Apple Music Raised Its Price to $11.99/mo — Here's How to Listen Free (2026)
Apple Music now costs $11.99/month for an individual plan after its 2026 price increase — and the family and student plans went up too. Here's the full new price list, why streaming keeps getting more expensive, and how to get music videos, synced lyrics, unlimited skips and live radio free on iPhone instead.
The Short Version
Apple Music's individual plan is now $11.99/month — another price bump in 2026, on top of the one before it. The family and student plans went up alongside it. That's roughly $144 a year for one person to stream music.
Here's the part nobody advertises: you don't have to pay any of it. You can get music videos, synced lyrics, unlimited skips, playlists, live radio, podcasts and free audiobooks — for free, with ads — in Trending Music on iPhone. This guide breaks down exactly what Apple Music costs now, why the price keeps climbing, and how the free route actually compares.
What Apple Music Costs Now (2026)
After the latest increase, here's roughly what you're looking at in the US:
- Individual — $11.99/month (was $10.99). About $144/year.
- Family — around $17.99/month for up to six people.
- Student — around $5.99/month, and only while you can prove you're enrolled.
- Apple One bundles it with iCloud+, TV and Arcade, but that total climbed too.
Prices vary a little by country and change over time, so check the App Store for your exact number — but the direction is the only thing that's ever consistent: up. Spotify Premium sits in the same ballpark at about $11.99–$12.99/month, so switching between the two paid apps doesn't save you anything.
Why Streaming Prices Keep Going Up
This isn't a one-off. Every major music service has raised prices multiple times in the last few years, and the reasons don't get better for you:
- Licensing costs rise and get passed straight to subscribers.
- The 'add more stuff' treadmill — spatial audio, lossless, audiobooks — becomes the justification for the next hike, whether you use those features or not.
- Once you're locked in, your library and playlists live inside their app, so a couple of dollars a month feels easier to swallow than the hassle of leaving. That's the whole strategy.
The result: a service that was ~$9.99 not long ago is $11.99 today, and there's no reason to expect it stops there.
You Don't Actually Have to Pay for Any of It
The thing paid apps count on you forgetting: the core experience — playing the music you want, when you want — doesn't have to cost anything. Trending Music is free on iPhone and includes the things people actually open a music app for:
- Music videos, not just audio — watch the official video or switch to audio only. Here's how free music videos work.
- Synced, word-by-word lyrics you can sing along to.
- Favorites and playlists — tap the heart to save any song to your Favorites, or add it to a playlist of your own.
- Unlimited skips — no 'six skips an hour' cap.
- Song radio that keeps similar tracks coming after any song — and, if you want it, an AI DJ with Premium that talks you through a personal station (how AI DJs compare).
- Live radio, podcasts, and free audiobooks, plus built-in song ID to name whatever's playing around you.
No credit card, no trial countdown, no 'six months then we charge you.'
Free vs $11.99/mo — What You Actually Get
Put side by side, the value gap is hard to argue with:
- Apple Music — $11.99/mo (~$144/yr): huge catalog, lossless/spatial audio, deep Apple ecosystem integration. But you're paying every month, forever, and the price only goes one direction.
- Trending Music — $0: music videos, synced lyrics, unlimited skips, playlists, live radio, podcasts, audiobooks, CarPlay and an Apple Watch app. Supported by ads instead of a subscription — with an optional cheap Premium tier ($5.99/mo, half of Apple Music) if you want it ad-free, plus the AI DJ and unlimited song ID.
For a full breakdown, see Spotify vs Apple Music vs Trending Music and our roundup of the best free music apps with no ads. For a fuller side-by-side, see Trending Music vs Apple Music.
What's the Catch? (An Honest Look)
No app is magic, so here's the straight version:
- It's ad-supported. Free listening includes ads. If they bug you, the optional Premium is $5.99/mo — still half what Apple Music now charges — and removes them.
- The catalog is sourced differently. Trending pulls from a massive pool of music videos and streams rather than a traditional label-licensed locker, so a few ultra-exclusive releases may not match Apple Music one-for-one. In practice, the songs you're searching for are there.
- It's iPhone-first. The polished experience — CarPlay, Apple Watch, widgets — is built for Apple devices.
For most people, 'free with occasional ads' beats '$144 a year, rising,' comfortably.
How to Switch in About 5 Minutes
You don't have to abandon Apple Music to try this — just stop paying to find out if you'll miss it:
- Download Trending Music free: Get Trending Music free on the App Store
- Search a few playlists you love and recreate them, or bring your playlists over from Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube.
- Tap the heart on the songs you play most so they're one tap away in your Favorites.
- Live on it for a couple of weeks. If you genuinely don't miss the $11.99/mo, cancel Apple Music from Settings → your name → Subscriptions and keep the $144 a year.
The next Apple Music price increase is a question of when, not if. This is the free exit — take it today: Get Trending Music free on the App Store