India, a market often perceived as addicted to ‘free,’ is now at the centre of a global experiment. From OpenAI’s year-long complimentary access to ChatGPT Go for eligible Indian users to YouTube’s `89 Premium Lite plan or Airtel’s new data bundles offering Perplexity Pro, the world’s biggest digital platforms are quietly testing one question: Can a country raised on free internet be persuaded to pay, even a little, for premium digital experiences?
This paradox defines India’s place in the global digital economy. It is a country with one of the world’s largest internet populations. Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, ReBid, explains, “India is fast becoming the global test bed for ultra-affordable premium digital experiences because it represents a unique paradox: one of the world’s largest digital user bases with one of the lowest ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) globally. With over 850 million internet users and a projected 1.1 billion by 2030, platforms see India as a scale market where habit formation today can translate into massive monetisation tomorrow.”
He adds, “Global platforms have realised that India often leapfrogs behaviour, from SMS to WhatsApp, from TV to OTT, from search to AI-assisted discovery, making it ideal to test pricing, bundling and AI-first access. The logic is simple: crack India, and you can export the model globally.”
Why India, though? Why not another emerging market with similar demographics? The answer lies in India’s unique intersection of affordability, infrastructure, and behavioural adaptability. The country’s digital maturity, cheap data, seamless UPI payments, and telecom partnerships, allow platforms to conduct large-scale trials at minimal cost.
Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director and Chief Solutions Officer - South Asia, Kantar, notes, “India is a fascinating testing ground bed because it offers a unique combination of scale, diversity, and digital readiness that makes it ideal for experimentation. With over 900 million internet users and one of the world’s largest smartphone markets, India provides global platforms with unparalleled reach at low acquisition costs. This scale underpins the economics of freemium and discounted models.” She adds that India’s consumers are value-conscious yet aspirational, creating a market dynamic that rewards innovation in pricing and accessibility. “They will pay for premium if it feels worthwhile and elevates the experience,” she shares.
Recent commercial moves make that sandbox unmistakable. Bharti Airtel announced a partnership to offer Perplexity Pro, otherwise priced around `17,000 annually, free for 12 months to its user base, making the tool available to hundreds of millions of customers via the Airtel Thanks app. Around the same time, OpenAI introduced a limited-time promotion offering ChatGPT Go free for 12 months to eligible Indian users, while Google and Reliance launched 18-month Gemini Pro access for Jio subscribers, including 2 TB cloud storage.
Together, these partnerships underscore a shift: telcos are becoming distribution engines for premium AI services. Josh Woodward, VP, Google Labs & Gemini, says, “We announced a strategic partnership with Reliance Intelligence to bring Google’s AI Pro plan and the latest version of Google Gemini to Jio Unlimited 5G users at no extra cost for 18 months. This allows more people across India to access our most powerful AI models and experience world-class tools that can benefit everyday life.”
Airtel’s tie-up with Perplexity follows the same logic- democratising access to advanced tools for students, professionals, and creators who may never have paid for such services otherwise.
The larger question remains: can these users, accustomed to free internet, actually convert into paying subscribers?
Shikha Davessar, Executive Vice President at 22feet Tribal Worldwide, believes conversion depends less on cost and more on perceived value. “When something makes life easier, more personal, or more joyful, users see the worth and are willing to upgrade. The real potential lies in habit creation. Once tools or platforms become part of a user’s daily rhythm, the move from free to paid feels organic,” she says.
India’s OTT ecosystem already demonstrates this shift. According to the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2025, India has more than 148 million active paid subscriptions across streaming platforms. Can that behavioural template now extend to AI and productivity tools as well?
Abhinay Bhasin, Senior Vice President – Product and Technology at Dentsu, says India’s digital scale allows global companies to innovate faster and smarter. “India’s digital population is massive and growing, offering a rich scale at relatively low cost. The market is price-sensitive but digitally savvy. Free offers reduce friction and let users form habits. OTT data shows paid subscriptions are rising, indicating a willingness to pay once utility is proven,” he explains.
Bhasin emphasises that sustainability lies in calibrated monetisation. “Start with ultra-low or free entry, then offer upsell options, ad-supported tiers, and premium features. Gradually adjust pricing once behaviour and dependence set in. The heavy investment today is about seeding habits; profitability follows when that scale converts into diversified revenue streams,” he adds.
Mukesh Kumar, Associate Partner at Redseer, points out another layer: AI platforms aren’t just seeking monetisation, they’re seeking data depth. “It’s about companies training their models on a large user base, user interactions, and behavioural patterns,” he says. “India offers exactly that scale. The lowest subscription price for AI models is still higher than for video or music platforms, but conversion could be higher here because AI tools directly help users research, ideate, upskill, and code.”
He adds, “We have seen enough evidence that complimentary access converts a portion of users to paid subscribers. For high-frequency users, the likelihood of contributing to sustainable revenue is strong once the affordable trial period is over.”
Still, the model is not without risk. The “free” phase must be managed so that it seeds dependency without permanently devaluing the premium tier. Dingra cautions, “Sustainability will depend on operational efficiency and upsell paths. ‘Free forever’ is not viable, but freemium with intelligent lock-ins like faster performance, AI credits, or ecosystem integration can build a profitable subscription base over time.”
Shikha echoes this, noting that Indian consumers are value-obsessed, not price-obsessed. “Indian users understand value exchange. They are okay sharing data or loyalty if they feel they’re getting something worthwhile in return. Real sustainability won’t come from chasing subscriber counts but from building ecosystems where premium feels like effortless convenience and genuine value.”
YouTube’s Premium Lite model mirrors that balance. A YouTube spokesperson said, “The introduction of YouTube Premium Lite in India underscores our commitment to offering flexible options that cater to diverse viewer preferences, allowing users to enjoy their favorite content with fewer interruptions. We’ve been testing Premium Lite to make sure we have the right balance of features and benefits for those viewers who want to watch most videos ad-free.”
According to Reliance Industries’ Annual Report 2017 and RIL disclosures (2024), Jio’s 2016 subsidised launch helped it acquire 100 million subscribers in 170 days, with later OTT bundling driving nearly a 30 percent rise in per-capita usage. As Abhinay Bhasin (Dentsu) observes, “The subsidise-now, monetise-later playbook worked for Jio, it can work again. The key is patience. The transition from free to paid must feel natural, not forced.”
If this grand experiment succeeds, its implications will stretch far beyond India. Platforms will have learned how to seed habits, tier features, and design upsell funnels for billions of users across emerging markets. If it fails, it will expose the limits of freemium psychology when the premium product doesn’t deliver consistent, differentiated value.
As Soumya summarises, “Indians don’t mind paying when they see the worth. Value for money does not mean cheap; it means fair. Free trials create curiosity, but habit formation needs relevance, personalisation, and continuous innovation. If platforms crack that, India won’t just be a test market, it will be a blueprint for subscription economics globally.”
The experiment is unfolding on millions of phones right now. The question is not whether platforms will keep giving away access; it’s whether those giveaways will teach a generation to pay for digital tools as a matter of habit. If they do, the blueprint that started in India will be exported widely. If they do not, the era of ‘free’ will remain very much alive.
