Are you ready to shuffle over to Amazon Music Unlimited?
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Key Takeaways
- Amazon Music Unlimited offers unlimited skips and personalized stations, unlike Amazon Music Prime.
- Amazon Music Unlimited offers higher audio quality and device support compared to Amazon Music Prime.
- Pros of Amazon Music Unlimited include a generous free trial and the ability to purchase it independently, while cons include no unique content and device limitations.
Did you know that if you pay for Amazon Prime, you can get a lot more than just free shipping? One of those perks is access to Amazon Music Prime, but the company also has a service called Amazon Music Unlimited. There are some similarities between the two services, but more differences.
Amazon Music Prime vs. Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Prime Music is one of the many benefits of having a Prime membership. You can download the Amazon Music app to most smartphones and tablets, as well as some Alexa-enabled devices. However, it is “free,” and as such, it’s limited. If you want additional features that can rival Spotify or Apple Music, you’ll want to look toward Amazon Music Unlimited.
Here’s a handy chart comparing some of the key components of Amazon Prime Music and Music Unlimited.
|
Amazon Subscription Needed |
Yes |
No |
|
Unlimited Skips |
No |
Yes |
|
Personalized Stations |
No |
Yes |
|
Audio Quality |
Up to 320 kbps |
HD, Ultra HD, and Spatiala |
|
Supported Devices |
All Amazon Music supported devices; no podcasts on Fire TV or Fire Tablet; Fire Tablet doesn’t offer full music catalog |
All Amazon Music supported devices; individual, single device, and family device plans available |
|
Offline Listening |
Yes; all-access playlists only |
Yes; for unlimited family and unlimited individual plans only |
|
Ad-free Podcasts |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Forced Shuffle Mode |
Yes |
No |
|
Pricing |
Included with Amazon Prime |
$9.99 per month/$10.99 non-Prime members |
Pros and Cons of Paying for Amazon Music Unlimited
Many music and podcast listeners will get more than enough features to be happy with just Amazon Music Prime. However, there are times when it makes sense to pony up a few bucks for Amazon Prime Unlimited. Here are some pros and cons to consider before you add another subscription service to your monthly budget:
Pros:
- Generous free trial: As of this writing, you can try unlimited for three months, so you can try it totally for free as long as you remember to cancel it before the first payment hits.
- Unlimited skips: With regular Amazon Music Prime, you can choose a channel, but you’re stuck with shuffle mode. That means if you have an itch for You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes, you can’t pull it up on demand. Unlimited allows you to play anything on demand.
- Personalized stations: Once you listen to enough songs, Amazon will use its algorithm to create stations just for you, similar to Spotify. You’ll need an Amazon Unlimited plan to listen to them.
- It can be purchased independently: If you don’t need an Amazon Prime account, Amazon Music Unlimited lets you access music and save $4 (Amazon Prime is $14.99 per month, Music Unlimited is $10.99 for non-Prime Members).
Cons:
- No unique content: If you already pay for Prime and add Amazon Music Unlimited, you won’t get any extra songs or podcasts, just easier ways to play them on demand.
- Device limitations: Unless you pay for an unlimited family plan, you can’t share your account and can only listen on one device at a time.
Signing up for Amazon Music Unlimited can unlock better ways to listen to your favorite songs. Still, Amazon Music Prime is a good option for listeners who don’t mind shuffle mode or get picky about HD audio quality. It’s a worthy competitor to other premium music streaming services. It just depends on what you need.
