How Much is Apple Music? Apple Music Cost and Plans

March 24, 2020

By subscribing to Apple Music, you get access to millions of songs, music recommendations… and more. In the Apple Music app, you can listen to your fave songs on all your devices, download music, and listen offline.

Apple Music started in 2015 and became a better alternative to iTunes.

But what makes these two services different? Let’s take a look.

The major difference is that iTunes is a place where you buy music, movies, TV shows and many more. iTunes has gained immense popularity because it allows you to purchase individual songs, not the whole album. Prices may vary: songs are available at one of three price points: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. Most albums are priced at $9.99.

But the truth is, you still have to spend money on iTunes when you want to listen to new music. To solve this problem Apple Music was created. Their monthly subscription could be a better deal as you have access to almost all music of all artists ever created. But we will write more about this later in this article.

Now it’s time for reasons why you should buy a premium subscription of Apple Music. Let’s get started!

In this article:

  1. How Much Does Apple Music Cost?
  2. Is Monthly Subscription the Only Option in Apple Music?
  3. How to Set an Annual Subscription on Apple Music?
  4. Is Apple Music Worth the Cost?
  5. Is Apple Music Free?
  6. How Much is Apple Music a Month in the UK?
  7. How to Start Listening to Music on Apple Music?

How Much Does Apple Music Cost?

Apple Music used to offer a three month trial but in 2022 quietly shortened the trial period to 30 days. Now only the first month on Apple Music is free. In comparison to Spotify and other music services, it’s still a fair offer. Most music services offer one month out of charge.

Before you decide to buy a full subscription, the trial version gives you access to all premium features on all your devices. After the free trial, you will automatically be charged the price of the plan selected.

If you don’t like Apple Music service after the trial, you can cancel it at any time without any consequences. We think that 1 month is enough time to test all the features of the service, so for sure you’ll make the right decision.

But if you decided that you want to buy a premium version of Apple Music it’s good to look into their pricing.

Apple Music offers 3 plans (all with a 1 month free trial):

  • For Individuals, Apple Music costs $10.99 per month
  • For Family, Apple Music costs $16.99 per month
  • For Students, Apple Music costs $5.99 per month

apple-music-new-pricing.png

The most popular plan is a plan for Individual customers. It gives users access to unlimited music for $10.99 per month in the United States.

Family plans, as the name suggests… are the best option for families (or a group of friends). In the case of Apple Music, the Family Plan is for $16.99/month. As part of one subscription, up to six people can create personalized accounts and listen to unlimited music at the same conditions as in an Individual plan.

Note: It is important that the family plan requires activation of the iCloud Family Sharing.

Apple Music also introduced the third package. It’s for university students. This plan costs $5.99 per month. The promotional price offer can be used for a maximum of 4 years—but this period doesn’t have to be continuous.

In order to take advantage of the plan, you must confirm your student status by logging into the UNiDAYS system. You must provide your personal data, university email address and then accept the confirmation link that will be sent to your student email address.

As you can see, Apple Music gives you a variety of plans to choose the best option for you. After canceling the iTunes subscription in account settings, you will go to the free plan, where you will have access to Live Radio Beats 1 without changing the quality of the music played.

The pricing is similar to Spotify’s. So if you ever choose to move from Spotify to Apple Music, it won’t hurt your wallet.

Is monthly subscription the only option in Apple Music?

Of course no. Apple Music offers you two types of subscription: monthly and annual.

An annual subscription costs $109. By choosing an annual subscription you’ll save about $20 a year. But it’s not that easy to get this annual subscription…

This is not surprising—Apple wants us to pay more. But we’ve found a way to change your subscription plan.

How to Set an Annual Subscription on Apple Music?

Keep in mind if you’re a new client of Apple Music you have to buy a monthly subscription. It’s all about access to the settings of the Apple Music app. Without the subscription, you can’t change it.

If you are an existing user of Apple music, the thing is much easier and you can skip the point about creating account.

To change your subscription plan go to Membership Settings in Apple Music app and switch to the annual plan. Your bank account will be charged for one year and you’ll get access to unlimited music and playlists. See how easy is that?

Is Apple Music Worth the Cost?

Apple Music gives you access to 60 Million songs; Internet radio station Apple Music 1 and local radio stations from around the world, which broadcast 24 hours a day. Apple Music is a music streaming service where you don’t really need access to the internet connection to listen to your favorites tracks.

Premium version of Apple Music allows you to download music and podcasts so you can listen to them offline.

If you’d like to know how it compares with other music services, read this article.

There’s also one more thing that makes Apple Music special. When you become a premium subscriber, you get access not only to an unlimited music library but also to the exclusive and original content such as music videos, interviews, and music albums, which are available only for Apple Music Premium users.

Is it worth it? Well, we think that over 60 million active subscribers worldwide can’t be wrong.

play-music-catalog.png

Is Apple Music Free?

Yes. Partly at least.

Surprised? Many people think that to use Apple Music, you’re required to buy a premium subscription, but it’s totally untrue!

As it was mentioned before, you can test the Apple Music service before you decide to buy a full subscription. After the end of a trial period—which is one month—you still have access to the service but with some limitations. You can’t skip the tracks, download them, and music recommendations are limited, but the most essential thing which is listening to the music is still available.

There are also some ways to extend your free trial of Apple Music subscription 😏 First of all, as a Verizon Unlimited customer, you're automatically eligible for free 6 months. But if that's not your case, we still know how to save you some dollars. You can get free Apple Music for 6 months with the Best Buy’s offer for Apple gift cards. However, this deal only applies to the new subscribers based in the U.S.

apple-music-gift-card

Also, when you purchase an Apple device (Apple AirPods, HomePod mini or Beats), you're eligible for 6 months Apple Music trial.

How Much is Apple Music a Month in the UK?

Apple Music policy is about to give people all around the world access to unlimited music at the same conditions. Hence, the prices are almost the same no matter if you’re living in the UK, USA or India.

In 2020 Apple Music is available in 114 different countries, which does it the most famous music streaming service worldwide. But there are some exceptions. While the subscription in the UK is $9.99 per month, in Israel, subscribers pay about $5.20, and in Russia, subscribers spend around $3.

It makes many of the artists unhappy because, as you probably know, artists earn money when you stream their songs.

So, if a Russian subscriber pays less than the American one, the artist will receive less money. It is really significant then most of their streams come from those countries.

How to Start Listening to Music on Apple Music?

We think that by now, you know whether you want to become a premium subscriber of Apple Music or not. If you want to join the Apple Music club, keep on reading. We will tell you step by step how to start listening to music on Apple Music.

Start with choosing the best subscription type for you. We have them described before, but you can always learn more about the individual, student, and family plan on the official Apple Music webpage.

Even if you can change your subscription plan later, it’s important to choose the right plan at the beginning, so you don’t have to waste your money and time later on changing the settings.

Step 1: Upgrade devices

Upgrade your iPhone or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS, iPad to the newest version of iPadOS or Mac to the latest version of macOS. On your PC, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes for Windows. To upgrade your device, visit the official Apple website.

Offline-listening.png

Step 2: Open the Apple Music App

On the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac, open the Apple Music app. On the PC, open the iTunes application for Windows.

Then click on the Continue button.

subscribing-to-apple-music.png

Step 3: Start a Trial Subscription

Click Try it Free button to get started. One trial subscription per person or family (up to six people).

3-months-free-of-apple-music-subscription.png

Step 4: Enter your Apple ID and Password

Click “Use existing Apple ID”, and then enter your Apple ID and password. If you don’t have an Apple ID account, click Create a new Apple ID, then follow the steps to create one.

If you don’t remember if you have an Apple ID account, you can write to Apple support to solve your problem. They’re always really helpful!

apple-music-subscription-confirmation.png

Step 5: Confirm the Data

You may be asked to confirm your billing information or to add an accepted payment method. Then tap or click Attach.

If prompted, accept the terms of service.

Step 6: Start Listening

Apple Music will ask you to choose your favorite music genres and artists to create personalized playlists for you and… ta da! Open the Apple Music app and search for an artist or song. On the PC, open the iTunes application for Windows.

apple-music-streaming-music-service.png

To find music recommendations tailored to your taste, go to the For You section. Go to the Browse screen to check out news, top songs, specially selected playlists and more.

for-you-in-apple-music.png

I hope you now know everything about subscriptions and prices of Apple Music. If you’re wondering why music streaming services are so popular, keep in mind that in the price of one CD, you’ll then access to all world music. Okay… Maybe not all music ever created, but the lacks are very little, and you’ll probably don’t notice it.

FYI:

If you want to transfer your playlists to Apple Music, you can do it with FreeYourMusic. Simply download the app for your device (iOS, Android, MacOS or Windows) and connect your old and new music service. Then pick the tracks and playlists you want to move and let the app do its wonders.

Flytta från och till olika musiktjänster
Prova gratis nu