| Firefox | Supported | Works through the regular YouTube website once signed in to a Premium account. |
The compatibility gap here is the clearest way to see the difference in kind between these two. YouTube Premium is a subscription that follows your account across virtually any device running an official YouTube app — phone, TV, browser, doesn't matter. ReVanced is a single modified Android app; it doesn't extend to iOS, smart TVs, or the web, because those platforms don't support sideloading modified apps in the same way, or don't have a comparable ReVanced build at all.
What each one actually changes
YouTube Premium's value proposition is simple: it removes ads from YouTube's official apps, adds background playback, offline downloads, and access to YouTube Music, all without touching how the app itself works. You're paying for the same app, minus friction, with nothing to configure.
ReVanced works differently. It's a toolkit that applies community-maintained patches to the official app's code before you install it — the available patches change over time and generally fall into categories like interface tweaks, playback behavior changes, and ad-blocking-style modifications, among others. Because it's the base YouTube app with patches layered on, the underlying interface stays familiar, but you're relying on the ReVanced community to keep patches compatible with each new version YouTube ships. When YouTube updates its app in ways that break existing patches, there can be a lag before an updated patched build is available — something that simply doesn't happen with an official app that updates itself.
Different kind of trade-off
ReVanced is a third-party modification of YouTube's app, not an official product. It operates outside YouTube's terms of service, which carries some risk of accounts or functionality being affected by enforcement changes, and it requires you to keep the app updated yourself. YouTube Premium avoids all of that by being the official, supported path — at the cost of a recurring subscription. Neither approach is presented here as the "right" choice; it depends on what you're willing to trade.
Setup and upkeep
Subscribing to YouTube Premium takes a few minutes: sign up through the app or youtube.com, and it applies automatically across every device signed into that account. There's nothing to install separately and nothing to maintain — updates happen the same way any official app updates.
Setting up ReVanced is a longer process. It means installing ReVanced Manager — the project's own official app — from its official channels, using it to apply patches to the YouTube app, and periodically repeating that as YouTube's official app changes underneath it. See the ReVanced guide and the project's own documentation for what that involves. Because it's not distributed through the Play Store, it also doesn't update itself — that upkeep is on you, indefinitely, for as long as you keep using it.
Which one should you use
This isn't a question with one right answer, and it's worth resisting the framing that ReVanced is simply "a free way to get Premium features." They're different categories of solution with different trade-offs:
- If you want YouTube to work the same way across every device you own, with no setup and full official support, YouTube Premium is built for exactly that, and the subscription cost buys you that reliability.
- If you're on Android only, comfortable with sideloading and periodic manual updates, and you understand the ToS and reliability trade-offs involved, ReVanced is a free option maintained by an independent community — but it's not a drop-in replacement for an official subscription, and its availability and specific patches can change at any time.
Whichever direction fits you, it's worth checking the general device compatibility overview and the ReVanced project page before deciding, since both platform support and the patching landscape shift over time.
Frequently asked questions
Is ReVanced the same as YouTube Premium?
No. YouTube Premium is an official paid subscription from YouTube/Google that works across virtually every device. ReVanced is a free, independently maintained modification of the Android YouTube app, installed outside the Play Store and outside YouTube's official terms of service.
Can I use ReVanced and YouTube Premium together?
Because ReVanced is a separately installed, patched app rather than an account setting, it doesn't function as an add-on to an official Premium subscription in the way official apps do. If you're already paying for Premium, the official app already covers the ads/background-play/downloads it provides.
Does ReVanced work on iPhone or smart TVs?
No. ReVanced is Android-only. YouTube Premium, by contrast, works across Android, iOS, Android TV, Samsung TV, Fire TV, and the web, since it's tied to your account rather than a specific modified app.
Is using ReVanced against YouTube's terms of service?
ReVanced modifies the official app outside how YouTube distributes and supports it, which falls outside YouTube's terms of service and carries some enforcement risk. YouTube Premium, being an official product, doesn't carry that consideration.
Official source
For the most accurate and current information, check the project's own website, repository, or documentation.
Visit official source: ReVanced (revanced.app)(opens the ReVanced website in a new tab)Official source
For the most accurate and current information, check the project's own website, repository, or documentation.
Visit official source: YouTube Premium (youtube.com)(opens the YouTube Premium website in a new tab)Related guides
- ReVanced: A Patched YouTube App for AndroidWhat ReVanced is, how the patching process works, and the trade-offs of running a modified YouTube app on Android.
- CompatibilityA quick reference for which solutions currently work on which devices. Compatibility can change as apps, TVs, and YouTube itself are updated — treat this as a general guide, not a guarantee, and check each solution's own guide for details.