Google Resurrects its YouTube Premium Lite Plan in Select Markets

Google has quietly started testing a new YouTube Premium Lite plan in select markets. The company confirmed to Engadget that the new plan was currently available for some users in Australia, Germany, and Thailand. It’s priced at $9 per month in Australia.

You may remember that last year, Google discontinued the previous version of YouTube Premium Lite that launched in select European countries back in 2021. This plan, which was priced at €6.99/month, only offered an ad-free experience on YouTube and none of the benefits included in a regular YouTube Premium subscription such as background playback on mobile, and offline viewing.

The new Lite plan that Google is now testing in just three markets only offer “limited ads” on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Google says that “most videos are ad-free, but you may see video ads on music content and Shorts, and non-interruptive ads when you search and browse.”

While we don’t know yet if Google could bring this new Lite plan to more markets, it could probably fill a gap in the current lineup. In the US, YouTube Premium is priced at $13.99/month and the family plan costs $22.99 /month. For people who’d like to see fewer ads on YouTube but don’t care about YouTube Music Premium or background listening on mobile, this new Lite tier may well be quite appealing.