New Delhi: YouTube has quietly rolled out a new subscription option in India and it is already starting to spark curiosity. Called Premium Lite, this plan is being pitched as a cheaper way for users to get an ad-free experience without paying for the full Premium bundle. At ₹89 a month, it sits well below the price of the standard Premium tier and is expected to be available across the country in the coming weeks.
The company has been testing this option since March in a few countries, including the United States, and India is now part of that expansion. The move comes as YouTube tries to grow its subscriber base in markets where cost is a key factor. In August last year, YouTube raised the prices of its regular Premium plans by as much as 58 percent, making this low-cost tier a timely addition.
What is YouTube Premium Lite
Premium Lite, priced at ₹89 per month, lets viewers watch most YouTube videos ad-free. That means content like gaming streams, comedy, cooking tutorials, and learning videos can be played without interruptions. The service works across devices including mobile phones, laptops, and TVs.
But there are limits. Ads will still appear on music videos, Shorts, and in YouTube Music. Users also do not get the ability to download videos for offline viewing or play them in the background. Those extras remain locked to the regular Premium plan.
As YouTube explained in its blogpost, “We’ve been testing Premium Lite to make sure we have the right balance of features and benefits for those viewers who want to watch most videos ad-free.”
How it compares with standard Premium
In India, the standard Premium plan starts at ₹149 for individuals, ₹89 for students, and ₹299 for families. Music Premium alone costs ₹119 per month for individuals. There is also a two-person Premium tier in pilot at ₹219.
These plans cover ad-free viewing on all videos, offline downloads, and background play. They also bundle YouTube Music without ads, which Premium Lite does not. For users who mainly watch long-form videos and do not care about music or downloads, the Lite plan could feel like enough.
Unlike full Premium, Lite does not include offline downloads or background play
Why India matters for YouTube
India has been one of YouTube’s biggest growth markets, both in viewership and subscriptions. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said earlier this year that YouTube and Music services together have more than 125 million subscribers globally. Overall, Alphabet now counts over 270 million paying subscribers across products.
By introducing Lite, YouTube is clearly aiming to convert more free users into paying customers at a lower entry price. For a country where ad-supported viewing still dominates, ₹89 a month may look like a small price to skip the ads on most videos. Whether it will push people to eventually upgrade to the full plan remains to be seen.