YouTube has announced a significant expansion of features for its cheaper Premium Lite subscription. Subscribers paying $7.99 per month will gain the ability to download videos and play them in the background, two key features previously reserved for the more expensive Premium plan. The changes take effect without a price increase, which could change the value calculation for users considering a subscription.
New features in the cheaper subscription
Two long-awaited features have been added to YouTube Premium Lite: downloading videos for offline playback and background playback when the screen is off or switching to another app.
Price unchanged
The platform confirmed that the offer expansion will occur without raising the monthly fee, which is $7.99 in US dollars.
Differences compared to full Premium
The full Premium plan ($13.99/month) retains exclusivity by guaranteeing complete absence of ads and full access to YouTube Music Premium.
Global availability, but with limitations
The new features are being rolled out everywhere the Lite plan is available, but this subscription option itself is not offered in all countries.
YouTube has announced a significant expansion of functionality for its cheaper subscription called Premium Lite. From now on, subscribers paying $7.99 per month gain two key features: the ability to download videos for later playback without an internet connection and background video playback. The latter option allows listening to audio from a video when the phone screen is off or the user switches to another app. The company emphasized that the new features will be implemented without raising the subscription price. The online video subscription market has been shaped for over a decade. YouTube Premium, originally launched as YouTube Red in 2015, has always offered an ad-free package with additional benefits. In response to diversifying user needs and competitive pressure, platforms in recent years have been experimenting with tiered pricing models, introducing intermediate packages between free and full access. The new features are being rolled out globally where the Premium Lite service is available. It's important to note that the Lite service itself is not offered in all countries. Its key launch in the US market took place about a year ago. The company emphasizes that despite the feature expansion, the core promise of the Lite plan remains unchanged: it includes watching "most" videos without ads. This means ads may still appear in YouTube Music content and for specific videos whose creators or advertisers have different licensing agreements with the platform. „The company said the additions will roll out to the $7.99 per month Premium Lite subscription without a price increase.” — TechCrunch This strategic decision directly impacts the value of the full YouTube Premium plan, which costs $13.99 per month in the US. This plan loses some of its exclusivity but retains other significant benefits. These include a guarantee of complete absence of ads in all video content (as opposed to "most" in Lite) and full access to YouTube Music Premium, the music platform with offline and ad-free features. Experts see this move as an attempt to fight user retention in the face of high costs for the full package. Comparison of YouTube Subscription Plans in the US (Monthly Prices): Ad-free viewing (most content): Yes → Yes; Offline downloading: No → Yes; Background playback: No → Yes; Full access to YouTube Music Premium: No → No; Monthly price: $7.99 → $7.99 Price analysis shows that the difference between the Lite and Premium plans still amounts to $6 per month. For a user whose main goal is watching videos without ads and listening to them in the background, the Lite plan has now become significantly more attractive. YouTube's decision may be a response to competitive pressure from other streaming platforms, which are also experimenting with tiered models. It may also reflect data on user churn due to the high costs of full Premium.