Apple Music Hikes Subscription Prices, Citing Rising Licensing Fees

Apple is hiking the prices of Apple Music subscription plans — the tech giant’s first rate increases for the service since the fall of 2022, citing higher music licensing costs.

The new pricing is effective in many of the markets worldwide where Apple Music is available, including the U.S.

Under the new U.S. prices for Apple Music, the individual plan is increasing from $10.99 to $11.99 per month. The family plan, which provides up to six accounts, is rising from $16.99 to $19.99 per month. The Apple Music student plan is increasing from $5.99 to $6.99 monthly (available to verified students enrolled in a degree-granting university).

In a statement, Apple said, “As a result of rising Iicensing costs, Apple Music is increasing its subscription price beginning today.”

With the price increases, Apple Music is still less expensive than key rival Spotify on the primary tiers.

Earlier this year, Spotify raised U.S. prices, with its individual premium plan going up to $12.99/month (from $11.99 before). Spotify’s family plan, which also provides up to six accounts, increased from $19.99 to $21.99 per month.

First launched in 2015, Apple Music provides more than 100 million songs, available without ads. Users can download the songs for offline listening and have access to exclusive artist content and curated playlists. Apple Music makes songs available in Spatial Audio and lossless audio quality.

In 2025, according to Apple, Apple Music reached all-time highs in both listenership and new subscribers (but the company doesn’t disclose actual figures). New features introduced on the service included Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation along with AutoMix, Library Pins and in-app Replay stats. Apple Music Sing expanded its feature set as well, allowing users to turn their iPhone into a microphone that amplifies their voice through a connected TV.