In short: The Apple Music family plan is worth every penny, especially if 6 people are enrolled. It’s like paying $3/month per person instead of paying $11/month per person.
With an Apple Music family subscription, up to six people can enjoy unlimited access to Apple Music on their devices. But is the family plan actually worth it? Here’s my honest review.
What is the Apple Music family plan?
The Apple Music family plan is a subscription package that allows up to six users to have full access to Apple Music’s library of more than 100 million songs and over 30,000 playlists.
Each user has unlimited access through their personal account, with their own music library and listening recommendations that they can access across all their devices.
How does the Apple Music family plan work?
With an Apple Music family subscription, up to six people can enjoy unlimited access to Apple Music on their devices. It costs $16.99 per month in the US, or £16.99 per month in the UK.
That is the total price that covers all six users. One member of the group is responsible for paying the subscription, and there’s no way to split the subscription fee into six.
How much is the Apple Music family plan a month?
The Apple Music family plan costs $16.99 per month. This subscription plan offers unlimited access for up to six people, which works out to just about $2.83 per person.
In addition to the family plan, there are three other Apple Music plans:
- Voice plan pricing is $4.99/month
- Student plan pricing is $5.99/month
- Individual plan pricing is $10.99/month
- Family plan pricing is $16.99/month
With each plan, you’ll get access to 100 million songs and more than 30,000 expert-curated playlists available on Apple devices, as well as ad-free music.
However, there are some benefits to getting the Apple Music family plan.
What are the benefits of the Apple Music family plan?
With the Apple Music family plan, you’ll get to enjoy the features available in all of the other plans, but you’ll also get exclusive benefits only the family plan offers.
1. Unlimited access for up to six people
Without a doubt, the biggest benefit of paying for the Apple Music family subscription is the unlimited access for up to six people, which is perfect for large groups.
Instead of paying for an Apple Music subscription plan individually, a group of six can get a cheaper rate simply by paying for the family subscription.
2. Personal music library for each family member
Not only do each user have unlimited access through their personal account, but each user also has their own music library that they can access across all devices.
If you’re someone who dislikes sharing your music library with other people, this plan is perfect. You can “like” songs and curate your own playlists without anyone else fiddling with them.
3. Personalized recommendations for each family member
Because your music library is completely your own, Apple Music will recommend you a unique set of song recommendations based on what you like and dislike.
This means that you’ll get different recommendations from other users in the same family plan. You might get songs from Ed Sheeran while another person would get songs from Taylor Swift.
Is the Apple Music family plan worth it?
The Apple Music family plan is worth it, especially if six people are enrolled.
If six people sign up for the Apple Music family subscription, the cost for each person is about $2.83 per month, which is 72% cheaper than paying for the Individual plan ($10.99 per month).
Even if there are only two people using the Apple Music family plan, the cost per person (about $8.5 per month) is still cheaper than the Individual plan ($10.99 per month).
By paying for the Apple Music family subscription, it works out to a total savings of $5 per month for two members, $15 for three, $25 for four, $35 for five, and $45 for six family members.
If you are a huge music fan and it fuels your life like it does for me, Apple Music is worth it. The selection is fantastic and the ability to easily share music with friends and family is a real bonus.
I use the family plan and my kids love it for their iPads, and I am thrilled that I can take my music everywhere with me. Also, the app is very easy to use and navigate.
To sum it up, the Apple Music family plan is worth it. It’s like having six Apple Music Individual accounts, which cost about $11/month, at a significantly reduced price.
Apple Music’s family plan compared to Spotify’s
In terms of streaming quality, Apple Music beats Spotify because it supports up to 24-bit/192kHz, making it one of the best music streaming services for audiophiles.
That said, the Apple Music family subscription is a touch more expensive than Spotify Premium Family, which is one dollar cheaper and costs $15.99 per month.
Deezer is even more expensive than both Apple Music and Spotify, with a family plan that costs $17.99 per month. Both Pandora and Tidal offer family plans at $14.99 per month.
Although cheaper than Apple Music, Spotify offers some excellent music recommendations, especially if you use the platform correctly and listen to Spotify’s Discover Weekly.
Apple has similar personalized playlists and song recommendations, but in my experience, these don’t contain as many new songs that I actually like when compared to Spotify.
Spotify also has a lot of great podcasts within the app while Apple Music doesn’t include podcasts. These podcasts are found in the separate Apple Podcasts app.
Frequently asked questions
Apple Music is more expensive, though it may only be as little as an extra $1/month. The Apple Music family plan costs $16.99/month while Spotify’s family plan costs $15.99/month.
Once you’ve set up Family Sharing, each family member will have their own iCloud Music Library with separate content, and anyone can choose to share playlists.
While it’s possible to share playlists between family members and other Apple Music users, there isn’t an option to edit the playlists shared by other users.
No. Each family member of the Apple Music family plan gets their own personal music library, as well as music recommendations based on what they love to listen to.
Yes, the Apple Music family plan works on Android. Download the Apple Music app from Google Play, open the app, and enter the same Apple ID and password that you use with Apple Music.
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