- YouTube Premium Lite is now available in the US, priced at $7.99/month.
- This cheaper plan offers ad-free videos for creator-made content.
- It doesn't include other YouTube Premium features like YouTube Music, background play, and offline videos.
Just a couple of weeks back, we reported that YouTube could be bringing a Premium lite tier to the US. The plan has been in the works for a while, ever since the pilot testing started years back in Europe. Now the video-sharing platform is finally expanding the pilot program for the cheaper premium service to North America.
YouTube recently shared an official blog talking about the new Premium Lite tier. “Premium Lite gives viewers a new, more affordable way to enjoy most videos on YouTube ad-free for $7.99 per month“. The new subscription is almost half the price of the regular YouTube Premium, which costs $13.99 per month.
However, YouTube Premium Lite only offers ad-free videos for creator-made content. From cooking videos to fashion, gaming, and everything between is free of ads with YouTube Premium. That said, YouTube’s promotional banner mentions “most videos ad-free” meaning you may still get ads in certain content.
Additionally, you don’t get access to YouTube Music or other features like offline downloads and background plays. YouTube Chief Product Officer Johanna Voolich stated in the release notes video:
“When we talked to our users, what we found is there are a whole swath of people who want an ad-free, uninterrupted streaming service, but they don’t necessarily want a music service.”
This is the reason for the feature reduction in Premium Lite. They also announced that YouTube Premium Lite will be available in other pilot countries such as Thailand, Germany, and Australia. In essence, the new plan is just for die-hard YouTube fans like me, who only want to enjoy their creators’ content without any annoyance.
It’s something I have been wanting YouTube to come out with for a long time, since I already have Spotify for my music needs. If the pilot is successful, the company will further expand the rollout of YouTube Premium Lite in more regions, and hopefully India soon enough. What do you think about the new Premium Lite plan on YouTube? Is it something you’ll switch to instead of the standard Premium plan? Let us know in the comments.
