The Paramount+ video streaming service will introduce an ad-supported plan on 7 June 2021 that costs half the price of its premium plan.

Priced at $5 per month, the so-called "Essential" plan will offer ads and less content. The $10 premium plan features both local and national news coverage via CBSN and CBS live, but the Essential plan will only offer national news via CBSN. The $10 premium plan also has more sports coverage, plus support for offline downloads. But both plans have "tens of thousands of TV episodes and movies", including originals.

Keep in mind subscribers of the $10 premium tier do see some ads, but they're limited to live TV programming and a handful of series. Speaking of live TV, the $5 Essential plan will not provide access to your local live CBS channel. If you're getting confused, we don't blame you. Luckily, Paramount+ details all the nuisances and differences of its plans on this FAQ page.

Read more: HBO Max launches its cheaper $10 ad-supported plan

One more thing to note: The $5 tier is designed to replace an older $6 tier that was kept in place when ViacomCBS rebranded CBS All Access to Paramount+ last spring. It kicked things off with the premium plan for $10 per month and it had a limited commercial plan for $6 per month.

If you're currently on the $6 plan, you can continue to use it if you choose. But, if you go to the new $5 Essential plan, you can't switch back.