YouTube re-launches its Premium Lite plan

Not long ago, YouTube raised its premium subscription price across multiple regions. To many, this made the premium life just out of reach for them. To help out, YouTube is test-launching a cheaper less premium option: Premium Lite.

If it sounds familiar, that's okay—it’s not exactly new. The company first tested this feature in 2021 in select European countries but shut it down in 2023.

When it first launched, it was priced at €6.99 ($7.6) a month—about half the cost of a standard premium subscription, which was €11.99 ($13) a month at the time. With the lite subscription, users could enjoy videos ad-free but without most of the other perks that come with a premium subscription like background play and offline downloads.

The initial reason for its discontinuation is unknown, but now, the company has decided to reinstate it, although, still as a test in select countries (Australia, Germany, and Thailand).

This time, there will be a slight difference in the new rollout compared to the previous one. YouTube's premium lite subscription will now include "limited ads."

The company clarified that most videos will be ad-free; but, users may still encounter ads in music videos, YouTube Shorts, and non-interruptive ads during searches.

The implementation of a more affordable, less premium version of a subscription service has been circulating several streaming platforms for a while now. Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime have implemented similar packages in recent times, potentially allowing them to reach a broader audience while still generating revenue through ads.

We'll have to wait and see if this new tier helps boost YouTube's premium user base beyond its current 100 million subscriptions.