Google is Discontinuing its YouTube Premium Lite Plan

Google is discontinuing the YouTube Premium Lite plan that the company launched in select European countries back in 2021. As reported by The Verge, subscribers to the €6.99/month plan are now receiving emails to warn them that YouTube Premium Lite will be retired at the end of next month.

“We’re writing to let you know that after 25 October 2023, we will no longer be offering your version of Premium Lite. While we understand that this may be disappointing news, we continue to work on different versions of Premium Lite as we incorporate feedback from our users, creators and partners,” the email reads.

YouTube Premium Lite provides an ad-free viewing experience on the platform at a more affordable €6.99/month. However, other features included in the regular YouTube Premium subscription are not included, such as YouTube Music Premium, background playback on mobile, and offline viewing.

Google launched YouTube Premium Lite as a small experiment in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Current subscribers in these countries will receive a one-month free trial for YouTube Premium, which is now priced at $13.99/month in the US. It used to cost $11.99/month until Google raised the price of individual plans in July.

If you really like YouTube and aren’t already paying for a music subscription service, YouTube Premium remains a good value thanks to the inclusion of YouTube Music Premium. And once you’re used to the ad-free experience, it’s actually quite hard to go back.