I watch YouTube from my TV, and my Pihole can't block the ads. So I splurged for premium (which costs about $5/month where I'm at) and would do it again in a heartbeat. Way better experience.
Oh man. I would think twice if my cost was that high.
I do believe good creators should be compensated so I think of this subscription as the alternative to letting the advertisers pay them to get in front of me. I think ad blockers result in the creator not getting the ad revenue, right?