Apple Music Family Plan lets up to six people listen on their own accounts for one monthly price

Apple Music Family Plan costs $16.99 per month and gives six people their own separate accounts, playlists, and listening history. Each person gets the full Apple Music catalog — no ads, no limits on skips. You set it up through Apple's Family Sharing feature, which is built into every Apple device. The person who pays the subscription (the organizer) controls who joins and can remove people at any time.

The main trade-off is that all six accounts share the same payment method and billing address. Apple doesn't require everyone to live in the same house, but the organizer sees basic information about each family member's account — like their name and which devices they use. If privacy from other family members is important to you, a Family Plan may not be the right fit.

Key Takeaways

  • Apple Music Family Plan costs $16.99 per month for up to six people, each with their own account and listening history.
  • You set up the plan through Family Sharing on an Apple device, and the organizer (the person who pays) controls membership.
  • All six accounts share the same payment method and billing address, and the organizer can see which devices each person uses.
  • Family members can use Apple Music on any device — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, or Android — as long as they sign in with their own Apple ID.
  • If someone leaves the family group, they lose access to Apple Music when ready, even if they paid for part of a month.

Who can be in your family group and what they can do

You can add up to five other people to your family group. They can be anyone — relatives, roommates, close friends — and Apple doesn't verify the relationship. Each person needs their own Apple ID, which is free to create. Once they're in the group, they get full access to Apple Music on any device they own.

Each family member has their own library, playlists, and recommendations. Their listening history doesn't show up on anyone else's account, and they can't see what other people are listening to (unless they share a device and don't sign out). This separation is one of the main reasons people choose a Family Plan over a single account shared across devices.

Children under 13 can be added, but they need a supervised account set up through Family Sharing. A parent or guardian manages the account and can set content restrictions. Teenagers 13 and older can have regular accounts with the same privacy as adults.

How to set up Family Sharing and add members

You start Family Sharing on the device where you pay for Apple Music — usually an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Open Settings (or System Preferences on a Mac), tap your name at the top, then tap "Family Sharing." If you haven't set it up before, tap "get your free guide" and follow the prompts. You'll confirm your payment method and set a security question.

Once Family Sharing is active, tap "Add Family Member" and choose whether to invite someone with an existing Apple ID or create a new account for a child. If you're inviting an adult, send them an invitation through their email or phone number. They'll get a notification and can accept or decline. Once they accept, they're in the family group and can start using Apple Music when ready.

If you're creating a child account, you'll set up parental controls at the same time. You can restrict explicit music, set screen time limits, and control what apps they can read. The child will need to ask your permission to make purchases or read new apps.

What information the organizer can see

As the organizer (the person who pays), you can see each family member's name, their Apple ID, and which devices they're signed into. You can also see their location if they have location sharing turned on, though this is optional. You cannot see what music they're listening to, what playlists they've created, or their full listening history — that information stays private to each person.

You can remove someone from the family group at any time through Family Sharing settings. When you do, they lose access to Apple Music, shared photos, shared calendars, and any other family features. They keep their own Apple ID and any purchases they made with their own payment method.

Devices where family members can listen

Each family member can use Apple Music on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, and HomePod mini. They can also use it on Android phones and tablets by downloading the Apple Music app from the Google Play Store. On Android, they sign in with their Apple ID and password, and they get the same full access as on Apple devices.

If someone in your family uses a Windows PC, they can access Apple Music through a web browser at music.apple.com by signing in with their Apple ID. They won't get all the same features as the app — for example, they can't read music to listen offline — but they can stream, create playlists, and search the catalog.

Family members can listen on multiple devices at the same time. There's no limit to how many devices one person can sign into, though Apple Music will only play on one device at a time per account. If two people try to play music from the same account simultaneously, the second playback will stop the first.

What happens when someone leaves or you cancel the plan

If a family member leaves the group, they lose access to Apple Music when ready. They can't listen to any music, even if they're in the middle of a song. They also lose access to shared family calendars, shared photos, and other family features. If they want to keep listening to music, they'll need to buy their own individual subscription or join a different family group.

If you (the organizer) cancel the Family Plan, everyone in the group loses access. You can downgrade to an individual plan instead, which costs $10.99 per month. If you do, only you will have access to Apple Music — the other family members will be removed from the group.

If you stop paying the subscription for any reason, access stops for everyone in the family group. Apple doesn't send a warning before the cutoff — the service just stops working when the billing cycle ends.

Privacy and security things to know

All six accounts share the same payment method and billing address. This means the organizer's name and address appear on the Apple Music bill, even though other people are using the service. If you're concerned about someone else seeing the bill, you may want to use a separate payment method or billing address that only you have access to.

Family Sharing also connects other Apple services — not just Apple Music. When you set up a family group, you're also sharing access to iCloud storage plans, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and other subscriptions you pay for. You can turn off sharing for individual services in Family Sharing settings, but it requires going into each one separately.

If someone in your family group has a device that gets lost or stolen, the organizer can see its location through Find My. This is useful for security, but it also means the organizer has visibility into where family members' devices are at any given time. You can turn off location sharing for individual family members if you want more privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share my Apple Music password instead of setting up Family Sharing?

Technically yes, but it's not recommended. If you share your password, everyone logs into the same account, which means you all share the same library and listening history. You also can't listen on multiple devices at the same time. Family Sharing gives each person their own account for $16.99 total, which is only $6 more than an individual plan.

What if someone in my family group cancels their Apple ID?

If a family member deletes their Apple ID, they're automatically removed from the family group and lose access to Apple Music. Their account data — playlists, listening history, preferences — is deleted along with the Apple ID. They can't recover it after deletion.

Can I have two family groups, or switch organizers?

No, one Apple ID can only be the organizer of one family group at a time. If you want to switch organizers, you have to remove the current organizer from the group first, then invite them back as a regular member. The new organizer takes over the payment method and billing.

Do all six people have to use Apple devices?

No. Family members can use Apple Music on Android phones, Windows PCs, or any device with a web browser. They just need their own Apple ID to sign in. The organizer is the only one who needs an Apple device to set up Family Sharing initially.

What if someone in my family group uses Apple Music on a shared device?

If two people share one device, they should each sign out of their Apple ID when they're done listening. If they don't, the next person who opens Apple Music will see the previous person's account, playlists, and listening history. There's no automatic sign-out, so it's up to each person to log out manually.