Side by side
| Cheap (Starter) | Non-drop (Stable) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for 1,000 today | ₹1.45 | ₹5,299 |
| Refill | None | lifetime refill on the best option |
| Speed | 10K/day | 500/day |
| Drops | More common | Less common, refilled in window |
What "drop" means
YouTube regularly removes accounts and subscriptions it considers spam. Any purchased subscriber can be affected. Cheap options generally use accounts that get removed more often; non-drop options use more durable ones and promise to top up losses inside the refill window.
Choose cheap when
- You need the number for a short time — a pitch this week, a test.
- You're fine absorbing a drop of some percentage.
- Budget is the main constraint.
Choose non-drop when
- The count needs to hold — a business channel, a creator heading for 1,000.
- You don't want to watch the counter every week.
- You'd rather pay once than reorder.
Our default
We preselect non-drop on subscriber pages because most buyers are more annoyed by drops than by a slightly higher price. For the full refill mechanics, see refill and delivery.
Worked example: a pitch next week
A Gurgaon fitness trainer is pitching a supplement brand on Friday. Her channel has 820 subscribers; the brand wants creators above 1,000. She orders 300 on the cheapest option at ₹1. If some drop after the meeting, she's fine with that — the channel will grow past 1,000 with her real uploads in a couple of months anyway.
Worked example: a coaching institute
A Kota institute builds a channel that parents check before admissions. A drop from 2,400 to 2,100 halfway through admission season would be noticed and questioned. They order refill-backed subscribers at ₹5,299 for 1,000 and press Refill on their order page if the count falls inside the window.
Questions to decide
- How long does the number need to hold? Days — cheap. Months — non-drop.
- Who will notice a drop? If clients, parents or sponsors watch the count, pay for refill.
- How much is your time worth? Reordering after drops takes effort and money; refills are a button.
Total cost over time
Cheap looks cheaper on day one. But if 20% drops over a month and you reorder to cover it, the real cost per subscriber that stays can end up close to non-drop pricing — with more hassle. For anything you want to last, refill-backed usually works out better value.