YouTube pilots Premium Lite in India; is access to ad-free music finally getting cheaper?

YouTube began piloting its Premium Lite subscription plan, priced at ₹89 per month, in India from Monday, offering ad-free viewing to users on most videos across phones, laptops, and TVs. Priced at the same rate as the platform’s student premium, the Premium Lite subscription is over 40% cheaper compared to the full Premium plan in India.

Users get ad-free viewing on most YouTube videos, including categories like gaming, fashion, beauty, and news, in the Premium Lite plan. However, music and similar viewing will continue to be interrupted by ads both on the video and audio app. This plan works across all major devices, including mobile, desktop, and smart TVs.

The Premium Lite does not offer YouTube Music Premium, ad-free Shorts, offline downloads, and background play. Ads will also appear during search or browsing.

The platform has over 125 million global Premium and Music subscribers, and this lower-priced tier aims to offer flexibility for cost-conscious users who primarily want an ad-free video experience, and create new revenue opportunities for creators and partners

For now, the service is being piloted in select regions of the country, with a full rollout expected by next month. In the U.S., the Premium Lite is priced around $7.99 per month (around ₹710). Introduced in March this year, the subscription plan is available in 22 countries.

Aside from the student plan, YouTube Premium is also available in Family and Two-person tiers. The Family plan, which supports up to five members, is priced at ₹299 per month, while the Two-person plan costs ₹219 per month. When broken down per user, the Family plan offers the best value at just ₹59.5 per member, followed by the student plan, and then the Two-person plan. In comparison, the Individual Premium plan is priced at ₹149 per month, making it costlier than Spotify’s ₹139 individual subscription.