Google Pixel Pass: What is it and is it worth your money?

Pixel Pass is Google’s answer to Apple One. It was announced alongside the Pixel 6 series and includes Google’s high-end phone as well as several services for one monthly price. The savings are quite significant, but that doesn’t mean Pixel Pass is something we recommend to everyone.

Our thoughts: Google Pixel 6 Pro review | Google Pixel 6 review

Google’s Pixel Pass is an attempt by the company to sell you more of its services and keep you within its ecosystem of products and apps. We’ll take a closer look at it in this post to figure out who exactly is it for and who should stay clear of it. Let’s dive in.

What does Pixel Pass include?

Alongside the new Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel Pass includes the following four services:

• YouTube Premium subscription
• Google One subscription (200GB of storage)
• Google Play Pass subscription
• Google Preferred Care service

A YouTube Premium ($11.9 per month) subscription gets rid of those annoying ads on YouTube and also supports background play, meaning that the video will continue playing when you turn off the display of your phone or open up a new app. The subscription also gives you access to YouTube Music Premium and lets you download videos for offline use.

Google One ($2.99 per month) is the company’s cloud storage service that adds additional space to your Google account. The tech giant offers its customers 15GB of free storage that’s shared between Gmail, Drive, and Photos. You’ll have to pay up to get more, which is where Google One comes into play.

Pixel Pass includes a subscription to Google One’s Standard plan that adds an additional 200GB of storage to your account. It’s a great choice for those who take loads of pictures, record lots of videos, or have a bunch of files in Google Drive.

Read next: Everything you need to know about Google One

Next up is Google’s Play Pass ($4.99 per month) subscription that’s aimed at gamers. It includes access to hundreds of games and apps without ads or in-app purchases. It’s sort of like Netflix but for mobile games.

The last service Pixel Pass includes is Google’s Preferred Care ($7/$9 per month) that’s designed to give you peace of mind. It covers accidental damages to your device including drops, liquid spills, and cracks. It’s basically like an insurance policy for your Pixel device.

How much does it cost and how much do I save?

Pixel Pass starts at $45 per month for the base Pixel 6 and $55 per month for the base Pro model. That means you’ll pay $1,080 over the course of two years for the Pixel 6 and $1,320 for the Pixel 6 Pro. For reference, the Pixel 6 starts at $599, while the Pro model starts at $899.

Let’s break down these numbers to see exactly how much you save over the course of two years by first looking at how much the extra services included cost.

• YouTube Premium — $11.99 per month ($287.76 over two years)
• Google One Basic plan — $2.99 per month ($71.76 over two years)
• Google Play Pass — $4.99 per month ($119.76 over two years)
• Preferred Care service — $7 for Pixel 6 and $9 for Pixel 6 Pro per month ($168/$216 over two years)

These four services would run you exactly $647.28 for the Pixel 6 and $695.28 for the Pixel 6 Pro over two years if you signed up for each one individually. If you add those amounts to the starting prices of Google’s new flagship phones, you’d pay $1,594.28 for the Pro model and $1,246.28 for its smaller brother.

If we crunch the numbers, Pixel Pass saves Pixel 6 buyers exactly $166.28 over 24 months while those who get the Pro model save $274.28 over the same time period. That’s quite the deal, at least on paper, but keep in mind that this calculation is valid for the base versions of the phones.

You save an additional $10 over two years if you opt for the 256GB variant of either of the two Pixel phones, as you’ll have to pay an extra $3.75 for Pixel Pass. The 512GB variant of the Pro model saves you an additional $10 on top and will set you back $7.5 extra per month.

Is Pixel Pass worth it?

It depends, but I’d say that Pixel Pass is not worth it for most consumers. That’s because I think most people don’t need all of Google’s services that Pixel Pass includes.

Take me, for example. I’m thinking of getting the Pixel 6 and am already subscribed to YouTube Premium. I am also thinking of signing up for the cheapest Google One plan that comes in at $1.99 per month, but I have no use for the company’s Preferred Care service or the Game Pass subscription. With that in mind, I’d actually be losing money instead of saving it if I’d signed up for Pixel Pass.

That’s just my situation. For those who are already subscribed to the four Google services mentioned and want to get the latest Pixel, Pixel Pass is definitely worth it. Based on my calculations, it’s also worth it if you only see yourself using three of the mentioned services — YouTube Premium, Preferred Care, and either Google One or Play Pass. You’ll still be saving money in this case, just not nearly as much.

Also consider the fact that you can get the Pixel 6 series at a discount at other retailers. For example, the Pixel 6 is $100 off on Amazon, while the savings for the Pro model stand at $250 at the moment. 

Another thing to take into account is that you can get $5 off your monthly bill if you sign up for a Google Fi plan.

If you do decide to sign up for Pixel Pass, make sure you really think about which of the included services you actually want to use and which one you don’t, so you won’t be paying for something you don’t need.

Pixel Pass-related FAQs