Apple Music price increase: new rates in France

The Apple Music price increase is now applied in France, with up to 3 euros more per month. Here are the new rates and the most cost-effective options.

On July 17, 2026, Apple raised the price of its three Apple Music plans in France. This first increase since October 2022 particularly affects families, while Apple One currently retains its prices.

Apple Music Price Increase: How Much Does the Subscription Cost Now?

The new pricing structure is directly on the French Apple Music page. The individual subscription now costs 11.99 euros per month, compared to 10.99 euros previously. The student plan goes from 5.99 to 6.99 euros, while the family offer increases from 16.99 to 19.99 euros.

The increase is around 9.1% for the individual subscription, 16.7% for students, and 17.7% for families. The latter plan therefore experiences the largest increase, both in absolute value and in percentage.

Over a full year, an individual subscription now costs 143.88 euros. The student rate reaches 83.88 euros and the family plan 239.88 euros. For a household using the six available accesses, the theoretical cost remains however limited to about 3.33 euros per person per month.

Why is Apple Increasing the Price of Apple Music?

Apple has not published a detailed press release in its newsroom. However, the company has sent a short statement to several specialized media outlets, in which it attributes this decision to the increase in music licensing costs. This justification was notably reported on July 17 by 9to5Mac.

This explanation should be presented as Apple's official position. The company has not provided any cost breakdown or data to measure the evolution of amounts paid to labels, publishers, artists, or rights management companies. It is therefore not possible to determine what portion of the increase will actually be redistributed to rights holders.

The change remains nevertheless confirmed independently of this statement. The new prices are displayed on Apple's commercial pages in France and in several other countries. In the United States, the three subscriptions have also increased to $11.99, $19.99, and $6.99 per month, as initially reported by Android Authority.

The included services remain unchanged

This increase is not accompanied, at this stage, by a new feature reserved for the most expensive subscriptions. The three plans still provide access to over 100 million ad-free tracks, offline listening, Lossless quality, Spatial Audio, and Apple Music Classical, according to Apple.

The student plan also includes access to Apple TV at no extra cost. The family plan can be shared with up to five other people through Family Sharing. Each member keeps their own library, recommendations, and personal playlists.

Subscribers are therefore paying more for a service whose commercial scope remains largely the same. The justification for the increase is based on operating and licensing costs cited by Apple, not on the addition of a new sound quality tier or a separate catalog.

Apple One Becomes More Attractive in France

The French situation has an important peculiarity. As of July 20, 2026, Apple One official page remain unchanged:

Apple One Individual now costs only 7.96 euros more than Apple Music Individual. This difference provides access to Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud+ storage. Apple now calculates a saving of 10.01 euros per month compared to purchasing these services separately.

The gap is even smaller for a family. Apple One Family costs 25.95 euros per month, which is only 5.96 euros more than the new Apple Music Family subscription. It adds Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of shareable iCloud+ storage. Apple estimates the corresponding monthly saving at 14.01 euros.

However, the bundle is only cost-effective if the household actually uses multiple services. A person solely interested in music would spend an additional 95.52 euros per year by choosing Apple One Individual. The current absence of a French price increase on Apple One also does not guarantee that its prices will remain unchanged in the long term.

Apple Music Remains Slightly Cheaper Than Spotify in France

The new pricing structure brings Apple Music very close to its main competitor. As of July 20, 2026, Spotify Premium in France costs 12.14 euros per month for an individual, 21.24 euros for a family, and 7.07 euros for a student.

Apple Music therefore retains a very limited price advantage:

However, the comparison cannot be limited to price. Spotify offers a Duo plan for 17.20 euros, with no direct equivalent at Apple, as well as 12 hours of audiobooks per month with certain subscriptions. Apple is particularly focusing on Spatial Audio, Apple Music Classical, and its integration into the brand's ecosystem.

Both platforms now announce Lossless listening in their French Premium offers. The choice therefore depends more on habits, musical recommendations, devices used, and ancillary services than on a difference of a few cents.

Should you change your subscription after this increase?

For an individual user satisfied with Apple Music, the annual surcharge of 12 euros remains less than the effort required to manually rebuild a library on another platform. A change becomes more relevant if the service is underused or if a competing offer better meets the household's needs.

Families have more interest in re-examining their plan, as their bill increases by 36 euros per year. They can check the actual number of active accounts, compare Apple Music Family with Spotify Family, and calculate if Apple One Family would advantageously replace several subscriptions already paid separately.

It is also advisable to check subscriptions in Apple account settings before the next renewal. The user can then compare the price of music alone with that of Apple One, without being guided solely by the theoretical savings displayed by Apple.

This Apple Music price increase reduces one of the service's historical advantages, but does not yet disrupt its positioning against Spotify. In France, the best decision is above all to compare real usage, particularly for families and people already subscribed to Apple TV, Apple Arcade, or iCloud+.