Apple is increasing the monthly cost of its Apple Music streaming service for South African subscribers. Local customers received email notifications regarding the adjusted pricing structure, which is set to take effect on 27 August 2026.
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The price adjustments across tiers are as follows:
- Individual Plan: Increasing from R69.99 to R79.99 per month (supports 1 user).
- Family Plan: Increasing from R109.99 to R129.99 per month (supports up to 6 simultaneous streams).
Apple attributed the nationwide price hike to rising music licensing costs and a commitment to ensuring fair compensation for artists and creators on the platform, following similar price increases rolled out in other global regions in recent weeks.
This adjustment marks only the second price increase for Apple Music in South Africa since the platform originally launched in June 2015:
See also
- June 2015 (Launch): Individual plan debuted at R59.99, while the Family plan was priced at R89.99.
- October 2022 (First Increase): Subscription rates rose to R69.99 for Individuals and R109.99 for Families (alongside an Apple TV+ price adjustment from R84.99 to R124.99).
- August 2026 (Current Increase): Rates rise to R79.99 for Individuals and R129.99 for Families.
Despite the price increase, Apple Music’s feature set remains unchanged. The platform provides access to a catalogue of over 100 million songs encoded entirely in Lossless Audio. System limits also remain steady, allowing users to save up to 100,000 tracks to their personal library and build playlists containing up to 10,000 songs.
