Main points
- Amazon Prime offers free music, but Music Unlimited offers more.
- Amazon Prime Music has limits, and Unlimited offers high-resolution audio and full on-demand streaming.
- If you have Amazon Prime, try Music Prime first and then upgrade to Unlimited if needed.
Amazon offers many services to its customers through Amazon Prime. You get the things you expect, like free one- or two-day shipping, extra deals on Amazon Prime Days, access to Amazon Prime Video, and there are even some perks for Twitch users, Kindle readers, and more. Another benefit is access to Amazon Music Prime, a nearly full-featured music streaming service.
Alternatively, one can get Amazon Music Unlimited. You don’t need an Amazon Prime account to get it, and it has more features than Amazon Prime Music. However, the differences between the two are more than superficial, so let’s take a look at both services and how they differ.
The Complete Guide to Amazon Prime: Cost, Benefits, and What’s Included
If you’re considering subscribing to Amazon Prime, here’s everything you need to know – including pricing, benefits, and how to sign up.
Music Prime is a Prime subscription benefit
You may not even know you have access to it
pocket plush
Amazon Music Prime is the version of Amazon Music offered as part of an Amazon Prime membership. It lets you listen to all the songs on the service as well as ad-free podcasts. Currently, Amazon has over 100 million tracks and an unknown number of podcasts, although Amazon does claim to have millions of songs.
Additionally, Amazon Prime Music features a shuffle mode with no skip limits on playlists or existing stations, and the service lets you download music for offline listening. Offline playback is limited to the user’s full access playlist. It works on any platform that supports Amazon Music, but some platforms may have other restrictions. For example, Fire tablets like the Fire HD 10 may not have access to a full music library.
How to cancel Amazon Music Unlimited and alternatives to try
Amazon Music Unlimited is a great streaming music service, but if you no longer want it, here are six steps to cancel your subscription.
Music Unlimited Unlocks HD Audio
It has all the goods including podcasts
pocket plush
Amazon Music Unlimited is the highest level of music streaming service offered by Amazon. You don’t need an Amazon Prime account to use it, but you do get a small discount if you have one. Non-Prime customers can get the service for $10.99 per month, while Prime members can get it for just $9.99. This version of the service is superficially similar to Amazon Music Prime, including full on-demand access to 100 million music tracks, the entire podcast library, and cross-platform support.
Amazon Music Unlimited also adds some extra features. One example is HD and Ultra HD music, which Amazon calls Hi-Fi mode. It also introduces spatial audio and better support for Fire TV and Fire tablet devices. With the family plan, you can also stream on up to six devices simultaneously.
What is Amazon Music Unlimited and how does it work?
Everything you need to know about Amazon Music Unlimited price, quality, and device support.
Amazon Music Prime vs. Amazon Music Unlimited: Key Differences
The more you look, the bigger the difference.
pocket plush
Let’s discuss the differences between the two feature by feature. We also compare it to the free Amazon Music options available.
|
amazon free music |
Amazon Music Prime |
Amazon Music Unlimited |
|
|
price: |
free |
Amazon Prime Free |
$10.99 per month (or $9.99 if you have Prime) |
|
Number of songs: |
100000000 |
100000000 |
100000000 |
|
podcast: |
Yes |
Yes (except Fire TV devices) |
Yes |
|
Listen on demand: |
No, radio stations only |
No, shuffle mode only |
Yes |
|
radio station: |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
audio quality |
Up to 320kbps |
Up to 320kbps |
Up to 320kbps, HD and UHD (lossless) |
|
Spatial audio: |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
No ads: |
No |
Yes, except for podcasts on Fire tablets |
Yes |
|
limit: |
One device, limited skipping |
One device, unlimited skips to All Access playlists |
Family plan supports up to six devices and unlimited skips |
|
Alexa supports: |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Offline support |
No |
All access playlists only |
Yes |
It’s only when you understand the essence that the differences really start to show. For example, with Music Unlimited, you can play all the content on the service anytime, ad-free, on every device. For Music Prime, podcasts are not available on Fire TV devices, and you will hear ads when listening to podcasts on Fire tablet devices. Overall, however, the biggest difference between the two is that Unlimited has full on-demand support. Amazon Music Prime sometimes lets you listen to the songs you want, but usually defaults to shuffle mode.
Amazon Music Unlimited vs Spotify: Which is best?
Spotify has long been the streaming service of choice, but with Amazon on the rise, is it time to switch to Amazon Music Unlimited?
Should you try Amazon Music Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited?
If you have Prime, use Amazon Music Prime
pocket plush
Fortunately, this is an easy question to answer. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you can try Amazon Music Prime at no additional cost. This is a perk of your membership, so there’s no risk in trying it. If you like what you see and want the full experience, then just upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited. It’s the same app and you can upgrade directly through the app. Additionally, Amazon typically offers free trials that last between one and three months. It has been three months since I wrote this article. If you decide you don’t want to use your free trial, simply cancel it.
Amazon Music Prime
Prime members get free access to Amazon Music, which includes an ad-free library of 100 million songs, a vast collection of top ad-free podcasts, and a variety of playlists and stations, all included with a Prime membership at no additional cost.
How to cancel Amazon Music
Amazon’s music service may be a solid value, but if you want to cancel, here’s how to get it done.
But which Amazon Music service is better?
The more functions, the better
pocket plush
This is also a simple answer. Amazon Music Unlimited is the best choice. High-resolution music options, full on-demand support, and full offline support make comparisons easy. Yes, it’s the more expensive option, but either way, you’re paying about the same price for Spotify, YouTube Music, or Apple Music. Among its mainstream competitors, only Apple Music offers high-resolution and spatial audio. Features offered at this price are not easy to find. Amazon has a very good streaming service.
That being said, Amazon Music Prime is still a pretty good deal. Like Amazon Prime Video, it’s included in the price of a regular Prime membership, so people who don’t need the extra features or HD audio capabilities can use Music Prime without any issues. As mentioned, it also uses the same app as Music Unlimited, so you can set up libraries, all-access playlists and everything else. If you decide to upgrade later, there’s no need to deal with the hassle of porting playlists and libraries from one service to another.
Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Music Unlimited is leveraging Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio technology to enhance its music library with a growing number of spatial soundtracks. Prime subscribers can access Amazon Music Unlimited for $9.99 per month, or choose to pay $99 for an annual membership. For customers without Prime, the service is priced at $10.99 per month.
How to create and edit Amazon Music playlists with Alexa
What’s the gain? It only works on Amazon Music. Here’s how it works.
FAQ
Q: How do I cancel Amazon Music Prime or Unlimited?
Well, Amazon Prime Music is part of your Amazon Prime subscription. So if you cancel regular Amazon Prime, you’ll cancel Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Prime Video, and any other benefits you get with your subscription. For Unlimited, Amazon has a dedicated web page for its music service. Head there to start canceling Amazon Music Unlimited.
Q: Does Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited work with Alexa?
Yes. In fact, all three versions of Amazon Music are available, including the free version. However, each has its limitations depending on its price tier. Except, of course, Unlimited, which has no limits. I didn’t have an Amazon Alexa device handy to test all three layers. However, with the free version, you can ask Alexa to play free music and it will launch a radio station with ads. Amazon Music Prime does the same thing, except it doesn’t have ads. Unlimited will allow you to request specific songs or playlists.