YouTube Upgrades $7.99 Premium Lite Plan With Great New Features

Google expanded YouTube Premium Lite from its limited pilot program to the United States back in March of 2025, and just under a year later, it has received two additional features that make it an effective alternative to YouTube Premium for users not interested in Shorts or Music.

While YouTube Premium Lite still does not offer ad-free music or music videos, or have features like Jump ahead, Queueing, or Continue Watching, which are still reserved for Premium, it offer core YouTube videos without advertisements. With this latest upgrade, it also offers video downloads and background play. So, if you use an alternative like Spotify or Apple Music and don't care about Shorts, you can easily save the extra $6 you'd spend for full-blown YouTube Premium.

Based on how the Premium and Premium Lite are structured, it's clear that Google believes YouTube Music offers a lot of value ...