Music Streaming Prices in 2026: Every Official Plan, Compared
Spotify $12.99, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Tidal $11.99, Amazon $12.99 with Audible, Pandora $10.99. Family, student and annual plans from each official page.
Music streaming went through its own round of price increases in 2026, quieter than the video services’ but just as broad: Spotify in February, YouTube Music in the spring, Apple Music in July, Tidal in August. The result is that the six major US services now sit within two dollars of each other on the individual plan, and the real differences are in the family and student tiers, the annual options, and what comes bundled. Every price below was read from the service’s own plans page on September 6, 2026; where an increase date comes from press coverage rather than the company, the table says so.
The quick answer
- Individual plans, cheapest to priciest: Pandora Premium $10.99; Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal $11.99; Spotify and Amazon Music Unlimited $12.99 (Amazon is $11.99 for Prime members and now includes one Audible audiobook a month)
- Family plans: YouTube Music $18.99 (5 members), Apple Music and Tidal $19.99 (Tidal allows 6), Spotify $21.99. Per person on a full plan, YouTube Music is under $3.20
- Student plans: YouTube Music $5.99; Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal $6.99
- Annual plans that save money: YouTube Music 12 months for $119.99 and YouTube Premium 12 months for $159.99, both “Save 15% vs. monthly plan,” and both marked “Doesn’t automatically renew”
- Free trials: Apple Music, YouTube Music, and YouTube Premium one month; Amazon and Tidal 30 days; Pandora Plus 30 days and Premium 60 days; Spotify $0 for 3 months for people who have never tried Premium, an offer that “ends September 23, 2026”
- The bundle question: YouTube Premium ($15.99) is YouTube Music plus ad-free YouTube, so the music-only plan saves $4 a month if you never watch video ad-free; Apple One “plans start at $21.95 per month” for Music plus other Apple services
Every plan, from the official pages (September 6, 2026)
| Service | Plan | Monthly | Annual | Trial on the official page | Last increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | Premium Individual | $12.99 | n/a | $0 for 3 months, new to Premium, offer ends Sept 23, 2026 | Feb 2026 (from $11.99), reported |
| Spotify | Premium Duo | $18.99 | n/a | Not stated | Feb 2026, reported |
| Spotify | Premium Family | $21.99 | n/a | Not stated | Feb 2026 (from $19.99), reported |
| Spotify | Premium Student | $6.99 | n/a | $0 first month | Feb 2026, reported |
| Apple Music | Individual | $11.99 | n/a | ”first month free for new subscribers” | July 2026 (from $10.99), reported |
| Apple Music | Family | $19.99 | n/a | ”one month free for new subscribers” | July 2026 (from $16.99), reported |
| Apple Music | Student | $6.99 | n/a | ”first month free for new subscribers” | July 2026 (from $5.99), reported |
| Apple Music | Apple One (bundle) | from $21.95 | n/a | Not stated on the Music page | July 2026, reported |
| YouTube Music | Music Premium Individual | $11.99 | $119.99, “Doesn’t automatically renew” | 1 month for $0, “eligible new members only” | Spring 2026 (from $10.99), reported |
| YouTube Music | Music Premium Family | $18.99 | n/a | 1 month for $0 | Spring 2026, reported |
| YouTube Music | Music Premium Student | $5.99 | n/a | 1 month for $0 | Spring 2026, reported |
| YouTube Premium | Premium Individual (video + music) | $15.99 | $159.99, “Doesn’t automatically renew” | 1 month for $0 | Listed Sep 2026 |
| YouTube Premium | Premium Family | $26.99 | n/a | 1 month for $0 | Listed Sep 2026 |
| YouTube Premium | Premium Student | $8.99 | n/a | 1 month for $0 | Listed Sep 2026 |
| YouTube Premium | Premium Lite (no music benefits beyond ad-free YouTube Music app) | $8.99 | n/a | 1 month for $0 | New plan |
| Amazon Music Unlimited | Individual | $12.99 ($11.99 for Prime members) | n/a | ”Free for 30 days,” new subscribers only | Listed Sep 2026 |
| TIDAL | Individual | $11.99 ”+ applicable taxes” | n/a | 30-day free trial, new customers | Aug 2026 (from $10.99), reported |
| TIDAL | Family (up to 6) | $19.99 | n/a | 30-day free trial | Aug 2026, reported |
| TIDAL | Student | $6.99 | n/a | 30-day free trial | Aug 2026, reported |
| TIDAL | DJ | $19.99 (student $14.49) | n/a | 30-day free trial | Listed Sep 2026 |
| Pandora | Plus | $4.99 | n/a | ”Get 30 Days Free” | Listed Sep 2026 |
| Pandora | Premium | $10.99 | n/a | ”Get 60 Days Free” | Listed Sep 2026 |
“Reported” means the current price is from the official page but the increase date or the prior price comes from press coverage, because the plans page shows only today’s number. “Listed Sep 2026” means the page shows the price with no increase history.
What the differences actually buy
Spotify charges the most and hides it in the trial. At $12.99 Spotify’s individual plan is the highest full price of the six, but the 3-months-free offer for first-time subscribers is also the longest trial on any of these pages, and it has a hard end date: “Offer ends September 23, 2026,” per the plans page. After that the standard trial reverts to whatever Spotify lists next. The offer is available only to people who “haven’t tried Premium before”; a trial years ago disqualifies you.
Apple Music and YouTube Music are tied, except for families and students. Both are $11.99 individual. YouTube Music’s family plan is a dollar cheaper ($18.99 vs $19.99) and its student plan a dollar cheaper ($5.99 vs $6.99). Apple’s advantage is the bundle path: Apple One “plans start at $21.95 per month” and fold Music into iCloud storage, TV+, and Arcade, which is the only way to get Apple TV+ (itself $14.99) and Music for less than buying both.
YouTube’s annual plans do not auto-renew. Both YouTube Music ($119.99) and YouTube Premium ($159.99) annual plans carry the line “Doesn’t automatically renew,” which makes them the only music plans here where the trial-to-renewal trap covered in our free trials guide does not apply. The price is 15% under twelve monthly payments. The catch is the new Premium Lite tier: at $8.99 it is “ad-free streaming, background play, and downloads on most videos,” but the page is explicit that “music videos, concerts, and songs may still have ads,” so it is not a music plan.
Amazon’s price includes an audiobook. Amazon Music Unlimited “auto-renews at $12.99/mo. after ($11.99/mo. for Prime members),” and the plans page now states “Audible is now included”: “Listen to one audiobook each month.” For a Prime member that makes it $11.99 for music plus a monthly audiobook, the same price as Apple Music or YouTube Music alone. The 30-day trial is “new subscribers only.”
Tidal is the same price as Apple with a bigger family cap. Tidal’s individual plan is $11.99 ”+ applicable taxes,” its family plan is $19.99 “for up to 6 members” (Apple and YouTube cap at the account holder plus five, Spotify at six total), and it is the only service listing a DJ plan ($19.99) for software integrations. The site’s FAQ limits the 30-day trial to people who “haven’t tried TIDAL before.”
Pandora is the cheapest on-demand plan and the only radio-tier plan. Pandora Premium at $10.99 undercuts everyone for on-demand listening, and Pandora Plus at $4.99 is a different product: ad-free personalized stations with limited on-demand play. Its trials are also the longest short of Spotify’s offer: 30 days for Plus, 60 days for Premium. Family, student, and military discounts exist but the plans page does not print their prices.
Cheapest route by situation
- One person, no video: Pandora Premium $10.99, then Apple Music, YouTube Music, or Tidal at $11.99. If you already pay for Prime, Amazon Music Unlimited at $11.99 adds an audiobook a month for the same money
- One person who also wants ad-free YouTube: YouTube Premium $15.99 monthly or $159.99 for a non-renewing year
- Household of five or six: YouTube Music Family $18.99, then Apple Music or Tidal $19.99. Spotify Family at $21.99 costs $36 more a year than YouTube Music
- Student: YouTube Music $5.99; the others are $6.99 with annual verification
- Trying before paying: Spotify’s 3 months, if you have never had Premium and sign up by September 23; otherwise Pandora Premium’s 60 days is the longest trial on any of these pages
If you are switching, cancel the old service before its next billing date rather than the day you sign up for the new one; the step-by-step for each is in our cancel guides for Spotify, YouTube Premium, and Tidal. Video service prices, with the same official-versus-reported labeling, are in the 2026 streaming price table.
Bottom line
As of September 6, 2026, the individual music plan costs $11.99 at Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal, $12.99 at Spotify and Amazon (or $11.99 with Prime, audiobook included), and $10.99 at Pandora. Families save most at YouTube Music ($18.99), students at YouTube Music ($5.99), and one-year buyers at YouTube’s non-renewing annual plans. Spotify’s premium is justified only by its 3-month trial, and that offer closes September 23. Every page above changes without notice; the price at checkout is the one that binds.
Prices read from the official plans pages linked above on September 6, 2026. Increase dates marked “reported” come from press coverage because the companies’ pages show only current prices. This page will be updated when any of the six services posts a new price.