If you’ve ever wanted an ad-free YouTube experience without paying for YouTube Music, Google might finally have the solution. Reports suggest that YouTube Premium Lite is making a comeback, and this time, it could launch in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand. This would give users a cheaper way to remove ads from most videos without paying for the full Premium plan.
Google first tested YouTube Premium Lite in Europe in 2021, offering ad-free viewing at a lower price. However, in 2023, they quietly shut it down. Now, according to Bloomberg, Google is bringing it back, and it’s expected to cost around half of the current $13.99 YouTube Premium price. While official pricing isn’t confirmed, previous tests in Australia placed it at $8.99 AUD per month, which was nearly half the cost of the full Premium plan there.
What Do You Get with YouTube Premium Lite?
- Ad-free videos, but with some exceptions. Ads will still appear on music videos, search, and discovery pages.
- No background play, offline downloads, or YouTube Music access—it’s purely for those who want to watch regular YouTube videos without interruptions.
For many users, this is exactly what they’ve been waiting for. YouTube Premium has always been bundled with YouTube Music, but not everyone wants both. Some users already subscribe to other music services like Spotify and only care about skipping ads on YouTube. With Lite, they get that at a lower price, making it a more practical option for casual viewers.
Why Is YouTube Bringing It Back?
YouTube’s decision to reintroduce Premium Lite makes sense from both a business and user perspective. The platform relies heavily on ad revenue, but many users find them intrusive. A cheaper ad-free subscription could attract more paying users, even if some downgrade from the full Premium plan. This shift could also benefit creators, as they may earn more from subscriptions rather than relying solely on ad revenue. In the long run, this could make YouTube’s business more stable.
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At the same time, YouTube has been aggressively cracking down on ad blockers. The company has warned users that continued use of ad-blocking software could lead to restricted video playback or buffering issues. Additionally, YouTube has experimented with server-side ad insertion, embedding ads directly into video streams to make them unblockable. These measures are aimed at protecting YouTube’s ad-driven revenue model and ensuring creators are fairly compensated.
By launching a lower-cost Premium Lite option, YouTube is likely trying to convert ad-blocker users into paying subscribers while maintaining its ad-supported ecosystem.
The Big Questions
Of course, there are still some uncertainties:
- Will YouTube Lite expand to more countries after this initial rollout?
- Will it stick around this time, unlike the previous test?
- Will the price be low enough to convince users to subscribe instead of using ad blockers?
If Google gets it right, this could be a win-win for both YouTube and its users. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see when it officially launches and how much it costs.
