Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music vs Amazon: 2026 Prices

In the US, the four big music streaming services cost almost the same: Apple Music and YouTube Music are $11.99/month, Spotify and Amazon Music Unlimited are $12.99/month. The real differences are in the family and student plans, sound quality and the extras that come along: Hulu with Spotify Student, Apple TV with Apple Music Student, and ad-free videos if you get YouTube Music through YouTube Premium.

#How much does each music streaming service cost in 2026?

US prices, checked in October 2026 in Subfaro's price catalog:

Monthly prices. For Amazon Music Unlimited, Subfaro's catalog lists only the standard individual plan. Prime members pay a bit less: after Amazon's March 2026 increase, Unlimited costs $11.99/mo with Prime, as Music Business Worldwide reported.

Two more pricing details:

• YouTube Music has an annual plan: $119.99/yr, about $10.00 a month, the lowest individual price here.
• The App Store costs more for YouTube Music: $15.99 for Individual and $24.99 for Family if you subscribe inside the iPhone app.

#What's different besides the price?

All four have huge catalogs, playlists and offline listening on paid plans. What actually separates them:

A few details worth knowing:

• Apple Music: the Apple Music page includes Spatial Audio and lossless on every plan. Hi-Res Lossless (48 kHz to 192 kHz) needs external gear such as a USB digital-to-analog converter.
• YouTube Music: YouTube Music Help lists 256 kbps as the highest setting for both streaming and downloads.
• Amazon Music Unlimited: Amazon made HD and Ultra HD free on its Individual, Family and Student plans in 2021.

In practice, the gap between 256 kbps and lossless tends to show only with good wired headphones or speakers, and Apple itself notes that Bluetooth connections aren't lossless. If you mostly listen on everyday wireless earbuds, any of the four will sound fine.

#Which is the best music service for families?

Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music family plans all cover up to six people, and Spotify and YouTube require everyone to live at the same address. With a full house:

YouTube Music Family is the cheapest. But if your household also wants ad-free YouTube, YouTube Premium Family ($26.99) includes the music, as we show in is YouTube Premium worth it. For couples, Spotify Duo ($18.99) is the only two-person plan in the table. To keep the cost split fair, see how to split family plans.

#Which is the best for students?

On price alone, YouTube Music wins at $5.99/mo. But look at what comes with the others:

• Apple Music Student ($6.99): comes with access to Apple TV at no extra cost. Apple TV alone is $14.99/mo, so that's the biggest bundle value if you watch it.
• Spotify Premium Student ($6.99): Spotify's US page lists access to Hulu, subject to eligibility.
• YouTube Premium Student ($8.99): for $3 more than YouTube Music Student, all of YouTube goes ad-free.

Spotify and YouTube verify enrollment in higher education through SheerID and ask you to reverify every year; Apple Music Student is also for verified college students.

#How much does each one cost per year?

A dollar a month sounds trivial, so here is the yearly total at US prices:

The gaps add up. One person on YouTube Music's annual plan pays $35.89 a year less than on Spotify Individual, and a family on YouTube Music pays $36 a year less than on Spotify Family. Whether that's worth switching for depends on how attached you are to your playlists and recommendations, which don't move between services on their own.

#Prices keep going up

Spotify and Apple Music raised prices within months of each other. Spotify went up in January 2026 (Individual from $11.99 to $12.99, Family from $19.99 to $21.99). In July 2026, Apple Music followed: Individual from $10.99 to $11.99, Family from $16.99 to $19.99 and Student from $5.99 to $6.99. Dates and sources are on Apple Music's price increases page.

Apple Music is still a dollar cheaper than Spotify for one person, but the Family gap shrank to $2.

#Which music streaming service should you choose?

A quick guide by profile:

• You're on iPhone and care about sound quality: Apple Music. If you'd also use Apple TV and iCloud, check whether Apple One is worth it.
• You want discovery, podcasts and audiobooks: Spotify, with 15 hours of audiobooks a month.
• You already watch a lot of YouTube: YouTube Premium, which includes YouTube Music.
• You want the lowest individual price: YouTube Music, ideally on the annual plan.
• You're a student: Apple Music if you'd watch Apple TV, Spotify if you'd use Hulu, YouTube Music if you just want the cheapest.
• You're already a Prime member and listen casually: the shuffle-play Amazon Music that comes with Prime may be enough, at no extra cost.

Switching is low-risk: Spotify and Apple Music both offer a free trial to first-time subscribers, so you can test one for a month before canceling the old one. Just don't pay for two at once because you forgot.

#How Subfaro helps

Subfaro is a subscription tracker that shows what you spend on music, streaming and everything else. Pick the service and plan, and the price fills in. Subfaro checks the prices of more than 100 services every week, alerts you when your plan's price changes and reminds you before a free trial ends, which helps when you're trying a new app.

The free plan tracks up to 10 subscriptions with no time limit. Create your free account.