YouTube Premium Lite is bringing cheaper ad-free videos to the US, but there’s a catch

As much as I — and many others — might like their YouTube Premium subscription, there’s no doubt in my mind that, for millions of YouTube users, that $13.99 monthly subscription is simply too expensive. Sure, it includes YouTube Music, which could eliminate Spotify from your credit card bill, but if you’re just looking for an ad-free video experience, it’s a lot to ask. After years of requests and trials, Google is finally bringing a cheaper, more limited version of YouTube Premium stateside, and it sounds pretty promising on paper.

YouTube Premium Lite is the official name of this new service, offering ad-free video playback from everyone on your subscription list outside of the world of music for $7.99 per month (via The Verge). YouTube’s partnership with the recording industry has long been the explanation behind why a Premium plan decoupled from YouTube Music couldn’t be offered, but with artist uploads and music videos now excluded from this list, you can finally watch Mr. Beast without pre-roll ads (that’s what the kids are watching these days, right?). Ads will also appear on Shorts and within search results.

YouTube Premium Lite is what you’ve been asking for

But it might not be enough

Before you get too excited though, YouTube Premium Lite isn’t just missing its music library. Google has kept other Premium features, including background play and video downloads for offline playback, behind the $14 per month subscription. It’s unclear if some of the other Premium perks, like optional advanced controls and experimental features, will also be included in this plan, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Overall, it sounds like Premium Lite really is just a way to remove ads from most of your subscriptions, which could be all some people were hoping for. Considering YouTube has grown pretty hostile towards any user relying on ad blockers over the past year — not to mention its attitude towards unofficial mobile clients — some might see this as a worthy price to stop messing with workarounds or sitting through dozens of ads. That said, I wouldn’t blame anyone who felt like Premium Lite could’ve included a little bit more to earn their $8 per month.

If you’re interested, YouTube Premium Lite will be rolling out to users within the United States. This new version is also coming to Thailand, Germany, and Australia, where the original Premium Lite pilot program began. And if you’re worried this music-less plan means big changes coming for YouTube, rest assured the company remains committed to its streaming service. As 9to5Google spotted, today’s announcement came with an additional blog post celebrating 125 million Music/Premium subscribers around the globe, all while planning to make music videos an even bigger piece of the YouTube pie.