Tech Desk 
Mar 05, 2025
YouTube has expanded its pilot of a new "Premium Lite" subscription plan to the United States (US) today. Priced at $7.99 per month compared to the $13.99 charge for regular YouTube Premium, the cheaper tier provides “most” videos without ads — including “gaming, fashion, beauty, news, and more.”
Meanwhile, for ad-free music videos, you’ll still be required to step up to the standard Premium plan, which also provides you offline downloads and background playback.
Its claimed that "Premium Lite" is just about removing ads from your YouTube experience. In a blog post, YouTube stated: "In the coming weeks, we’ll also make Premium Lite available to all users in our current pilot countries — Thailand, Germany, and Australia.”
Moreover, the company noted that YouTube Music and Premium reach over 125 million subscribers globally (when you include trial users). "Premium Lite" will expand to additional countries later this year.
YouTube has been testing the plan off and on in select markets for several years now, with the earliest reports dating back to 2021.
In more recent tests, the company explained that subscribers may still view “non-interruptive ads when you search and browse” in addition to the video ads attached to music and shorts.
