Feature-by-feature
| talavo free |
YouTube Premium $13.99/mo |
|
|---|---|---|
| Ad blocking inside YouTube | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ad blocking on every other site | ✓ | ✗ |
| Hides Shorts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Hides comments / community posts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Background audio | ✓ | ✓ |
| Picture-in-Picture | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sleep timer (up to 12h) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sleep timer Live Activity on the Lock Screen | ✓ | ✗ |
| Always-incognito for selected sites | ✓ | ✗ |
| Face ID lock for private tabs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Split Screen and Corner Player | ✓ Pro | ✗ |
| Offline downloads (YT app) | ✗ | ✓ |
| YouTube Music streaming library | ✗ | ✓ |
| Yearly cost | $0 (Pro $9.99) | $167.88 |
Where YouTube Premium wins
Two things YouTube Premium does that talavo doesn't:
- Offline downloads in the official YouTube app, if you fly often and want videos on the plane, Premium has this. talavo can't.
- YouTube Music's streaming library, if you use YT Music as a Spotify replacement with curated playlists, you need Premium. talavo plays YT Music through the browser but doesn't have a curated library.
If those two specifically matter to you, YouTube Premium is the right call.
Where talavo wins
Everything else. Ads on every site, not just YouTube. No Shorts, no comment cesspools, no community-post outrage farming. Native PiP and background audio without paying for a subscription. A sleep timer that stops playback when you drift off. A privacy stack (incognito-by-default for sensitive domains, Face ID lock) that doesn't exist anywhere in YouTube's product.
And the core is free. The free version shows one brief ad when you launch the app. talavo Pro, $9.99 a year, removes it and adds Split Screen, Corner Player and Zen+. Even with Pro, you'd need to use talavo for about 17 years to spend what 1 year of YT Premium costs.
Who should switch?
You should try talavo if any of these apply:
- You only use YouTube for the videos themselves, not the Shorts feed
- You also want ads gone on Reddit, X, and the rest of the web
- You don't pay for YouTube Premium and don't want to start
- You'd rather not give Google your money or your watch history
You should stick with YT Premium if you specifically need offline downloads or YT Music's library.
FAQ
Does talavo work alongside YouTube Premium?
Yes. If you have Premium and want to keep it for downloads, talavo doesn't interfere, it just gives you ad blocking on every other site plus Shorts/comments hiding for free.
Will YouTube ban my account for using talavo?
No. talavo blocks ads through Apple's native content-blocker APIs at the browser level. YouTube can't see what's blocked on your end and has no way to flag your account.
Can I have YT Music streaming inside talavo?
If you're a Premium subscriber, yes, talavo plays music.youtube.com with PiP and background audio. The streaming library you've subscribed to works as expected; only the YT app's offline downloads don't transfer.
Try the free side first.
Cancelable in 30 seconds. Or just use it forever for free.