Launched in 2015 with 30 million songs in its library, Apple Music has consistently evolved to become a popular choice for music lovers. Today, Apple Music is one of the top names in music streaming services, thanks to its vast library with 100 million songs, 30,000 curated playlists, and exclusive content. Apple Music goes beyond the Apple ecosystem to deliver a high-quality audio experience on Android and Windows devices as well. It offers several plans that cater to students, individuals, and families. Read on to know how much is Apple Music per month, what it offers, and how to get Apple Music for free.
How Much Is Apple Music Per Month?
Apple Music Individual plan starts at $10.99/month. You can choose from three Apple Music plans, including Student, Individual, and Family subscriptions. Below are the pricing for each of them.
Apple Music Individual Plan – $10.99/month
The most popular Individual plan for Apple Music starts at $10.99/month. Apple also offers a yearly plan that requires you to pay $109 upfront, which is a $23 discount. You may not find the option to choose the yearly plan once you sign up for the monthly plan.
Apple Music Student Plan – $5.99/month
Just like Spotify, Apple Music also offers a fantastic discount to students with a valid email address from a supported education institute. This Apple Music student discount brings the monthly payment down to $5.99, which is a pretty nice deal.
Apple Music Family Plan – $16.99/month
Apple Music also offers a Family membership that lets you add up to six individual accounts in a subscription that’s billed as $16.99 per month, regardless of how many accounts you add (max 6). It’s a great option if you are a family of music lovers. You can save up to $49 per month for six family members.
Apple One – Starts at $19.95/month
Besides dedicated Apple Music plans, you can also opt for the Apple One plan that bundles up to six different subscriptions for a lower monthly price. This includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple Arcade, News+ and Apple Fitness+. The individual Apple One plan starts at $19.95/month and includes Apple Music, Arcade, TV+, and 50GB of iCloud storage. Whereas, the Family plan starts at $25.95/month and lets you add up to five members, and gives you 200GB of iCloud storage. At $37.95/month, the Premium Plan throws Apple Fitness+, News+, and a whopping 3TB storage into the mix.
What Does Apple Music Subscription Offers?
No matter which subscription plan you choose, you can access the same catalog of ad-free content, exclusive releases, offline listening, Apple Music 1 radio station, and on-demand radio shows.
Here’s what you get with your Apple Music subscription:
- An ad-free library of 100 million songs and 30,000 curated playlists in lossless audio.
- Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.
- Apple Music Sing, a karaoke-like feature.
- Original shows, concerts, and on-demand radio stations hosted by artists.
- Access to Apple Music Classical app that features the largest classical catalog in the world.
- Ability to download 100,000 songs to your library and access it on any device for offline listening.
How to Get Apple Music Free Deals
You can get Apple Music for free when you sign up as a new user, buy a new Apple device, or purchase an eligible Beats product. Below are some of the best Apple Music free deals:
- If you’re a new subscriber, you can enjoy one month of free Apple Music. Once the trial period is over, Apple will charge you based on the selected plan.
- You can get 3 months of Apple Music for free when you buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, AirPods, HomePod, or Apple TV from Apple or an Apple-authorized reseller. This free Apple Music offer is also applicable to selected Beats headphones and speakers.
- Best Buy also offers free Apple Music for 3 months for both new and returning customers. To grab this deal, you must have a Best Buy account.
- Verizon customers with an eligible Verizon Unlimited Plan can enjoy a free Individual Apple Music membership for up to six months. After the promo, you’ll have to pay $10.99/month to keep using Apple’s music streaming services. If you don’t wish to continue, you can cancel your Apple Music subscription.
Apple Music vs Spotify vs YouTube Music vs Amazon Prime
Apple Music offers the best possible music streaming experience, thanks to lossless and Hi-Res support. You get access to a solid library of 100 million songs, 30,000 playlists, exclusive content, top-notch radio stations, and more. Here’s how Apple Music compares to Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, and other competitors:
| Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music | Amazon Prime | |
| Plans & Pricing (Monthly) | Student: $5.99 Individual: $10.99 Family: $16.99 | Student: $5.99 Individual: $11.99 Duo: $16.99 Family: $19.99 | Free tier Student: $5.49 Individual: $10.99 Family: $16.99 | Free tier Prime customers $9.99 or $99/year Non-Prime: $10.99 Family plan: $14.9/mo or $149/year |
| Supported Formats | AIFF, MP3, WAV, HE-AAC, Apple Lossless | MP3, M4A, and WAV | FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, and WMA | Lossless HD and UHD |
| Streaming limits | Student/ Individual: 1 device Family: up to 6 devices | Student/ Individual: 1 device Duo: 2 devices Family: up to 6 devices | Free/Student/ Individual: 1 device Family: up to 5 devices | Individual: 1 device Family: up to 6 devices |
| Max streaming quality | 256 kbps, 24-bit/192 kHz | 320 kbps | 256 kbps | 3,730 kbps, 24-bit/192 kHz |
| Offline Listening support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ads-free content | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iOS Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Trial | 1 month 3 months with a new Apple device | 2 months | 1 month | Prime: 1 month Unlimited: 3 months |
That’s how Apple Music compares to its competition. Now that you know Apple Music plans and pricing, you can go ahead and pick the one that best suits you. Also, if you’re planning to buy a new Apple product, you can enjoy Apple Music for free for up to 3 months.
The cheapest way to get Apple Music is to use its free trials and deals. New subscribers can get 1 month of free Apple Music. The Student plan offers 1 month of free Apple Music and Apple TV+. You also get Apple Music for free for up to 3 months when you buy a new iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Mac, HomePod, or eligible Beats headphones & speakers.
Yes, you can get Apple Music for free when you purchase a new Apple device or an eligible Beats product. If you are a new member, Apple offers you 1 month of free music streaming service before charging you $10.99/month.
Yes, Apple Music is cheaper than Spotify. Earlier Spotify offered the same plans as Apple Music, but it has increased its prices recently. Spotify will charge you $11.99 for an Individual and $19.99 for the Family Plan, whereas Apple Music offers an Individual Plan at $10.99 and a Family Plan at $16.99/mo. However, both Apple Music and Spotify offer the Student Plan at $5.99/mo.
No, there’s no way to get free Apple Music with Amazon Prime membership. They both belong to separate companies and aren’t related to each other. Your Prime Membership gives you access to its own music service, Prime Music.
Yes, Apple Music offers a 1-month free trial to new students and new subscribers. Also, you get a 3-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device or eligible Beats products
Yes, Apple Music subscription renews automatically after the free trial. If you don’t wish to continue, you can cancel your Apple Music subscription before your renewal date.
Although Apple Music and iTunes come under Apple’s umbrella, they aren’t the same. Apple Music is a subscription-based streaming service by Apple that offers you a library of over 100 million songs. Whereas, iTunes is a digital media player that lets you purchase, organize, and play music, movies, and TV shows. Once you’ve purchased or downloaded individual songs or albums to your device, you own them permanently.
Sagnik Das Gupta
