Apple Music Family Plan Pricing & Details: Is It Worth It For You?

When Apple launched Spotify’s competitor, Apple Music, in the summer of 2015, interests were piqued. Bringing the best of internet radio and the best of music streaming together under one roof, Apple Music was an immediate hit. But what is good about their subscription plans? Specifically, what is there to know about the Apple Music Family Plan? And is it actually worth subscribing to? Let’s break down the Apple Music Family Plan below.

Apple Music Specs

The History of Apple Music

While Apple’s music streaming service Apple Music didn’t officially launch until 2015, Apple had been making moves since 2009. Proof of this is Apple’s acquisitions in the years leading up to Apple Music’s launch. First, the company bought Lala Media in 2009, then Beats by Dre (including streamer Beats Music) in 2014. In hindsight, looking at these two strategic acquisitions, it’s clear Apple had been building and perfecting Apple Music for quite some time.

By bringing together the talent behind Lala Media and the technology of Beats Music, Apple was well on its way to a next-level music streaming service. It was more than capable of taking on Spotify and other rivals in the music streaming space. However, following the service’s official launch in June 2015, reviews were much more mixed than Apple hoped to receive. Most of these criticisms revolved around the platform’s user interface, which was labeled less intuitive. Thankfully, 2016 brought several key improvements to the service.

For one, the app’s user interface was overhauled and vastly improved with the release of iOS 10. Additionally, Apple Music began offering a few more plans in addition to their base plan (now labeled the Voice Plan). These new plans included the Student Plan, Individual Plan, and the Family Plan. These changes were exactly what Apple Music needed to succeed. By 2019, the service had surpassed Spotify’s 28 million paid subscribers. Apple Music has over 88 million users today, with more joining the music service.

Benefits Of Apple Music Subscriptions

Apple Music offers several benefits, which vary depending on your subscription plan. You can choose from four plans: Apple Music Voice Plan, the Apple Music Student Plan, the Apple Music Individual Plan, and the Apple Music Family Plan. So, what are the various benefits of these four unique plans? And is the Apple Music Family Plan worth subscribing to in light of these benefits? Let’s outline the advantages of each plan below.

Apple Music Voice Plan

Apple Music Student Plan

Apple Music Individual Plan

Apple Music Family Plan

How Apple Music Subscriptions (Including Apple Music Family Plan) Came To Be

Today, Apple Music offers four subscription plans. No one tier comes with the same price or benefits. Each has its own set of advantages and restrictions. While we’ve touched on it briefly in the section above, let’s break down what exactly this means for you as a potential subscriber.

Apple Music Voice Plan

Voice Plan is the simplest, most stripped-down Apple Music subscription money can buy. It is optimized for Apple’s HomePods and other Siri-enabled devices and speakers. As such, the plan only allows access to the Apple Music library via voice commands. To hear a particular song, album, artist, or playlist, you have to ask for it by name. However, you still have access to personalized stations and recommendations. Beyond this, there’s no other way to browse the catalog.

Apple Music Student and Individual Plans

The Student and Individual Plans are nearly identical — the main difference is that the former costs $5.99 a month and requires a valid student ID, while the latter costs $10.99 and does not require ID verification to subscribe. With these two plans, subscribers can browse the full Apple Music library of over 100 million ad-free songs from any supported device, Apple or otherwise.

Subscribers can also download music for listening offline. Student and Individual Plan subscribers can also create playlists, share songs, and listen to artist-curated playlists and radio stations. They also have access to all the original shows, concert films, and other exclusives on the Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, and Apple Music Sing apps.

Apple Music Family Plan

The Apple Music Family Plan is designed for families of up to six. At $16.99 a month, this works out to just under $2.85 per person. That’s nearly half the price of an Apple Music Voice Plan, not to mention the savings compared to the Individual Plan. With the Family Plan, as many as six people under the same roof are given full access to their Apple Music accounts. These accounts come with the entire Apple Music catalog with no restrictions or limitations — all 100 million+ songs, exclusive videos, artist-curated content, and more.

Pros And Cons Of Apple Music Family Plan

Is The Apple Music Family Plan Worth It?

So, is the Apple Music Family Plan worth it for you? It depends. As we’ve seen, Apple Music offers four plans. If you only listen to music on your smart speaker, then the Apple Music Voice Plan should more than suffice. And if you’re a college student, then the Student Plan shouldn’t be missed. If you’re not a smart speaker user, not a college student, or part of a large household of music listeners, then the Individual Plan should cover all the bases.

But, if you and your household hope to subscribe to Apple Music, you’d be remiss not to sign up for the Apple Music Family Plan. Sure, $16.99 might be a dollar or two more than Pandora or Tidal’s rival family plans, but it’s the same price as Spotify’s. And you get a lot more benefits for the cost, including some bonus features. Apple Music Family Plan is worth it for those within its strict parameters.