Apple has raised prices on Apple Music and select Apple One bundles, marking the first increase for its music streaming service in nearly four years and a sharp reversal from the company’s recent positioning as the stable-price alternative to competitors.
In the United States, the individual Apple Music plan rises from US$10.99 to US$11.99 per month. The Family plan jumps US$3 to US$19.99, and the Student plan increases by US$1 to US$6.99. On the Apple One front, the Family bundle rises by US$2 to US$27.95 per month, and the Premier bundle also increases by US$2 to US$39.95. The entry-level individual Apple One plan remains unchanged at US$19.95.
Apple attributed the increases to “rising licensing costs,” a rationale that has become standard across the streaming industry as record labels and music publishers demand larger revenue shares. The company last raised Apple Music prices in October 2022, when the individual plan went from US$9.99 to US$10.99, a four-year hold that is unusually long for a subscription service facing persistent cost pressures.
The timing is particularly awkward for Apple. Just five months ago, in February 2026, the company publicly criticized Spotify’s own price increases on social media, using them as a marketing hook to emphasize Apple Music’s affordability. Apple framed itself as the responsible player willing to absorb costs that competitors passed to consumers. Now the company has implemented nearly identical increases, but with minimal advance notice to subscribers.
Even with the hike, Apple Music remains slightly cheaper than Spotify’s individual plan, though the gap has narrowed considerably. Apple’s selective pricing strategy, leaving the individual Apple One bundle unchanged while raising Family and Premier tiers, suggests the company is protecting its entry-level bundle as a switching incentive, while pushing price increases onto higher-value households and power users who generate more lifetime revenue.
The increases apply in the United States and select other markets, including Brazil, where local pricing has also been adjusted. Apple Music now has more subscribers than any other music streaming service in the United States, giving it both the leverage and the incentive to finally adjust a price that had been held artificially stable through years of rising music licensing costs.
Sources: “Apple Music is getting a price hike” (The Verge, July 17, 2026); “Apple Music Now Costs $11.99 as Apple Increases Subscription Prices” (MacRumors, July 17, 2026)