YouTube beefs up its $7.99/month Lite subscription with offline downloads and background play

YouTube is expanding its more affordable, $7.99 per month Premium Lite subscription service with new features, including the ability to download videos for offline access and watch videos in the background, even if the screen is off or you’re using other apps. These options were previously only available to customers on its full plan, which costs $13.99 per month. The company said the additions were the result of user feedback, as customers in its pilot program shared that they wanted these specific features to make the subscription more attractive. Launched last March, YouTube Premium Lite introduced a more modestly priced subscription tier that would remove ads from “most” videos on the platform, including those across popular verticals like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and more. However, ads would continue to be shown on music content and music videos. Plus, customers on the Lite plan won’t have access to the ad-free YouTube Music app. With the arrival of these new features, ad-free music content will now be the only reason to upgrade to the full Premium subscription. It will also likely make the Lite tier more attractive to customers who didn’t want to pay just for ad-free content but wanted other upgrades, as well. The Lite subscription tier was first introduced in Thailand, Germany, and Australia, before coming to the U.S. last year. It’s now available across a number of other global markets, including Canada, Brazil, the U.K., India, Mexio and other parts of Europe and Asia. YouTube’s subscription business has been steadily growing. Combined with ads, YouTube’s overall revenue reached $60 billion in 2025, according to information shared by parent company Alphabet earlier this month during Q4 earnings. The company also reported that YouTube’s ad revenue increased 9% to $11.38 billion in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the “subscriptions, platforms and devices” group’s revenue increased 17% to $13.6 billion in Q4, which the company attributed to strong growth in YouTube subscriptions, particularly YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. Techcrunch event Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately.Offer ends March 13. Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediatelyOffer ends March 13. Boston, MA | June 9, 2026 REGISTER NOW Alphabet reported more than 125 million YouTube Music and YouTube Premium users worldwide in March 2025. The company didn’t share an updated metric during its Q4 earnings earlier this month, but said that it now has more than 325 million paid subscriptions across consumer services, including YouTube Premium and others, like Google One. Topics Apps, Apps, Google, media, Media & Entertainment, YouTube, YouTube Premium Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software. You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.

View Bio October 13-15 San Francisco, CA Save up to $680 on your pass before February 27.Meet investors. Discover your next portfolio company. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what’s next. Don’t miss these one-time savings. REGISTER NOW Most Popular Bill Gurley says that right now, the worst thing you can do for your career is play it safe Connie Loizos The 9,000-pound monster I don’t want to give back Connie Loizos Sam Altman would like to remind you that humans use a lot of energy, too Anthony Ha Google VP warns that two types of AI startups may not survive Rebecca Bellan Great news for xAI: Grok is now pretty good at answering questions about Baldur’s Gate Russell Brandom FBI says ATM ‘jackpotting’ attacks are on the rise, and netting hackers millions in stolen cash Zack Whittaker A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky’s app Sarah Perez