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Key Takeaways
- If you’re sick of Spotify’s price increases, explore cheaper streaming options such as Amazon Music Unlimited or YouTube Music.
- You should also consider alternative Spotify subscriptions, such as Spotify Premium Duo or Spotify Premium Family, both of which can save you money.
- Be sure to also check for deals. Companies are known to offer free Spotify subscriptions to their new and/or existing customers.
For many years, Spotify stuck with the same basic price of $9.99/month for an individual user accessing its service. However, while other streaming services have resisted price increases (so far), Spotify has started increasing its monthly subscription price. Thankfully, there are options available to you other than canceling and losing access to all of that great music.
1 Switch to a Cheaper (or Free) Streaming Service
If you’re finding it difficult to justify the cost of a Spotify subscription or are just mad at the company for increasing its prices, you should consider other streaming services.
Some alternatives have (so far) stuck with the $9.99/month that was the standard price for many years when competition for new streamers was rife. And others are actually free to use (if you’re willing to put up with ads).
Of the high-profile streaming services, Amazon Music Unlimited is currently slightly cheaper than the rest, priced at $10/month for Amazon Prime members. Unfortunately, the need to be an Amazon Prime member to secure that price means you’re already shelling out a fair chunk of money yearly. So, this is only worth considering if you’re happy to pay for Prime and not planning on canceling anytime soon.
The free options generally come with caveats. YouTube Music is based on videos, Jango and Pandora are more about building radio stations than on-demand listening, and SoundCloud is about discovering new artists rather than listening to your favorite tracks by established artists. Still, it’s worth looking at your options before deciding that none of these are right for you.
2 Subscribe With Other People (Spotify Duo/Family)
If you really don’t want to cancel Spotify but can’t afford the increased price, consider one of the other subscription plans Spotify offers. Most of these involve teaming up with other members of your household to reduce the per-person price.
Spotify Premium Duo is designed for two people living together. You both get separate Spotify accounts but share the same billing account. This enables you to pay a reduced price without losing any of the benefits that come with an individual subscription. If you choose this option, we have an article dedicated to getting started with Spotify Duo.
Spotify Premium Family is designed for up to six people who live at the same address. Everyone gets an individual account to use, meaning there are no concerns about one person liking songs someone else detests. If you have six people living under the same roof, Spotify Family is the most affordable way to use Spotify.
While it doesn’t mean teaming up with anyone else, Spotify Premium Student is also worth considering. This plan enables registered students to get 50% off the price of Premium for up to four years, providing significant savings for someone while attending college.
3 Switch to Spotify’s Free Offering to Save Money
If you really cannot abide paying for Spotify any longer, you could abandon the Premium offering altogether and switch to Spotify Free. As the name suggests, this is completely free to use, yet you still retain access to millions of songs, podcasts, and audiobooks. However, it being free means you will have to put up with ads, and you will lose certain Premium features. We have compared the differences between Spotify Premium and Spotify Free for anyone considering switching.
The biggest issue with Spotify’s free offering is the inability to play any track on demand as and when you want. Instead, you’re forced to select an album or playlist, with Spotify shuffling everything within that. You also only get a limited number of skips per hour, so you can’t game the system to get to the specific song you want. Last but not least are the aforementioned ads, which can, unfortunately, be quite annoying.
4 Buy a 12-Month Spotify Gift Card From Amazon
If you are loath to cancel Spotify, switch to a different streaming service, or team up with a family member (or six), saving money on an individual subscription is your best option. One easy way of doing this is to buy a 12-month Spotify subscription in the form of a gift card from Amazon. These may also be available from bricks-and-mortar stores.
This gift card buys you a 12-month subscription to Spotify but at a reduced rate, saving you a few dollars every year. The obvious downside to this is the need to pay upfront for 12 months and not being able to cancel for the duration. Still, if you know you’re going to want to listen to Spotify for the next 12 months and have the money needed to pay for it upfront, this is a good money-saving tip.
5 Check for Spotify Subscriptions Included for Free
Spotify often does deals with other companies, which means you could bag yourself a free subscription by buying a different product or service. Companies that have previously offered this kind of perk include Microsoft (through Rewards), Samsung (with the purchase of a new phone), and AT&T (through being a customer).
We won’t list any current deals here, as they change constantly, but if you search for “Spotify deals,” you should find some that are currently active. You should also check with your internet service provider or mobile network, as these are the most likely to offer such a deal for existing customers.
While this article is aimed at Spotify users debating whether to cancel, if you know anyone who hasn’t used Spotify before, they can take advantage of Spotify’s own offer to listen for free for three months. This deal isn’t permanent, but Spotify keeps bringing it back to get people sucked into using the service.
If you have decided to cancel Spotify and move away from streaming altogether, that’s a perfectly valid choice to make. And given the way prices are increasing, we wouldn’t blame you for doing so. However, you’re likely to miss having access to almost every song you can think of anytime, anywhere, so do explore these alternative options first before making a decision you may regret.