How to Cancel Apple Music in 2026 (Keep Your Playlists)

Updated February 2026 • 6 min read

Apple Music costs $10.99/month ($132/year) for Individual or $16.99/month ($204/year) for Family. With Spotify's free tier being actually usable now and YouTube Music included with YouTube Premium, paying for Apple Music is harder to justify unless you're deep in the Apple ecosystem.

Apple Music Pricing

Voice Plan: $4.99/month (Siri-only, discontinued in some regions)
Individual: $10.99/month
Family: $16.99/month (6 people)
Student: $5.99/month (with Apple TV+ included)
Apple One: $16.95/month (Music + TV+ + Arcade + iCloud 50GB)

How to Cancel

iPhone/iPad

Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions
Tap Apple Music
Tap Cancel Subscription

Mac

Open Music app → Account → View My Account
Scroll to Subscriptions → Manage
Click Cancel

⚠️ What Happens to Your Music

Playlists: Remain in your library but songs become grayed out (unplayable)
Purchased music (iTunes): Still works — you own those
Uploaded music (matched/uploaded via iCloud Music Library): Still accessible if you re-subscribe within ~30 days
Downloads: Removed from devices

Transfer Your Playlists First

Before canceling, transfer playlists to your new service:

SongShift (iOS): Free app that transfers playlists between Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Tidal, etc.
TuneMyMusic.com: Web-based playlist transfer. Free for up to 500 songs per playlist.
Soundiiz.com: $4.50/month. Best for large libraries with multiple playlists.

Best Alternatives

Spotify Free — Ad-supported but fully functional. All songs on-demand (shuffle restriction was removed). Best free option.
YouTube Music — Free tier with ads. $13.99/month for Premium (includes ad-free YouTube). Best value if you watch YouTube.
Spotify Premium — $11.99/month. Better discovery algorithm. Better podcast integration. Cross-platform.
Tidal — $10.99/month. Best audio quality (lossless/Dolby Atmos). Artist-friendly payouts.
Amazon Music — Included with Prime ($14.99/month). Limited shuffle-only catalog, but it's technically free with Prime.

💡 Apple One Bundle Check

If you have Apple One ($16.95/month for Music + TV+ + Arcade + 50GB iCloud), canceling just Apple Music doesn't save you anything. You'd need to cancel Apple One entirely and re-subscribe to the individual services you want. Do the math — sometimes the bundle is still worth it.

🔍 Find All Your Music Subscriptions

Apple Music + Spotify + SiriusXM + podcast apps — are you paying for overlapping music services? Upload your bank statement to JustCancel and see every audio/music charge.

⚡

Quick Cancel Guide: Apple Music

Direct cancel link + step-by-step instructions