Spotify Tests $0.99 Subscription Tier With Ads But Fewer Playback Limitations

Spotify is experimenting with a new ad-supported subscription tier that gives listeners more freedom over what they listen to compared to the existing free ad-based plan.

spotify plus plan
Called Spotify Plus, the tier costs $0.99 per month and lets users pick which songs they want to stream between ads, with unlimited skips and on-demand listening.

That's in contrast to Spotify's free ad-based tier, which limits users to skipping no more than six tracks every hour, and only lets them listen to tracks from 15 pre-selected playlists. If they don't want to listen to the playlists, they're limited to shuffling between tracks.

The streaming service confirmed to The Verge that it was piloting Spotify Plus with a limited number of users, but cautioned there was no guarantee that it would get a full rollout and that it "routinely conduct[s] tests to inform our decisions."

Spotify in February announced plans to introduce a new "HiFi premium" tier later this year, but despite some indications that it's been in testing, we've still to see the high-definition plan go live. Since then, Apple Music has launched Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and ‌‌Apple Music‌‌ Lossless, two features that became available to subscribers in June for no additional fee.

Tag: Spotify

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

BvizioN Avatar
51 months ago
Ads don't bother me as much as not being able to choose what to listen to next. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BigKahunaBurguer Avatar
51 months ago
I think this is a first step to remove the free tier.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkcompass Avatar
51 months ago
"pick which songs they want to stream between ads"

Sounds like you're going to get more ads than music with that statement.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JippaLippa Avatar
51 months ago
I don't get using the free tier...it's quite a miserable experience.
I prefer the Apple Music approach, being one thing only at one price for it all.
It makes it feel more serious and premium, instead of splitting the offer into various tiers (from hi-fi to free) each vorse than the previous one...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
siddavis Avatar
51 months ago

It sounds like it would be a solid value for some people; however, I feel like the market might be small for this type of product. I know the cost difference from $.99 to $9.99 is small I feel like if someone is going to pay for music they would more likely just go all in. But maybe the .99 plan could tease people with just enough features to convert more previously free users to paid subscribers?
This is right in my wheelhouse. I don't listen to enough music to justify unlimited access to everything. I bounce around between Amazon Music (with Prime Sub), Pandora, and my own Apple Music library. This sounds like it would give me access to any song I want to hear that might be excluded from my library or Amazon Music basic.

Also, the cost difference from $.99 to $9.99 is 10x. $12/year vs $120/year is a big difference. Given my listening habits, I can handle the ads (I think!)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mungo2k Avatar
51 months ago
Will artists get the subscription rate per play (which is already low with Spotify Premium) or the even lower rate that the free tier pays per play?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)