Amazon, Apple, Pandora, Spotify and Tidal have free trials for their music streaming services. Some plans are also free. Here are the latest deals for music streaming.
What is the Best Music Streaming Service?
CNET rates the best music streaming services for 2023 as follows in their 2023 review:
- Best Overall: Spotify
- Best Alternative to Spotify: Apple Music
- Best for Prime Members: Amazon Music Unlimited
- Best for Audiophiles: Qobuz
- Best for rock and urban fans: Tidal
- Best for Prime members: Amazon Music
Below are details on how to get a free version or a free trial for all the major music streaming plans, in alphabetical order.
Amazon Streaming Music Plans
Amazon offers three streaming music plans – Music Free, Music Prime, and Music Unlimited.
Amazon Music Free
Amazon Music Free requires no Amazon subscription, no credit card, and is totally free but is ad-supported. It provides access to thousands of free music stations, songs and playlists. To start, visit:
Amazon Music Prime
If you’re an Amazon Prime Member you have access to Amazon Music Prime, which is free with your Amazon Prime Membership. Music Prime provides ad-free access to 90 million songs that you can listen to on your smartphone, tablet, PC, or Alexa device. For details see:
Amazon Music Unlimited
If you want more selections and High Definition sound, you can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited. Amazon Music Unlimited provides gives ad-free access to songs in High Definition. Music Unlimited is $9.99 a month, or $8.99 for Amazon Prime members.
Currently Amazon is offering new subscribers a 3-month free trial to Music Unlimited. For more details or to sign up visit:
(If you have previously subscribed to Music Unlimited, your free trial is limited to one month.)
Apple Music
Apple Music is Apple’s streaming music service, comparable to similar streaming services like Amazon Music Unlimited and Spotify. Apple Music provides access to more than 90 million songs. Content can be streamed or downloaded for offline play, and there are also song and genre-based radio stations. You can also listen via your car radio if it supports CarPlay. You can also start and stop songs with Siri voice input.
Apple Music provides several high-quality audio features, including Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio. Starting in March 2023, Apple Music added Apple Music Classical, which Apple says is the largest classical music selection in the world, with the best search and browse capabilities, and the most premium sound experience.
Apple offers four plans with these monthly prices: Voice Plan $4.99, College Student Plan $5.99, Individual $10.99 and Family $16.99 per month. For more details visit:
You’ll need to enter credit card information and after your free trial, you’ll be charged unless you cancel. Subscribing through Apple at the link above gets you a one-month free trial.
Instead of subscribing through Apple at the link above you can get a longer free trial by signing up at Best Buy. If you have a Best Buy rewards account you can purchase a four-month Apple Music subscription at no charge. Sign into your Best Buy rewards account and click Add to Cart to purchase. The price is $0 so it’s totally free. Sign up at:
Get 4 Months of Apple Music Free at Best Buy
Also, you can get Apple Music free for 6 months when you buy an eligible Apple device.
Idagio Classical Streaming
Idagio bills itself as the top streaming service for classical music. Idagio has a free version and two paid plans that come with free trials. You can sign up for any of the Idagio plans at:
Idagio’s free plan offers ad-supported music streaming of more than 2 million tracks.
Idagio’s paid plans are Premium and Premium + Concerts. Both plans give you ad-free access to the millions of compositions in the Idagio Music library, with lossless audio quality (FLAC 16bit 44.1kHz). You can stream online or download and play on your mobile device. You can also play on your Sonos and other smart speakers.
Idagio Premium is €9.99 a month (about $10.60 U.S.). Idagio Premium + Concerts is €16.67 a month. For more details visit
IHeart Radio Music Streaming
iHeartRadio is a free online radio and music streaming platform that offers a wide variety of live radio stations and curated music stations, as well as podcasts and other audio content. It was launched in 2008 and is owned by iHeartMedia, one of the largest radio broadcasting companies in the United States.
With iHeartRadio, users can listen to live radio stations from across the country, including local and national stations, as well as customized stations based on their favorite artists, songs, or genres. The service also offers podcasts and on-demand content from popular broadcasters, including NPR, ESPN, and TED Talks.
iHeartRadio also offers a separate on-demand music streaming service called iHeartRadio All Access, which is similar to services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Overall, iHeartRadio is a popular choice for music lovers who want access to live radio stations, personalized music recommendations, and a variety of audio content all in one platform. iHeart Radio All Access is $9.99 a month, with a one-month free trial. To subscribe or read more visit:
Pandora Free or Paid
Pandora is an online music streaming service that provides personalized radio stations based on a user’s music preferences. It was launched in 2005 and is currently owned by SiriusXM.
Pandora uses the Music Genome Project, a music database that analyzes songs based on a wide range of characteristics, including melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyrics, to create custom radio stations that match a user’s individual taste in music. Users can create their own stations by selecting a song, artist, or genre, and Pandora will then play similar songs based on its analysis of the user’s musical preferences.
Pandora has a free version and two paid plans that come with free trials. You can sign up for any of the Pandora plans at:
Pandora’s free plan offers ad-supported music streaming. To sign up or get more details visit:
Pandora’s paid plans are Pandora Plus and Premium. Both plans give you ad-free access to the millions of songs in the Pandora Music library. You can stream online or download and play on your phone or other device. You can also listen via your car radio if it supports CarPlay. You can also start and stop songs with Siri voice input.
Pandora Plus is $4.99 a month. Pandora Premium is $9.99. There are also Premium plans for College Students ($4.99), the Military ($7.99) and Families (up to 6 accounts for $14.99 per month). For more details visit
Qobiz – 90 Days Free
Qobiz is known for high-quality audio and was picked as Best for Audiophiles by CNET. Qobiz is $12.99 a month after a 90-day free trial. To sign up or get more details visit:
You’ll need to enter credit card information and after your free trial, you’ll be charged at the regular rate. Qobiz offers:
- The highest sound quality, for streaming & download.
- Over 80 million tracks available and the best Hi-Res catalog in the world.
- Over 500 000 album reviews and artist bios.
Spotify Free and Paid
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services and is rated the best overall paid music service by CNET. Spotify has a free version and a paid version, which currently has a 3-month free trial. The free version is ad supported. To sign up for either plan or get more details visit:
Spotify Premium gives you ad-free access to the 30 million plus songs in the Spotify Music library. You can stream online or download and play on your iPhone, iPad, Android or Alexa device. You can also listen via your car radio if it supports CarPlay or Android Auto. You can also start and stop songs with Siri voice input.
Spotify offers three premium plans: College Student Plan $4.99, Individual $9.99 , Duo $12.99 and Family $15.99 per month. Every plan starts with a 1-month free trial. For more details visit
Walmart+ members can get 6 months of Spotify free. For more details visit:
Free Spotify for Walmart+ Members
Tidal Free and Premium
Another service, Tidal, offers free and paid plans with differing sound quality. Tidal gives you access to 80 million songs plus hundreds of exclusive interviews and videos. You can stream online or download and play on your phone or other device. You can also listen via your car radio if it supports CarPlay or Android Auto.
Tidal offers these plan types:
Free, with 80 million songs, good sound quality, and limited ads.
HiFi with no ads, Hifi sound quality (up to 1411 kbps), 80 million songs plus 350k videos, and offline listening. $9.99 / month. 30 days free.
HiFi Plus with the best sound quality (up to 9216 kbs) and all the features of the HiFi plan. $19.99 / month. 30 days free.
Family HiFi with subscriptions for 5 additional family members. $14.99 / month. 30 days free.
Family HiFi Plus with subscriptions for 5 additional family members. $29.99 / month. 30 days free.
Tidal offers 50% off to high school and college students, and 40% to current or veterans of the US Military. For all the details visit:
YouTube Music
YouTube Music, a music streaming service developed by YouTube, allows users to stream songs, albums, playlists, and music videos. It was launched in 2015 as a music-focused component of the YouTube platform, and in 2018, it was rebranded as a standalone service.
YouTube Music offers both free and premium subscription options. With a premium subscription, users can access additional features such as ad-free playback, background playback, and offline playback. The service also offers personalized recommendations based on a user’s listening history and preferences.
YouTube Music features a vast library of songs and music videos, including official releases, live performances, and remixes from a variety of genres and artists. Users can browse content by genre, mood, activity, or artist, and can create and share playlists. Additionally, the service offers exclusive content and live performances from popular artists.
YouTube Music Premium is $9.99 a month, with a one-month free trial. Read more or sign up at:
You can access the free version just by visiting:
Picking A Music Service
Here’s a short video from the Wall Street Journal on how to pick the music streaming service that’s best for you.
