Apple Music Family Plan pricing and what you get

Apple Music's Family Plan costs $19.99 per month in the United States and covers up to six people in your household. Each person gets their own account, their own music library, and their own recommendations — the service doesn't mix everyone's listening together. You can set up parental controls to restrict explicit content for younger family members, and everyone can download songs to listen offline.

The price varies outside the US. In Canada it's CAD $24.99 monthly, in the UK it's £19.99, and in Australia it's AUD $34.99. If you live in a different country, you can check your local price by opening the Apple Music app and looking at the subscription options in your account settings.

For comparison, Apple Music's individual plan is $11.99 per month in the US, which means the Family Plan works out to about $3.33 per person if all six slots are filled. If you're only covering two or three people, the math shifts — you'll want to calculate whether the Family Plan or multiple individual plans makes more sense for your household.

Key Takeaways

  • Apple Music Family Plan costs $19.99 monthly in the US and covers up to six household members, each with their own account and music library.
  • Each family member can download songs, create playlists, and get personalized recommendations without seeing what others listen to.
  • You can turn on parental controls to block explicit content for children in your family group.
  • The price is the same whether you use two family slots or all six, so the per-person cost drops as more people join.

How to set up a Family Plan and add members

To start a Family Plan, open the Apple Music app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. Go to your account (usually a profile icon in the corner), tap or click "Subscriptions," then select "Apple Music." Choose the Family Plan option and follow the prompts to pay. You'll need an active Apple ID and a valid payment method on file.

Once your subscription is active, you can add family members through the Family Sharing feature in your device settings. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Family Sharing > Add Family Member. On Mac, open System Settings > [Your Name] > Family, then click the plus sign. You can invite people via email, or they can join using their own Apple ID if they're nearby. Each person needs their own Apple ID — you cannot share a single login across the family group.

Family members don't need to live with you, though Apple's terms say the plan is for people in your household. The service doesn't actively verify where people live, but the company reserves the right to remove members if it suspects misuse. If someone moves out permanently, you can remove them from Family Sharing and invite someone else.

What happens if you downgrade from Family to individual

If you switch from Family Plan to an individual subscription, the other family members lose access to Apple Music immediately. Their downloaded songs remain on their devices, but they can't stream new music or refresh their library. This can catch people off guard, so tell everyone in your group before you make the change.

If you're the organizer of the Family Plan and you want to leave but keep the plan running for others, you'll need to transfer the organizer role to another family member first. Go to Family Sharing settings, select the person you want to promote, and choose "Make Organizer." Once they take over, you can remove yourself without disrupting everyone else's access.

Combining Apple Music with other Apple services

If you subscribe to Apple One, a bundle that combines multiple Apple services, the Family Plan for Apple Music is included at no extra cost. Apple One's family tier is $19.95 monthly and adds iCloud+ storage (200 GB per person), Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade to your Music subscription. If you're already paying for any of these separately, bundling them usually saves money.

The Family Plan for Music does not stack with other music services. You cannot use the same Apple ID to subscribe to both Apple Music and another streaming service like Spotify. However, different family members can use different services on their own Apple IDs — one person could have Apple Music while another uses Spotify, as long as you're not trying to run both subscriptions on a single account.

Pausing or canceling the Family Plan

You can pause your Apple Music subscription for up to four weeks without losing your account or playlists. Open the Apple Music app, go to your account settings, select your subscription, and choose "Pause Subscription." When you pause, all family members lose access during that time. After four weeks, your subscription either resumes automatically or you can cancel it entirely.

To cancel the Family Plan permanently, go to your account settings in the Apple Music app, select your subscription, and tap "Cancel Subscription." You'll see a confirmation screen asking why you're leaving — this is optional feedback for Apple. Your subscription ends at the end of your current billing cycle, and you won't be charged again. Family members will lose access on that date.

Troubleshooting common Family Plan problems

If a family member can't see Apple Music in their account, make sure they're part of your Family Sharing group first. Open Family Sharing settings on your device and confirm their name appears in the list. If they're listed but still can't access Music, have them sign out of their Apple ID completely, restart their device, and sign back in. Sometimes the service takes a few minutes to sync across devices.

If you're being charged twice — once for the Family Plan and once for an individual subscription — you likely have two separate subscriptions running. Check your subscriptions in the Apple Music app and in your Apple ID settings under "Subscriptions." Cancel the individual plan and keep only the Family Plan. If you see duplicate charges on your credit card statement, contact Apple Support to request a refund for the duplicate billing.

If family members are seeing each other's music libraries or recommendations, check your Family Sharing privacy settings. Each person should have their own Apple ID and their own iCloud account. If someone is using a shared Apple ID, their library will merge with anyone else using that same ID. Create separate Apple IDs for each person to keep libraries private.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the Family Plan if we don't all live in the same house?

Apple's terms state the Family Plan is for household members, but the service doesn't verify where people live. Family members can be in different locations and still use the plan. However, Apple reserves the right to remove members if it suspects the plan is being misused for commercial purposes or shared outside a genuine family group.

What's the difference between the Family Plan and buying individual subscriptions?

The Family Plan gives six people separate accounts and libraries for $19.99 monthly. Six individual subscriptions would cost $71.94 monthly. The tradeoff is that with Family Plan, the organizer can see who's in the group and manage parental controls, whereas individual subscriptions are completely separate.

Do I need an iPhone to use the Family Plan?

No. You can use Apple Music on Android phones, computers, smart speakers, and web browsers. Family members can mix devices — some could use iPhones, others Android. The Family Plan itself is managed through Apple's ecosystem, but the music service works across platforms.

If I cancel the Family Plan, can I keep my playlists and saved songs?

Your playlists and saved songs stay in your Apple Music account while you're subscribed. If you cancel, you lose access to stream them, but they don't disappear immediately. If you resubscribe later, they'll still be there. However, if you don't resubscribe for a very long time, Apple may eventually remove them.

Can I switch from Family Plan to individual without losing my music?

Yes. Your personal music library, playlists, and saved songs transfer to an individual subscription. Other family members will lose access to Apple Music when you downgrade, but your own account data stays intact.