YouTube is expanding its subscription offerings to add Premium Lite, a new option that will allow subscribers to watch most videos ad-free. The company announced this latest development in a Wednesday blog post.
The plan will cost $7.99 a month, making it over 40% cheaper than YouTube’s Premium tier. Though most videos will appear ad-free, subscribers to the offering may see ads on music content, Shorts and when they search and browse. However, a largely ad-free experience is all that Premium Lite offers: the option doesn’t allow subscribers to access music and music content ad-free, download videos or use background play — a feature where users can continue playing videos on their phone even when a YouTube video isn’t open.
This update comes as YouTube has been piloting its Premium Lite plan in various countries. The company also plans to introduce the subscription to other pilot countries later this year, including Thailand, Germany and Australia.
YouTube’s subscription business is a big one. Currently, YouTube Music and Premium reaches over 125 million subscribers globally, a number that includes trials. With the introduction of this new tier, YouTube is once again making itself more competitive in the modern streaming landscape.
Other major streamers, such as Netflix, Max and Disney+, all have lower level pricing tiers. The difference between them and YouTube is that the basic tiers for those streamers allow subscribers to watch their content with ads whereas the free-to-use YouTube limits ads.
But, when it comes to YouTube, advertising will always be bigger than subscriptions. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company’s ad revenue hit $10.47 billion, a 13.8% year-over-year increase compared to 2023.
