YouTube Tests New Premium Lite Plan with Fewer Ads at Half the Price

YouTube, the world’s leading video streaming platform, is testing a new “Premium Lite” subscription an option that offers fewer ads at a significantly reduced price. The new tier is designed to offer a cheaper option for YouTube Premium, which currently costs $16.99 per month if users are willing to put up with the regular advertisements and missing features.

More About the YouTube Premium Lite Plan

As reported by a user called Jonahmanzano on Threads, the Premium Lite subscription costs $8.99 per month — effectively 50 percent off the original price. Nothing has been confirmed regarding this being an annual subscription, however.

As of now, there is no news on when or whether Premium Lite will be launched in India. In India, the standard premium plan is for ₹149 per month however, Premium Lite could be priced at around ₹75. The news subscription follows a more recent price hike for YouTube’s full Premium offering. The “Premium Lite” is where consumers can access fewer ads when compared to their regular free version yet not entirely ad-free. According to reports from The Verge, the streaming platform is testing this subscription tier in select countries such as Germany, Thailand, and Australia.

The official comparison chart suggests that Premium Lite will be focused on delivering an ad-free experience on videos. But you are likely to see some ads when it comes to music streaming and short videos. The Lite version, however, will not have some of the perks that come with a full Premium subscription like ad-free access to YouTube Music and offline downloads or background play.

In 2021, the streaming platform first announced the Premium Lite subscription, running a test period in parts of Europe but ultimately scrapping the tier before ever giving it an official launch. This test phase suggests that the streaming platform is testing out ways to address users who are finding more ads annoying due to limited access without the full Premium package.

FAQs