An increasingly popular way to stream music, Apple Music has a lot to offer. While rival Spotify has yet to launch its promised HiFi level, Apple has significantly upgraded its offering to include lossless audio support on over 90 million songs, as well as Dolby Atmos in many of them. as well as music videos and exclusives – including Sessions. Aimed at helping users discover new tracks and artists, there’s a lot to like here, even if you end up playing your old favorites all the time.
However, unlike Spotify (and Tidal, if you live in the US), Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier. Unlike some of the other best music streaming services, you’ll have to pay to see what the tech giant has to offer. That’s where we come in, helping you with the best ways to save money on Apple Music while still taking full advantage of the service.
Read on as we walk you through surprisingly easy ways to save big on Apple Music.
1. Get the right plan for you
Apple Music offers four different plans, so it’s essential that you find the one that’s right for you. All plans provide access to 90 million songs, curated playlists, ad-free music, and exclusive content, but there are key differences.
The cheapest option is the Apple Music Voice plan. It’s only $5/£5 a month, and it’s Apple’s most affordable plan, but there’s a catch. You can only use it with Siri. This means that only Siri-enabled devices can manage your subscription, and you rely solely on your voice to do anything. You can access the entire Apple audio library, but you can’t watch music videos or search for lyrics. There is also no support for lossless audio or spatial audio. It’s a good bet in the car or when using the HomePod mini.
The option most people will be comfortable with is the Individual plan. For $10/£10 a month you get everything Apple Music has to offer, right down to the ability to upload 100,000 songs to your library.
Students can take advantage of the same plan for $6/£6 per month, so there’s a considerable saving here.
The best economy? The Family package. For $15/£15 a month, you get unlimited access for up to six people and personal music libraries for each family member. This is a great way to save money, even for two people, and it just gets better from there.
2. Commit to an annual plan
As with most subscription services, Apple Music rewards you for your annual subscription, rather than your monthly usage. But unlike other options, it is somewhat hidden.
On the Apple site, you see four subscription plans, each listed with its monthly price. Once you’ve signed up (and activated your one-month free trial), you can change your Apple Music subscription by finding subscriptions on your Apple account and changing it to a one-year plan.
Doing so will save you money. For an individual plan, you pay $99/£99, saving you $21/£21 by paying monthly. This means payment is in a lump sum, but it’s worth it if you’re here for the long haul.
3. Sign up for Apple One
You’ll save a lot if you use many Apple services by bundling them with Apple One (opens in a new tab). Again, there are different plans here. The basic Individual plan offers Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and iCloud with 50 GB of storage. It costs $15/£15 a month, so it’s not much more than standard Apple Music alone.
There’s also a Family plan with Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 200GB iCloud storage for $20/£20, while the Premier plan adds Apple Fitness and Apple News+ for $30/£30 each month – again, for the whole family.
Not everyone needs all of these services, but even if you only need a few, you could save a little each month by bundling into an Apple One plan. And again, if you are more than one, it very quickly becomes a major source of savings.
4. Buy a new device and get six months of Apple Music
Apple often bundles six months of Apple Music for free when you buy certain Apple products – so just buying an entire pair of headphones just to get music streaming isn’t exactly saving money in itself, if you are planning to buy anyway, it
As of this writing, you can get six months of Apple Music for free (opens in a new tab) when you buy AirPods, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max and HomePod Mini.
The offer also applies to the best Beats headphones, including Beats Studio Buds, Beats Fit Pro, Beats Solo Pro, Powerbeats or Powerbeats Pro.
This can change throughout the year. Sometimes the offer is for a new iPhone, or it may be tied to a MacBook or iPad purchase.
Some retailers also offer a six-month free trial when you purchase a relevant product. You can get the offer in the US through Best Buy, Verizon, and Target. In the UK, EE and O2 offer three or six months of Apple Music for free with select products.
5. Use Discounted Apple Gift Cards
You can pay for Apple Music with Apple Gift Cards (opens in a new tab), which can be useful. Often retailers sell gift cards, and if you stock up, you can save quite a bit on your Apple Music subscription.
It’s a bit more effort than other options, but the savings add up quickly, especially since you can stack them with other discounts. If you get the gift cards at 10% off and save 20% by paying annually, you’re a double winner.
6. Get up to 3 months free with Shazam
Music ID app Shazam is now owned by Apple and often offers Apple Music deals that get you up to three months of Apple Music for free. (opens in a new tab) once you scan a QR code on the service.
There’s no need to commit to Shazam for any length of time, and the app is free anyway. The problem? The offer is not always available, so it is not necessarily the one you should rely on because it is always there for you.
Get it right, though, and you can get a few months of free Apple Music very easily…
Between all of these tips (or a combination of them), you should be able to find a way to make some real savings on Apple Music – and don’t forget to check out our guide to the best AirPods deals if you’re saving some. money there too.