Amazon Music Unlimited vs Prime Music: Maximize Your Music Experience

Grace's user avatar
Grace
December 2, 2024

Amazon Music offers two premium subscription options: Amazon Music Prime (included with Prime membership) and Amazon Music Unlimited. While Prime Music provides a solid option for music streaming, Unlimited offers a significant upgrade for audiophiles and those who want more control over their music. Let’s delve into the key differences between these plans to help you decide which one best suits your needs.

Contents

What Is Amazon Music Prime

This plan comes bundled with your existing Amazon Prime membership, offering an ad-free experience with access to 100 million songs and thousands of playlists, stations, and podcasts.

However, the on-demand playback, unlimited skips, and offline listening feature are restricted to All-Access Playlists (select curated playlists based on user listening habits). For playlists and stations other than the All-Access Playlists, songs are primarily available in shuffle mode.

All-Access-Playlists

What Is Amazon Music Unlimited

While Prime Music offers good value, Amazon Music Unlimited provides an even more extensive listening experience for a monthly subscription fee. Enjoy your music in higher quality with options like HD and Ultra HD audio; play any song, playlist, or album on demand; and download music for offline playback.

Amazon Music Unlimited provides flexible plans to fit your needs. Besides the Individual plan, it also includes a Family option for multiple-device listening and a Student plan with a discounted rate. The Single Device plan allows you to use Amazon Music on a single Echo or Fire TV device.

Downloading on Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon Music Prime vs Unlimited

1. Price

Amazon Music Prime

If you’re already an Amazon Prime member, you get Amazon Music Prime as part of your subscription benefits, making it a great value.

Here are the prices for an Amazon Prime membership:

  • Free 30-day trial for new Prime subscribers
  • $14.99 per month or $139 per year after the trial
  • Discounted rate of $7.49 per month for Student Prime members

Amazon Music Unlimited plans

You don’t need Amazon Prime to subscribe to the Unlimited plan, but Prime members enjoy discounted prices. Below are the prices for the four plans offered under Amazon Music Unlimited:

  • Individual
    • $10.99/month (non-Prime)
    • $9.99/month or $99/year (with Prime)
  • Family (supporting 6 devices at a time):
    • $16.99/month (non-Prime)
    • $169/year (with Prime)
  • Student: $5.99/month
  • Single Device: $5.99/month

2. Audio Quality

One key difference between Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited is the audio quality. While Prime Music offers the full music library, it’s all in standard audio quality. Upgrading to Amazon Music Unlimited unlocks higher-fidelity options including HD, Ultra HD, and Spatial Audio.

3. Playback Control

Another notable distinction lies in the level of control over the music playback. With Amazon Music Unlimited, you have the freedom to play any song on demand, whenever you want. Prime Music offers curated All-Access Playlists with unlimited skips and on-demand playback, but for anything outside those playlists, music is played in shuffle mode with limited skips.

4. Listening Offline

With Amazon Music Unlimited, users can download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening, offering the convenience of enjoying music without an internet connection. Prime Music, however, lacks this flexibility, as downloads are limited to All-Access Playlists.

5. Side-by-Side Comparison

The table below provides a clear comparison of key features between Amazon Music Prime and Unlimited plan. This will help you decide which option best suits your listening needs.

FeatureAmazon Music PrimeAmazon Music Unlimited
Price per monthIncluded in the Amazon PrimeIndividual: $10.99 ($9.99 with Prime)
Family: $16.99
Student: $5.99
Single Device: $5.99
Ad-freeYesYes
On-demand playbackOnly available for All-Access PlaylistsYes
Unlimited skipsOnly available for All-Access Playlists; Shuffle plays any artist, album, or playlistYes
Download for offline playbackOnly available for All-Access PlaylistsYes
HD/Ultra HD/ Spatial AudioNoYes
StationThousands of Stations Personalized Stations
PodcastThe most ad-free top podcastsThe most ad-free top podcasts
Streaming Limits1 device at a time1 device at a time (Family Plan allows 6 devices at a time)
Alexa InteractionYesYes
Live FeatureYesYes

Choosing the Right Plan

Amazon Music Prime is a good option for casual listeners who are already Prime members. It provides ad-free listening experiences in the vast library. However, there are some limitations to consider, such as shuffle play, limited skips, and restricted offline listening capabilities.

If you’re a music lover seeking more control and higher-quality audio, Amazon Music Unlimited offers significant advantages, including unlimited skipping and a better download feature.

The best choice for you depends on your listening habits and priorities. If you don’t mind limited skipping and standard audio quality, Amazon Music Prime might be sufficient. However, if you want more control over your music, high-fidelity audio, and the ability to listen offline, Amazon Music Unlimited offers a more premium experience.

Bonus: How to Download Amazon Music for Free

While you can download songs for offline listening with Amazon Music Unlimited and All-Access Playlists, these downloaded files are only accessible within the Amazon Music app. You cannot export them for use on other apps or devices. However, with Pazu Amazon Music Converter, you can download any songs, albums, and playlists from Amazon Music to MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and AIFF, even with Amazon Music Free. These downloads can be transferred and played on any compatible device. Moreover, the audio quality and original ID3 tags of the downloaded MP3 files are preserved.

Now follow the tutorial below to convert Amazon Music to MP3 with a few steps.

1. Run Pazu Amazon Music Converter

Download, install, and launch Pazu Amazon Music Converter on your computer, then click the Sign In to log in to your Amazon account.

Amazon Music Converter-Sign in

If you have purchased a license, click the key icon to register the converter. If not, continue using the trial version.

2. Choose the output format

Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner and select MP3 as the output format.

Amazon Music Converter-Settings

3. Add songs, albums, or playlists

Select the desired songs, albums, or playlists you wish to download. Click the red Add button on the right to add songs to the download list.

Amazon Music Converter-Add Songs

All songs in the playlist will be added by default. Uncheck the box of any track you don’t want to download.

Amazon Music Converter-Select Songs

4. Convert Amazon Music

Click the Convert button at the lower right. Pazu Amazon Music Converter will automatically download and save the tracks to the default folder on your computer.

Amazon Music Converter-Download Songs

5. Locate Downloaded Music

After downloading, you can browse all the converted songs in the history tab by clicking the Clock  icon.

Amazon Music Converter-Find Downloads

Now you’re ready to enjoy your Amazon Music songs anywhere on any compatible device.

Amazon Music Converter

Amazon Music Converter

Download Amazon Music to MP3, FLAC, etc.