Cheaper 'YouTube Premium Lite' Ad-Free Tier Reportedly Coming Soon

Google will imminently launch a new, more affordable YouTube "Premium Lite" tier in a bid to appeal to viewers who don't really watch music videos, Bloomberg reports.

General YouTube Feature Redux
The lower-priced version of YouTube's paid video subscription service will function largely without ads, though music videos on the platform will continue to include them for viewers on the Lite tier.

YouTube Premium is the service's existing $13.99-a-month plan in the US that lets subscribers watch everything on the service, including music videos, without ads.

"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," a YouTube spokesperson told Bloomberg. "We're hoping to expand this offering to even more users in the future with our partners' support."

The Verge reports that the Premium Lite plan has been tested in international markets for months. Now, it's set for a wider launch, including its debut in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand. The new tier will be announced soon, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The new follows YouTube's claim earlier this month that viewing figures for the platform on TV have now surpassed mobile and become the primary device for YouTube viewing in the United States.

Tag: YouTube

Popular Stories

Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
10 months ago
Loophole: VPN to countries like Albania and you won't be seeing any Ads since Google is not selling ad slots on YouTube there
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eggtastic Avatar
10 months ago
Bring back the thumbs down or is that too "offensive" to some sensitive people / parties?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carniesandrubes Avatar
10 months ago
Still on my $7.99 grandfathered plan from the Google Play Music All Access days.

But I'd still pay double that if I had to. It's that good.

Sure you can cobble together all kinds of third party hacks to get most of the same benefits (and constantly tweak them as Google makes changes to break them) but it's a documented fact that YouTube pays their creators a significantly higher percentage of their revenue compared to any other social media platform. So it's good to know the creators I watch get paid much more from my Premium payment than they would by me watching annoying ads.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0049190 Avatar
10 months ago
I’ve already got too many paid subscriptions. I’m certainly not going to add another one to watch YouTube.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stocklen Avatar
10 months ago
Youtube is beyond ridiculous with its ads nowadays.

You can sit down to watch a video and get ads before starting... then literally 60 seconds into the video you get more ads. This is NOT a pleasant viewing experience and a classic example of greed overtaking the end user satisfaction.

Whoever thought that serving so many ads was a good idea...? We all understand the need for ads but there comes a time when it ruins the experience.

Why, also, do that ads have a 'skip' necessitating you hovering over a button when they appear - the skip point should be the end - and if you don't reach a button in time you are then subjected to even more!

It's a bit like websites that have so many ads on screen the actual content is constantly leaping about all over the place and lost in the sea of ads. When 90% of the screen is adverting then something has gone wrong and you have lost sight of the whole reason the content exists. No good if people switch off because of the ads.

Back to the tiers... in the UK we don't have annual just monthly and it's expensive. The only thing I would be interested in paying for is potentially losing the ads and I don't need music content as I get that elsewhere.
I tried the free trial and it made YouTube much more pleasant experience but I don't want to pay for music too.

Hopefully the ad free tier is a lot cheaper and therefore potentially worth having.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maruyama Avatar
10 months ago
This is clearly aimed at people like me who would subscribe but already subscribe to Apple Music or Spotify and don’t want to pay for two music services due to the forced bundling of YouTube Music.

If I can finally just pay for an ad-free experience, no forced music bundle, and stop having to deal with YouTube ad blockers always breaking, they will have me as a customer.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)