I’ve been paying a monthly subscription for YouTube Premium for a few years now. For $13.99 a month, (up from $11.99 in 2023) it seemed worth it to me, since I enjoy watching videos on the 15-inch Echo Show in in my kitchen. I mainly watch news segments, tech reviews, recipes and late-night TV show monologues, short videos to keep me entertained while I’m cooking or working in the kitchen. Not having to endure those ads in the beginning, and sometimes in the middle of segments, has been totally worth it. But with streaming prices climbing across the board, I’ve been looking for ways to streamline my streaming budget.
Google just ended my search, announcing the US availability of its Premium Lite subscription plan for $7.99 a month. It’s designed for users who primarily watch traditional YouTube videos, getting rid of the annoying ads on content from creators in categories like gaming, tech, beauty, and news, even podcasts, across all your devices. YouTube Kids is included in the ad-free experience as well.
However, if you’re a Premium subscriber, be prepared to lose a few of the benefits. If you watch a lot of music videos and like to download YouTube content for offline playback (currently included in Premium) the Premium Lite version is not for you. Without Premium, music videos will still show ads, as will Shorts, search results, and homepage browsing. You’ll also lose the ability to play videos in the background while using other apps or when your screen is off, along with the option to download videos to watch when you’re offline.
Since I download TV shows and movies from Netflix and other streaming services when I travel, and we have a paid Spotify Family account, moving from Premium to Premium Lite is a no-brainer for me. I’m only losing out on features I never used in the first place and painlessly saving $6 a month. That’s a win!
If you’re looking to skip the ads on long-form YouTube content and either don’t care about listening to music or you use a separate music streaming service, Premium Lite is a smart, budget-friendly alternative to Premium. Plus, Google is offering a one-month free trial of Premium Lite to try it out.
As a Premium subscriber, I had to cancel my subscription before I could see the option for the Premium Lite version, And it’s a little tricky to find for new users, too.
On your desktop:
- Go to YouTube and log into your account.
- Scroll down the left nav until you see the option for YouTube Premium.
On your phone's YouTube app:
- Click on your profile picture at the bottom right of the screen.
- Select "Get YouTube Premium."
In both cases, YouTube will bring you to a page focused on YouTube Premium options. But keep scrolling down past the standard plan choices and you'll find the option to subscribe to Premium Lite. Enjoy your (relatively) ads-free and less expensive streaming!
[Image credit: Screenshot via Techlicious, mockup of phone via Canva]
