Apple Music student users just hit by surprise price hike

Apple Music logo
(Image credit: Best Buy)

The days of students getting 50% off on Apple Music appear to be coming to an end wherever you live in the world. Back in May, MacRumors found that prices were going up in the likes of Australia, South Africa and India, and now the change appears to have arrived on the U.S., Canadian and UK services.

Apple hasn’t publicly announced the change or — as far as we can tell — made contact with subscribers who enjoyed the previous rate. But at some point between June 22 and June 24 when it was first spotted on Twitter, Apple Music for students went up to $5.99 a month in the U.S. and Canada, and £5.99 a month in the United Kingdom. 

The Wayback Machine entry for June 21 shows the old price still intact, before the 20% hike arrived. When Apple made similar changes in other countries back in May, the company sent out emails confirming the change, but we’ve not heard of anybody receiving them in the U.S., UK or Canada yet.

Note that this only applies to student accounts, with neither the $9.99 Individual account or $14.99 Family package impacted. Still, for students trying to make every dollar and cent count, it may be time to look elsewhere.

Time to switch streamers?

An extra dollar a month may only add up to $12 per year, but there is an opportunity to save money here if you’re open to switching streaming services. 

In the great battle of Apple Music vs. Spotify, this is a valuable point to the latter. Not only is its student package still $4.99 per month, but it comes with a free subscription to Hulu (the ad-supported plan) and Showtime too. There’s a month’s free trial if you’re on the fence, as well.

That seems like a no brainer, but if sound quality is all important to you, then you may just have to suck up the $1 price increase. While Apple Music has Spatial Audio and lossless tracks, Spotify has yet to roll out its long promised HiFi upgrade.

If you’re an iPhone user, as most Apple Music subscribers are, it could also be worth looking at an Apple One account where the likes of Music, Arcade, TV Plus are bundled into one discounted monthly subscription cost with some extra cloud storage. While there’s no student discount, $14.99 per month isn’t bad if you get use out of all the services on offer.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

Read more
Amazon Music Unlimited branding for Dolby Atmos content
Amazon follows Spotify and raises the prices of its music streaming service
Apple Music logo in white on a red background
You can get 6 months of Apple Music for just $2.99 right now — here's how
Apple Care plus settings app on new iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G smartphone model by Apple Computers close-up of Pacific Blue mobile phone device
Apple jacks up AppleCare Plus prices for all iPhone models — here's how much more you'll pay
Netflix app on a tablet
Netflix announces yet another price hike — here's how much more you'll pay
YouTube app icon on iPhone with finger
YouTube’s cheaper ad-free version could launch imminently in America
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft 365 gets massive 45% price hike — and it's all to do with AI tools
Latest in Music Streaming
Spotify app running on phone
Spotify Premium subscribers report hearing ads — here's Spotify's response
Spotify logo on a smartphone with headphones next to it
Spotify accused of pushing ghost artists into our playlists — here's what's going on
Sonos app in front of Sonos speakers
Sonos caps off a rough year for its redesigned app with one last update — here's what's new
Spotify Wrapped 2024
Spotify Wrapped 2024 not showing up? — here's how to find or fix it
Spotify wrapped podcast
I just listened to my Spotify Wrapped AI podcast — and it's weird
Spotify logo on phones with over-ear headphones
Spotify’s latest upgrade is genius — but not enough to bring me back from Apple Music
Latest in News
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Tuesday, March 11 (#639)
An image of a CAPTCHA
Hackers are using reCAPTCHA to trick users into infecting their own PCs with malware — how to stay safe
Gmail logo on iPhone
Gmail just got a huge AI upgrade that will save you a ton of time
Xbox handheld
Xbox handheld reportedly arriving this year, new PC-like console in 2027
Concept image of foldable iPad
Apple reportedly has an 18.8-inch foldable iPad prototype with under-display Face ID
Adam Scott in "Severance," now streaming on Apple TV Plus.
'Severance' season 2 finale runtime just revealed — expect a violent finale