YouTube Launches Premium Lite Plan With Ad-Free Streaming of ‘Most’ Videos, No YouTube Music Subscription

YouTube on Wednesday (March 5) announced the launch of a new subscription plan which becomes the most affordable way to watch ad-free content on the video-streaming platform. Dubbed Premium Lite, its pilot has commenced which offers ad-free streaming of “most videos” on YouTube and is priced at $7.99 (roughly Rs. 695) per month. Currently limited to the US, YouTube says it will also be expanded to more regions over the coming weeks.

YouTube Premium Lite

The lower price tag only means that it must've cut back on some features compared to the standard YouTube Premium plan, and that it does. Although it offers ad-free streaming of YouTube videos, the Alphabet-owned platform does not bundle YouTube Music along with it, which means no streaming of ad-free music and music videos. While they can still listen to tracks with ads on the app, they do not have access to features such as background play and music downloads for offline listening, as per YouTube.

YouTube emphasises that its new Premium Lite plan will offer ad-free streaming of “most” videos. However, that does not mean that you won't see ads at all. The platform states that ads may still be visible on music content and Shorts, and as users search and browse content.

The Premium Lite plan has been introduced as a pilot in the US and will soon be expanded to Australia, Germany, and Thailand over the coming weeks. Information about the launch of a new affordable YouTube Premium subscription was first reported last month. Notably, YouTube's ad-free tier starts at $13.99 (roughly Rs. 1,200) per month in the US.

As per the company, YouTube is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and has amassed a total of 125 million subscribers, including trials. The expansion of YouTube Premium with the new plan is just one of the ways the platform aims to offer a variety of ways for users to consume content.