YouTube introduces affordable Premium Lite plan

YouTube has officially introduced a new plan called Premium Lite, which is the trimmed-down version of the regular Premium plan that previous reports were hinting at. Given that it's cheaper than the regular subscription, this plan offers fewer benefits.

One of the main differences is that the Premium Lite doesn't offer ad-free music, and this may just be a good thing for many users. Those who are already subscribed to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others don't really care about YouTube Music. This could eventually help YouTube get more Premium Lite subscribers.

Now, while there's no ad-free music, the cheaper subscription plan does allow users to watch gaming, news, fashion, and more videos without any ads. Here, YouTube notes that "most videos" will be ad-free, which means there could be some instances where Premium Lite users will need to watch ads.

Another big consideration is that the cheaper subscription plan doesn't allow watching videos in the background or the ability to download any of them. Given that there's no middle-of-the-road option available at the moment, users who need these missing features will need to opt for the expensive non-Lite Premium plan.

Speaking of which, the regular YouTube Premium costs $13.99 per month in the US, while the Lite plan will cost $7.99. That's a $6 savings each month and $72 a year. Given that some core features are missing, it's not clear whether users will find this $72 savings per year worth it or not.

As for the availability, YouTube Premium Lite is currently available as a "pilot" in the US. The company has shared that it will be expanded to more countries in the coming weeks, starting with Australia, Thailand, and Germany. Additional countries will be added to the list throughout this year.