Last month, YouTube Premium suffered another price increase. While U.S. customers were seemingly fine, subscribers in other regions saw their monthly fees increase by as much as 50%. However, the move will be about as popular as dental surgery without anesthesia, but in the process may see the return of the lower-priced YouTube Premium Lite.
Premium Lite first debuted in Europe in 2021 and cost €7 per month, €5 less per month than the then-regular €12 YouTube Premium. The service was ad-free but lacked other features such as background playback and offline downloads. Unfortunately, in classic Google style, Premium Lite was only in the testing phase and officially ended last year.
However, there now appears to be a possibility of a revival. Google confirmed to Android Authority that it is testing “another version” of YouTube Premium Lite in Australia, Germany, and Thailand. The company has not specified whether or how things might have changed, but the description suggests that this will not really be an ad-free experience, noting seeing “limited ads.”
Frankly, this news is a bit disappointing. While the lack of extra perks is always disappointing, the main appeal of YouTube Premium is the elimination of ads. However, it is currently unclear to what extent the number of ads will be “limited,” and Google has not elaborated further on that point.
It is unclear how widespread this test is and whether it may expand to other regions in the near future; according to one post on Threads, the Australian version of Premium Lite is set at A$11.99 per month, which is less than the current YouTube Premium Lite at A$11.99/month, which is half the current A$23/month for YouTube Premium.
However, there are also reports that a price of AU$9 may also be available, and there will be a €6/month plan for German users. However, these prices first appeared in August before the recent price increase, so it is likely that YouTube raised the Premium Lite price accordingly.
We will have to wait and see how this plays out and whether the new test expands to other areas in the near future. But until such official news is announced by Google, we should not expect too much.
Comments