Spotify Premium is most likely to be worth it if you listen to music every day, want to download it for offline listening, or care about sound quality. Premium Individual costs $12.99 a month in the US, and Student costs $6.99. If you mostly listen to podcasts, or you are happy with ads and shuffle on your phone, the Free plan covers more than it used to.
What Spotify Premium costs
- Individual: $12.99 a month for one account.
- Duo: $18.99 a month for two people who live together.
- Family: $21.99 a month for up to six family members who live together.
- Student: $6.99 a month for verified students at eligible US colleges and universities, for up to four years. It includes Hulu's With Ads plan at no extra cost.
Spotify announced these prices on January 15, 2026. They were $11.99, $16.99, $19.99 and $5.99 before that. People who have never tried Premium can get Individual or Student free for one month.
What Premium adds over Free
- No ads in music: Premium removes audio ads from music. Podcasts can still carry ads and creator sponsorships.
- Play anything, in any order: Premium gives on-demand playback and unlimited skips on every device. Free now lets you pick songs directly too, but Smart Shuffle stays on for Free listeners on mobile.
- Music downloads: up to 10,000 tracks on each of up to five devices. Free can download podcasts but not music, though some shows need Premium to download.
- Better sound: Free reaches about 160 kbit/s in the apps. Premium adds about 320 kbit/s and, since September 2025, lossless FLAC at up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.
- Audiobooks: Premium Individual includes 15 hours a month of audiobooks from Spotify's subscriber catalog. On Duo and Family, only the plan manager gets those hours, and Student gets none.
- Jam: you need Premium to start a Jam or join one remotely.
Audiobook add-ons
If 15 hours isn't enough, Audiobooks+ adds another 15 hours a month for $11.99 on top of Premium. Audiobooks Access costs $9.99 a month for 15 hours with no Premium music, so music stays on the Free plan with ads. Unused hours reset every billing cycle.
The catches
- Lossless needs the right setup: you have to turn it on for each device, and Bluetooth compresses the sound, so Spotify recommends wired headphones or speakers, or a Spotify Connect device that supports lossless.
- Family address checks: members must live with the manager. Spotify can ask for address verification, and failing it can remove a member from the plan and stop them joining a different Family or Duo plan for 12 months.
- Downloads need a check-in: you have to go online at least once every 30 days to keep them.
Cancelling
On your Spotify account page, open Manage your plan and select Cancel subscription. Premium stays active until your next billing date, and your playlists and saved music stay when the account moves to Free. If you cancel during a free trial, the account switches to Free right away. If a partner company bills you, cancel through them.
Who should skip it
If you mainly listen to podcasts, Premium adds less, since Free can download most podcasts and audio podcasts can carry ads and sponsorships on either plan. Premium does remove Spotify's ads from video podcasts. If you already pay for YouTube Premium, check whether YouTube Music covers your listening before paying for both.
