YouTube Expands Low-Cost Premium Lite to India
YouTube is expanding its affordable “Premium Lite” subscription pilot to users in India as the Google-owned video giant aims to significantly boost its subscriber count in the country. The company announced the launch on September 29.
Cost and Features of Premium Lite
Priced at just ₹89 per month, Premium Lite is a budget-friendly option that allows viewers to watch ad-free videos across popular content categories like gaming, comedy, cooking, and learning.
However, the “Lite” tier comes with a few key limitations:
- Subscribers will still see ads on music content, music videos, and Shorts.
- The subscription does not include the ability to play videos in the background or download them for offline viewing.
This new tier is expected to become available nationwide in the coming weeks.
Why YouTube is Launching Premium Lite
YouTube initially introduced and began piloting Premium Lite in markets like the United States in March. The launch in India is part of YouTube’s broader strategy to diversify its offerings as subscription revenue becomes an increasingly vital driver of the platform’s growth.
This move follows other subscription experiments by the company. Moneycontrol reported in May that YouTube was also testing a new tier in India, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that allows users to share their Premium or Music Premium membership with one other household member.
During that pilot, the two-person YouTube Premium tier was offered at ₹219 per month, with Music Premium available at ₹149 per month.
YouTube’s Existing Subscription Landscape in India
YouTube already offers several subscription plans in India, though it recently hiked the prices of all its tiers in August 2024 by 12 to 58 percent:
- Standard YouTube Premium: Starts at ₹89 for students, ₹149 for individuals, and ₹299 for families.
- Music Premium: Starts at ₹59 for students, ₹119 for individuals, and ₹179 for families.
YouTube’s Global Subscription Success
Globally, YouTube has seen strong growth in its paid services. The platform announced in March that it had crossed 125 million subscribers across its Music and Premium offerings.
During an earnings call in April, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai noted that Alphabet as a whole has surpassed 270 million paid subscriptions, with YouTube and Google One being the primary contributors to this growth.
While Google typically only reports YouTube’s advertising sales, Pichai did disclose in October 2024 that YouTube’s total revenue had surpassed $50 billion over the preceding four quarters for the first time.
