Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

YouTube's More Affordable Premium Lite Plan Gets New Perks

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster


YouTube today updated its Premium Lite subscription plan with new features, including background play and downloads. Subscribers will be able to watch most videos ad-free offline and in the background.

General-YouTube-Feature-Redux.jpg

Prior to now, downloads and background play were features that were limited to the more expensive Premium plan. YouTube Premium Lite is priced at $7.99 per month in the U.S., while YouTube Premium is priced at $13.99 per month.

YouTube Premium Lite removes ads from most, but not all videos, and it does not include ad-free access to the YouTube Music app. Most non-music content is ad-free with YouTube Premium Lite, though Shorts still have ads.

YouTube Premium removes ads from all videos, including music content, plus it has extra features like jump ahead, queuing, and continue watching.

YouTube says that background play and downloads are rolling out to Premium Lite subscribers starting today, but it may take a few weeks for everyone to get access to the new features.

Article Link: YouTube's More Affordable Premium Lite Plan Gets New Perks
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/24/youtube-lite-plan-upgrade/
  • Haha
Reactions: Z-4195
Still paying $8 for the full YT Premium from an old grandfathered Google Play Music All Access subscription, but I'd still pay double or even triple that price.

Also helps to know that YouTube pays creators a higher percentage of ad (or in this case subscription) revenue than any other major social media or video service so a big chunk of that $ I pay each month goes to the people who make the videos I watch.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Jovijoker, aquaticflow, rickdollar and 3 others
Alternatively uBlock Origin or any of the other ad blockers exist. You don’t get downloads or background play without a different extension or jumping through a few hoops, but the most annoying part which is the ad interruptions is immediately and freely gone.
 
  • Like
  • Love
  • Disagree
Reactions: StanleyOmar, Luap, fhall1 and 10 others
Rayansb said:
Probably the only subscription where I feel I'm getting the most value for my money is YouTube Premium. Nothing comes even close. I just hope we're not in the honeymoon phase and then they go for the kill like most subscription services do.
Click to expand...
Same thoughts here. Outside of Apple One, probably my most utilized subscription as well
 
Apple is planning to include Video in its podcast app. Maybe that is going to be free.
I think Google adding the Lite subscription in response.
 
Since YouTube insists on pushing AI Slop and content farm videos with their "algorithm" I will continue to get my YT Premium via an ad-blocking browser. I also use "JDownloader" for directly downloading YT videos and, interestingly, there's a bit of an arms race between the devs and YT where it'll go days without working until an update. FWIW, I wouldn't run JD on anything with critical or sensitive data - it's the kind of sketchy software that, prior to the 2000's, we often called "warez" (a portmanteau of "wares" and Juarez, Mexico).
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: CosmicRadiation, punkwood and HQuest
MacRumors said:
YouTube Premium removes ads from all videos, including music content, plus it has extra features like jump ahead, queuing, and continue watching.
Click to expand...
I don't use YT for music so Premium Lite is perfect for me. I have no complaints. I don't know what jump ahead, queuing, and continue watching are though. Don't you kind of get all those with free YT? Actually, don't tell me. I'm satisfied with Lite, so better to not know what I'm missing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jovijoker
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back