Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music: Which Family Plan Is Worth It in 2026?

Spotify has raised its prices for the third time in three years. In Switzerland, the family plan now costs CHF 26.95 a month — up from CHF 22.95 in November 2025. That's a 17% jump in a single price round, and the service's own leadership has signalled that more increases are coming.

If you're paying CHF 26.95 a month and haven't compared alternatives recently, now is a very good time to do it.

The Current Landscape

The music streaming market has split in two. On one side, you have Spotify — the default choice for most families, still the largest platform, and now the most expensive. On the other, Apple Music and YouTube Music have held their prices steady and are quietly offering more value than they did a year ago.

Here's where each service stands today:

That gap between Spotify and Apple Music is now over CHF 7 per month — CHF 84 a year. For the same catalogue size and audio quality, that's a meaningful difference for most families.

What You Actually Get

Before switching, it's worth knowing what each service does well for families specifically.

Spotify is still the strongest for discovery. Its playlist curation (Discover Weekly, Daily Mixes) and podcast integration are unmatched. If your family streams a lot of podcasts alongside music, Spotify's combined library is genuinely useful. The collaborative playlist feature is also a nice touch for family playlists everyone can contribute to.

Apple Music has narrowed the gap substantially. Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos tracks are now available across a large portion of the catalogue, and the iOS and macOS integration is seamless for families already in the Apple ecosystem. Apple Music's radio stations and dedicated family sharing through iCloud work without any friction. At CHF 19.90 with zero price increases since 2022, it's the most stable option on the market right now.

YouTube Music is the sleeper pick. The family plan includes YouTube Premium for all members — meaning no ads across the entire YouTube platform, background play on mobile, and offline downloads for YouTube videos. If your family watches a lot of YouTube (and most do), the combined value is hard to beat. The music discovery isn't quite at Spotify's level, but the extras make up for it.

Amazon Music Unlimited makes most sense if your family already uses Amazon devices (Echo, Fire TV) or has a Prime subscription. The library is comparable to the others, but it's the least feature-rich of the four for a family that isn't already in the Amazon ecosystem.

The Switching Question

The main reason people stay on Spotify despite the price is habit and playlists. Years of liked songs, curated playlists, and Discover Weekly history feel hard to leave behind.

But here's the thing: all your playlists can be exported. Tools like Soundiiz and TuneMyMusic can transfer your entire Spotify library — liked songs, playlists, everything — to Apple Music or YouTube Music in about 10 minutes. Most families who try the switch don't end up missing much.

If your household has 4–6 people all on Spotify individually, you're likely paying far more than any family plan. Spotify's individual plan in Switzerland is currently CHF 15.95 a month. Two individual accounts alone cost more than the Apple Music family plan that covers six people.

SubHome's family sharing feature lets everyone in the household see the full subscription stack, so you can catch exactly this kind of overlap — multiple individual accounts that could be consolidated into one family plan.

A Simple Rule for Deciding

If your family is primarily on Apple devices and doesn't listen to many podcasts: switch to Apple Music. The integration is better, the price is lower, and the catalogue is functionally identical.

If your family watches a lot of YouTube and you're not already paying for Premium: YouTube Music's family plan is genuinely excellent value when you factor in ad-free YouTube for everyone.

If your family relies on Spotify's recommendation engine (Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mixes) and streams podcasts through the same app: Spotify's extra CHF 7 a month might still be worth it for you. Just make sure you're on the family plan and not running multiple individual accounts.

Set an Alert Before the Next Hike

Spotify's management has explicitly said price increases will continue. The question isn't whether the next hike is coming — it's whether you'll notice it when it does.

With SubHome's price alerts, you'll get a notification the moment your charge amount changes. That gives you a decision window: switch to a cheaper plan, downgrade, or accept the new price consciously. The alternative is what most families experience — finding out three months later that their streaming costs quietly climbed again.

The families getting the most value from music streaming aren't necessarily on the cheapest service. They're on the right service for their habits, at a price they actively chose — not one they ended up with by default.