YouTube expands Premium Lite to include offline downloads, background playback

The Lite tier, priced at $7.99 per month in the United States, now allows subscribers to download videos for offline viewing and continue watching content while using other apps or when their device screen is switched off. The full YouTube Premium plan, which costs $13.99 per month, has traditionally included these features alongside ad-free access to YouTube Music.

Premium Lite continues to offer ad-free viewing for most videos on the platform. However, it does not cover music videos or other music-related content and does not include access to the ad-free YouTube Music app.

The company said the additional features would be “rolling out everywhere” Premium Lite is available over the coming weeks.

Premium Lite was first introduced in Thailand, Germany and Australia before launching in the United States last year. The tier is now available in several markets, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, and parts of Europe and Asia.

The update comes amid growth in YouTube’s subscription business. Parent company Alphabet reported that YouTube generated $60 billion in revenue last year, including advertising income. In March 2025, Alphabet said YouTube Music and YouTube Premium had surpassed 125 million users worldwide. The company has not provided an updated figure since its fourth-quarter earnings report but stated that it has more than 325 million paid subscriptions across its services, including YouTube Premium, YouTube Music and Google One.

The expansion of Premium Lite reflects YouTube’s broader efforts to strengthen its paid offerings as competition intensifies across the streaming sector.