Unlimited skips, free downloads, offline listening, and a host of other great features are what you’ll gain by upgrading your Spotify account. While the free Spotify version of the popular music streaming service is a solid foot in the door for understanding how the platform works, the real Spotify must-haves are locked behind a monthly paywall. Once you start paying, you’ll officially become a Spotify Premium subscriber.
Before you grab your credit card, however, here’s what you should know about Spotify’s monthly fee and payment policy.
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Spotify plans explained
Spotify Free
With Spotify Free, you can listen to anything you want in the mobile, web, or desktop Spotify app, as long as you’re willing to put up with ads. Core search and play features are available, including the ability to listen to specific tracks on demand (somewhat limited on the mobile app), replay recent albums, and more. Curated playlists and offline listening are unavailable in the free version, as is the Radio feature.
Spotify Premium — $9.99 per month
Those willing to part with a little cash can access a host of top-tier features, including more than 70 million ad-free tracks, plus the ability to download your music directly to a device and get higher streaming quality. As a premium user, you also can save tracks for offline listening, access Spotify Radio, and watch music videos and Spotify podcasts. It also removes restrictions on listening to Spotify internationally, as well as any mobile app restrictions. Premium is available for a free month’s trial.
This is the Individual plan, but there are several different versions of the Premium plan, which we’ll dive into below.
Spotify Duo — $12.99 per month
With Spotify Duo, you can share your Spotify subscription with a friend, family member, or partner. Both users get their own Spotify dashboards, along with Duo Mix, a playlist that can be shared and updated by both members on the account.
Spotify Student — $4.99 per month
If you’re a student (you need a valid student email address), you can get a Spotify Premium subscription called Premium Student for a discount price. It also comes with an ad-based Hulu subscription and Showtime. Just make sure you re-register as a student after a year, or Spotify will strip you of the Hulu membership and start charging you the full Premium membership price.
Spotify Family Plan — $15.99 per month
Those with loved ones who also want to stream music may be more interested in the Spotify Family plan, which lets you have up to six people on one account. It also comes with a host of parental control options, a joint playlist called Family Mix, and Spotify Kids, a separate app aimed at children.
Spotify deals
Spotify occasionally offers broad deals to market its Premium services, which tend to offer a certain number of months free for Premium. One ongoing deal with Xbox allows players to get four months free of Spotify Premium when they subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate — but only if they don’t already have a Spotify account.
Other deals are far more limited. Right now, in fall 2021, you can get three months of Spotify Premium for free just by signing up. But this holiday deal will only last until the end of the year, so you have just a few months to decide if you want to try it.
Spotify Partner Premium Plans
Spotify also partners with phone and internet providers, along with some other large employers, to offer specific deals that can help you find discounts for the service. These deals can vary over time, but popular options include:
AT&T: Customers on AT&T’s Unlimited & More plan can subscribe to Premium for free, with their subscription running through the end date of their contract. There’s also a six-month trial up for grabs for select customers who aren’t on an Unlimited plan, so check your myAT&T account to see if you’re eligible.
Chase: Own a Chase credit card? You could be entitled to a free six-month subscription to Spotify Premium if it’s your first time trialing the service, or a 5% statement credit for the next six months if it’s not. Just keep in mind that the offer is limited to certain cards, so the option isn’t available to everyone.
Starbucks: Starbucks is among the employers that offer their employees a Spotify Premium account for free, including Starbucks, which has 200,000 employees on a comped subscription.
Important note
Spotify pricing can vary from country to country, and sometimes prices aren’t equivalent in local currency. For example, in 2021 Spotify raised the prices for U.K. plans for Duo (£13.99), Student (£5.99), and Family (£16.99) while leaving U.S. pricing the same. European countries were similarly affected. Always take a look at your local prices, and consider checking out a reliable VPN.
How Spotify compares to the competition
If you’re torn between Spotify and a rival, chances are it is either Apple Music or Google Play Music. All three cost the same and tout a similar set of features, but Spotify comes out on top — in our opinion, at least. Why? Because it has the best interface, an endless catalog of on-demand content, fantastic curated playlists, and a free tier (namely, Spotify Free) for those who don’t want — or aren’t in the position — to enter into a commitment. However, note that with the latest price increases, the Apple Family is slightly cheaper now compared to Spotify’s version.
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