With every passing year, music streaming services add more features than most people ever use. You might be ready to try something new, but the biggest thing keeping people locked into a service isn’t loyalty, it’s the fear of losing years of playlists and favorites.

Before you even hover over that cancel button, transfer your playlists with Free Your Music. It’s fast, efficient, and the best music transfer service available (biased, us? Never).

Why Cancel Your Music Streaming Subscription?

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to cancel Spotify Premium, end your Tidal membership, or delete your Pandora account:

Price Increases – Some platforms have raised their fees without adding major new features (or added features no one asked for...).
Better Features Elsewhere – Higher audio quality, better music recommendations, or exclusive content might be available on another service.
Limited Free Tier – If you're on a free version but want fewer ads and more offline listening options, another service might suit you better.
Switching to a Family or Student Plan – You might be moving to a better deal under a group plan.
Frustrations with the Interface – Some streaming platforms change their design or remove features, making them less user-friendly, who really wants to hunt for a button instead of enjoying their music.
Subscription Fatigue – If you're cutting back on monthly costs, your music streaming subscription might be first on the chopping block.

Whatever your reason, this guide will walk you through how to cancel Apple Music, stop Tidal, delete your Spotify account, and more—without losing your playlists.

What to Do Before Canceling

1. Check How You’re Billed

Before you cancel, you need to know who charges you for your subscription. If you subscribed through Apple, Google Play, or a mobile carrier, you must cancel through that service, not directly through the streaming app.

How to Check Your Billing Provider:

Apple Users: Go to Settings > Tap Your Name > Subscriptions.
Google Play Users: Open Google Play Store > Tap Profile Icon > Payments & Subscriptions.
Carrier-Billed Users: Check your mobile carrier’s billing dashboard or contact their customer service.

If you're unsure, look at the last payment on your bank statement, this will tell you who is charging you. If you've gotten it in a bundle with other products you might have a different process.

2. Backup Your Playlists Before You Cancel

Many users cancel first, only to realize they’ve lost years of carefully curated playlists. Before canceling, transfer your playlists with Free Your Music so you don’t have to start from scratch.

3. Common Cancellation Issues & Fixes

Can’t find the cancel button? Some platforms bury cancellation options under multiple menus, or don’t allow cancellation from the mobile app. If the option is missing, try these steps:
Use a desktop browser instead of the mobile app.
Check the service’s help center (sometimes, they change the location of the cancel button).
Look at your billing provider—if you’re billed through Apple, Google, or a mobile carrier, you must cancel through them.

Already charged but meant to cancel? Most services don’t offer refunds, but Apple Music allows exceptions if requested within 24 hours of billing.

Locked out of your account? If you can’t log in to cancel, reset your password before trying again.

What Happens After You Cancel?

Many people who are moving service make the mistake of thinking that their playlists will remain on there if they ever return.

And, while you might think you can use the service until the end of the billing cycle, there are some music streaming companies that will end you access immediately (nightmare). Here is a quick comparison table of what/who to look out for.

And, another gentle reminder that you can and should always transfer the minute you decide to switch platforms. It'll save you the horrible realization you can't get your music.

Service	Can You Use It Until End of Billing Cycle?	Will Playlists & Library Be Deleted?
Spotify	Yes	No, playlists stay on free tier
Apple Music	No, access ends immediately	Yes, unless renewed within 30 days
Tidal	Yes	No, but offline downloads disappear
Deezer	No, access ends immediately	Yes, playlists are lost
Pandora	Yes	No, reverts to free tier
Napster	No, access ends immediately	Yes, playlists are deleted

How to Cancel Your Music Subscription

Before following these steps, make sure you’ve transferred your playlists to another service. Or, if you aren't sure where you want to go, you can make use of the transfer to File function in the app.

How to Cancel Apple Music

On iPhone or iPad:

Open the Settings app.
Tap your name (Apple ID settings).
Select Subscriptions.
Find and tap on Apple Music.
Tap Cancel Subscription and confirm.

On Mac:

Open the App Store.
Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar and sign in if prompted.
Click View Information at the top.
Scroll to Subscriptions and click Manage.
Find Apple Music, click Edit, then select Cancel Subscription.

On Windows (iTunes/Apple Music app):

Open iTunes or Apple Music.
Go to Account > View My Account.
Sign in and click View Account.
Find Subscriptions, click Manage, then Cancel Apple Music.

If you couldn't cancel your subscription at music.apple.com, you can cancel your subscription in Settings.

If you pay for Apple Music through Google Play, you can cancel your subscription only in the Apple Music app on your Android device or at play.google.com.

Canceling subscriptions is slightly different in Israel, South Africa, and Türkiye. Check this out for that info Apple Special Circumstances.

See official Apple Music cancellation guide here

How to Cancel Spotify

On Web Browser (Best Method):

Go to Spotify’s website and log in.
Navigate to Account > Your Plan > Manage Plan > Cancel Premium.
Confirm cancellation—your plan will revert to Spotify Free at the end of your billing cycle.

If Billed Through Apple or Google Play:

Follow the Apple Music or Google Play cancellation steps.

See official Spotify cancellation guide here

How to Cancel Tidal

On Web Browser:

Go to Tidal’s website and log in.
Navigate to Account Settings > Subscription.
Click Cancel Subscription and follow the steps.

If Billed Through Apple, Google Play, or Carrier:

Cancel via Apple ID, Google Play, or mobile carrier’s dashboard.

See official Tidal cancellation guide here

From the Tidal app you can check Manage Account, and change a couple of pieces of information, but you can't cancel your sub. You can, should you want to, delete your Tidal account. Tap the Settings button, tap Manage account, tap Delete account, and follow the instructions. You'll be sent a code after you click Continue, to finalize your account deletion.

How to Cancel Deezer

On Web Browser:

Go to Deezer’s website and log in.
Navigate to Account Settings > Manage My Subscription.
Click Cancel Subscription and follow the steps.

See official Deezer cancellation guide here

Using Mobile app iOS and Android

Open the app.
Head to Settings.
Tap Account managament.
Select Cancel my subscription.
Choose your reason, and then tap Confirm.

How to Cancel SoundCloud Go

On Web Browser:

Go to SoundCloud’s website and log in.
Under Subscriptions, click Cancel Subscription.

See official SoundCloud cancellation guide here

If you purchased your subscription through either Apple Music or Google Play / Android, you'll need to cancel through them. And keep in mind that deleting your account won't stop the subscription.

And you cannot cancel via the app, you can on the website.

Keep Your Playlists When You Switch

Canceling your subscription doesn’t have to mean losing your music. With Free Your Music, you can transfer your playlists to another platform in just a few clicks. Start your playlist transfer today!