Spotify Premium Is $12.99; Family Covers 6 for $21.99

Spotify Premium Individual costs $12.99 a month in the US and covers one person; Family is $21.99 for up to six people who live at the same address, and Duo is $18.99 for two. Student is $6.99 for verified college students and adds Hulu (With Ads), but it has no audiobook hours.

What each plan includes

From Spotify’s US Premium page and its Support articles, read 13 October 2026:

	Free	Student	Individual	Duo	Family
Price per month	$0	$6.99	$12.99	$18.99	$21.99
Accounts	1	1, verified	1	2	Up to 6
Who can join	Anyone	Eligible college students	Anyone	2 people at one address	Family at one address
Ad-free music	No, ad-supported	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Downloads	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Best audio quality	About 160kbit/s	Lossless	Lossless	Lossless	Lossless
Audiobook hours a month	None	None	15	15, manager only	15, manager only
Extra	—	Hulu (With Ads)	—	—	Parental controls

Spotify lists ad-free listening, downloads, playing songs in any order and lossless audio as Premium benefits. Downloads are capped at 10,000 tracks across up to 5 devices per account. Individual and Student start with one month at $0 for anyone who has not tried Premium before; Duo and Family show no trial on the US page.

Family and Duo: one address, checked

Both plans are built for one household. Spotify’s US page describes Family as “for up to 6 family members residing at the same address” and Duo as “for couples who reside at the same address”. Members must enter the same home address as the plan manager when they join.

Spotify checks. It asks members to verify their address when they join, when the manager moves, or when it cannot confirm it, and it may ask some Family members to scan a QR code from the manager’s phone, with both people in the same place. A member who fails or misses the 7-day window drops to Free and cannot join any other Family or Duo plan for 12 months.

Video streamers handle households differently: four of them sell a paid slot for someone who lives elsewhere. Spotify’s Family and Duo pages describe no such option.

Other rules worth knowing before you set one up:

• The plan manager is the only person who pays, and on Duo the manager cannot be changed once the plan exists.
• Members can switch plans only once every 12 months.
• On Family, members under 13 get Premium benefits, and the manager can create managed accounts for young listeners and set explicit-content filters.

Per person, a full Family plan works out to about $3.67 a month, and Duo to $9.50 each.

Audiobooks: 15 hours, and not for everyone

Individual includes 15 hours a month from Spotify’s audiobooks subscriber catalog, which Spotify puts at over 700,000 titles. On Family and Duo, only the plan manager gets those hours; members get none unless the manager buys them, and Student gets none at all.

The hours count book time, not your time: Spotify gives the example of a 5-hour audiobook at 2x speed still using 5 hours. Unused hours expire each month. When they run out you can buy a one-time top-up, valid for 12 months, or add the monthly Audiobooks+ add-on; Spotify’s support pages describe both without printing a US price.

There is also an Audiobooks Access plan, US only: 15 hours a month of audiobooks with music and podcasts on the free, ad-supported service. Spotify’s US Premium page does not print its price.

Lossless and audio quality

Spotify says Premium users can stream in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC across most of its catalog, in the mobile, desktop and tablet apps and on compatible Spotify Connect devices. Free tops out at about 160kbit/s in the apps and 128kbit/s AAC on the web player, against 320kbit/s at Premium’s “very high” setting before lossless. Spotify recommends Wi-Fi or a strong data connection for lossless.

Student: discount, with conditions

Student is for students at an eligible accredited college or university, verified through SheerID. Spotify gives the discount for up to 4 years, and you renew and reverify every 12 months. It cannot be paid through a phone or internet provider. The plan comes with Hulu’s With Ads plan at no extra cost.

Basic plans, if you see one

Some existing Premium subscribers see a Basic Individual, Duo or Family plan on their account page. Spotify says Basic keeps ad-free music, downloads and playing in any order but has no monthly audiobook hours, and that once cancelled it cannot be taken again. It is not offered to new subscribers, and Spotify’s pages print no US price for it.

Which plan for which listener

• One person, music and some audiobooks: Individual, $12.99.
• A college student: Student, $6.99, with Hulu, but no audiobook hours.
• Two people at one address: Duo, $18.99, $6.99 less than two Individual plans.
• Three to six people at one address: Family, $21.99, with parental controls.
• Mostly audiobooks, and ads on music are fine: Audiobooks Access.

If you are weighing Spotify against YouTube’s music option, note that YouTube’s cheaper Premium Lite leaves out YouTube Music Premium, and Apple Music comes inside Apple One’s bundles.

Questions people ask

How much is Spotify Premium a month in the US?

Spotify’s US page lists Premium Individual at $12.99 a month, Student at $6.99, Duo at $18.99 and Family at $21.99, read 13 October 2026. Individual and Student start with one month at $0 if you have not tried Premium before.

Can Spotify Family members live at different addresses?

No. Spotify says Family members must live with the plan manager and enter the same home address. It may ask members to re-verify, including by a QR code scanned in person; failing that moves them to Free.

Do Spotify Family members get audiobook hours?

No. On Family and Duo, the 15 hours a month go to the plan manager only. The manager can buy hours for members separately, through top-ups or the Audiobooks+ for Plan Members add-on.

Does Spotify Premium Student include audiobooks?

Not in the subscriber catalog. Spotify’s support page says Premium Student does not include audiobook listening time. It does include Hulu (With Ads) at no extra cost for eligible students.

Does Spotify Premium have lossless audio?

Yes. Spotify says Premium users can stream in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC across most of its catalog, in the mobile, desktop and tablet apps and on compatible Spotify Connect devices. Free tops out at about 160kbit/s in the apps.

Is Spotify Duo cheaper than two Individual plans?

Yes. Duo is $18.99 a month against $25.98 for two Individual plans, so $6.99 less, but both people must live at the same address and only the manager gets audiobook hours.