Google plans to reintroduce a more affordable YouTube Premium subscription that excludes YouTube Music, responding to user demand for a lower-cost option to remove advertisements from the video platform.

The upcoming YouTube Premium Lite tier, which has been testing in several international markets, including Germany and Australia, over the past year, is expected to cost approximately half the price of the standard subscription. 

In the U.S., where the full YouTube Premium currently costs $13.99 monthly, the Lite version could be priced between $7-$8, according to reports from Bloomberg.

Limited Features and Partial Ad Removal

The new subscription tier maintains ad-free viewing for most YouTube content but eliminates several features found in the standard Premium package. In addition to dropping YouTube Music access, the Lite plan will likely exclude background playback capability and offline downloads.

According to Ars Technica, users who tested the service have reported that the ad-free experience has limitations. While the majority of pre-roll video advertisements are removed, banner ads may still appear around videos. Music videos specifically may continue to display pre-roll advertisements, preserving the distinction between the Lite tier and the full Premium service.

“As part of our commitment to provide our users with more choice and flexibility, we’ve been testing a new YouTube Premium offering with most videos ad-free in several of our markets,” Google said in a statement. “We’re hoping to expand this offering to even more users in the future with our partners’ support.”

Response to Market Conditions

The move comes amid Google’s intensified efforts to increase streaming revenue while addressing user complaints about advertisement frequency. YouTube Premium Lite previously launched in European markets in 2021 at €6.99 (~$7.3) monthly before being discontinued in 2023.

The reintroduction appears strategically timed as Google confronts the growing user adoption of ad blockers. The company has actively discouraged ad blocker usage through various countermeasures, creating a challenging environment for viewers seeking ad-free experiences without paying for subscriptions.

Moreover, reports of unusually long, unskippable advertisements on YouTube recently emerged across social media platforms. Multiple users documented ad lengths ranging from nearly one hour to several hours.

Despite these challenges, YouTube continues to dominate video streaming in the U.S. During Google’s most recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted that Cloud and YouTube reached $110 billion in revenue for 2024, exceeding expectations by $10 billion.

The Premium Lite subscription is reportedly close to launching in the United States, Australia, Germany, and Thailand, though Google has not announced a specific timeline for the rollout. The company has not indicated plans to offer a standalone YouTube Music subscription, meaning the music service remains bundled with the full YouTube Premium tier.