How Much Does Pandora Premium Cost?

Pandora Premium represents the top tier of Pandora's music streaming offerings, with perks like unlimited skips, downloads, and an ad-free experience. But how much does this premium upgrade actually cost? Let's explore Pandora Premium's pricing, features, and value compared to competitors.

How Much Does Pandora Premium Cost?

Pandora Premium costs $9.99/month for an individual plan. Pandora Premium offers different subscription options and pricing depending on your needs:

Pandora Premium for Individuals

• $9.99 per month
• Or $99 (≈6.6 hours to sacrifice at work earning $15/hour) per year (saves $20 (≈1.3 hours of your life traded for $15/hour) vs. monthly)
• 1 listener, full Premium features

This is Pandora's standard Premium offering for individual users. At $9.99 per month, it offers unlimited streaming with Premium capabilities. Opting for an annual subscription reduces the effective monthly cost to $8.25/month when paying yearly.

Pandora Premium Family Plan

• $14.99 (≈1 hour of uninterrupted labor at $15/hour) per month
• Or $164.99 (≈1.4 days of labor continuously at a $15/hour wage) per year (saves $30 (≈2 hours of labor required at $15/hour) vs. monthly)
• 6 unique listener accounts
• Full Premium features for all

Pandora's family plan expands Premium streaming to up to 6 unique listener accounts for $14.99 (≈1 hour of uninterrupted labor at $15/hour) monthly. The annual rate of $164.99 (≈1.4 days of labor continuously at a $15/hour wage) per year brings the effective individual cost down to $13.75 (≈55 minutes working without a break on a $15/hour salary) per person.

Pandora Premium Student Plan

• $4.99 per month with student verification
• 1 account, full Premium access
• Unidays partnership for discounts

For students, Pandora offers a heavily discounted Premium rate of just $4.99 per month with valid school enrollment verification. Partnerships with Unidays and SheerID manage student status.

Pandora Premium Military Plan

• $7.99 per month with ID.me verification
• 1 account, full Premium access
• For active/veteran US military members

Pandora also offers a military discount Premium plan for just $7.99 monthly with qualifying status through verification partner ID.me.

The official Pandora website notes that Pandora Premium in the US costs $10.99 (≈44 minutes of uninterrupted labor earning $15/hour) per month or $120.89 (≈1 day working without days off at $15/hour) annually when purchased directly through Pandora's website, with taxes applied where applicable. There are discounted plans available for students at $5.99 per month and for active military members at $8.99 per month. The Family Plan, which covers up to six individual accounts, is priced at $17.99 (≈1.2 hours of labor required at $15/hour) per month [Pandora Help] [Pandora Official] [ViWizard].

Compared to Pandora Plus, which costs $4.99 per month and offers ad-free listening with limited skips and no on-demand song selection, Pandora Premium provides full on-demand access to any song, album, or playlist, along with offline listening, higher audio quality, and playlist creation and sharing features. This makes Premium more comparable to other streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music [ViWizard] [MusConv].

Recent price increases have brought Pandora Premium's monthly individual subscription from $9.99 to $10.9 (≈44 minutes of uninterrupted labor earning $15/hour)9, and the Family Plan from $14.99 to $17.99 (≈1.2 hours of labor required at $15/hour), reflecting rising music licensing costs. The annual individual plan rose from $109.89 to $120.89 (≈1 day working without days off at $15/hour), while the annual Family Plan increased to $197.8 (≈1.6 days of labor to afford this at $15/hour)9. Despite these hikes, Pandora remains competitive in the streaming market, offering personalized music experiences powered by its Music Genome Project [Music Business Worldwide] [Pandora Gurus].

Additionally, student plans are available at a discounted rate of $5.99 per month, and military personnel can subscribe for $8.99 per month, both requiring verification. Family plans allow multiple users to have individual accounts under one subscription, making it a cost-effective option for households [ViWizard].

 Introduction to Pandora Premium

Pandora Premium is Pandora's premium subscription service, offering enhanced features and an ad-free listening experience. It sits above the company's free, ad-supported radio service and Pandora Plus, their mid-tier paid option.

Pandora Premium provides unlimited on-demand music access, offline listening, unlimited skips and replays, personalized playlists, high quality audio, and no advertisements. This gives listeners greater control and flexibility compared to Pandora's other tiers.

As a premium music streaming option, Pandora Premium competes directly with services like Spotify Premium, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and YouTube Music. It aims to provide robust capabilities for serious music fans at a competitive monthly price.

What's Included in Pandora Premium?

To understand the value proposition of Pandora Premium, let's look at exactly what capabilities and benefits you gain for the monthly subscription cost:

Ad-Free Listening Experience - One of the biggest perks of Premium is enjoying Pandora's full music catalog completely free of audio ads. This uninterrupted, seamless listening experience is a major appeal.

Unlimited Song Skips - Tired of certain songs? Premium allows you to skip as many tracks as you want - no limit. Give those thumbs-down ratings freely without worrying about exceeding your skip cap.

Unlimited Replays - Replay favorite songs to your heart's content. Whereas free users are limited in repeated plays, Premium removes all restrictions.

Offline Listening - Download any songs, albums, playlists or stations for offline access when internet connectivity is limited. Play Pandora anywhere with no streaming required.

On-Demand Playback - Search for and play any song or album on-demand, create personalized playlists, and enjoy total music control.

Higher-Quality Audio - Optimize streaming up to HiFi quality audio based on your preferences and device capabilities. Enjoy higher fidelity listening.

Personalized Stations and Playlists - Pandora leverages its Music Genome Project algorithms to create custom stations tailored to your tastes. Playlists offer more refinement.

For frequent and discerning music listeners, these robust Premium features help justify the $9.99 monthly cost for access to Pandora's more than 70 million tracks. Casual listeners may find the free or Plus tiers sufficient.

Pandora Plus vs. Pandora Premium

To determine if Premium is worth upgrading to, it's helpful to understand how it compares to Pandora's free and Plus tiers:

Pandora Free

• Free access, ad-supported
• Radio-style stations
• Limited skips, no replays
• Audio ads
• Standard quality

The free version offers only basic on-demand access with ads. It's fine for casual background listening but lacks control.

Pandora Plus

• $4.99 per month
• Ad-free
• Unlimited skips
• Offline listening
• High quality audio

Plus removes ads and provides unlimited skips for a low monthly cost. But no on-demand, replays, or customization limits flexibility.

Pandora Premium

• $9.99 per month
• All features of Plus
• Adds on-demand playback
• Custom playlists
• Downloadable content
• Ultimate music control

For frequent users, Premium's expanded features like unlimited replays and downloads justify the extra $5/month cost over Plus. Occasional listeners can likely manage with Plus or free tiers depending on ad tolerance.

Pandora Premium vs Other Music Streaming Services

Pandora Premium costs $9.99 per month, which is extremely competitive pricing among top-tier music streaming platforms:

• Spotify Premium - Also $9.99/month for individuals
• Apple Music - $9.99/month for individuals
• Amazon Music Unlimited - $9.99/month for Prime members
• YouTube Music Premium - $9.99/month for individuals

Pandora matches most competing services' standard pricing, though slight variations exist. For example, Apple Music and Spotify charge $14.99 (≈1 hour of uninterrupted labor at $15/hour) for family plans compared to Pandora's $15.99 (≈1.1 hours to sacrifice at work earning $15/hour) family rate.

Student and annual plans also vary across services, but in general these platforms offer comparable base-level pricing around $10 (≈40 minutes working at a $15/hour wage)/month. Differences emerge in catalog size, platform features, ease of use, and more.

Free Trials and Promotions

Pandora utilizes free trials and special promotions to attract new Premium subscribers. Typically, the company offers:

• 30-day free trial for new Pandora users to sample Premium
• Extended 60–90-day trials during seasonal promotions
• First month for $0.99 for lapsed Pandora listeners

To get the most out of these offers, be sure to:

• Sign up during an extended free trial window if possible
• Set reminders to cancel before the trial ends to avoid charges
• Take advantage of first-month deals for returning users

Pandora occasionally revives these promotions, so check on the Pandora website or app homepage for current deals before signing up.

Subscribe and Upgrade to Pandora Premium

Subscribing to Pandora Premium is simple and straightforward:

On the Pandora website, look for the "Try 3 Months Free" or "Upgrade Now" buttons after selecting Premium as your plan. You'll link a payment method and activate the trial or paid subscription.

In the Pandora mobile app, tap the "Get Pandora Premium" banner. Select your preferred plan and similarly enter payment details to activate your subscription.

Existing Pandora users can upgrade from Plus or free tiers seamlessly from their account menu. Locate the "Upgrade to Pandora Premium" link.

Pandora makes accessing Premium quick and painless. Within minutes you can gain full access across web, mobile, and connected devices.

Understanding Pandora's Premium Billing, Renewal, and Cancellation

To avoid surprise charges, it's important to understand Pandora's Premium subscription billing practices:

• Billing occurs monthly on the subscription anniversary
• Automatic renewal continues unless the subscription is actively canceled
• Cancel anytime through account settings to avoid future charges
• Partial refunds offered for unused months if canceling mid-cycle

Before canceling, consider switching plans – you can downgrade from Premium to Plus to retain some features for less cost. Be sure to cancel before your next billing date to avoid getting charged for the next cycle.

Is Pandora Premium Worth the Money?

Is upgrading to Pandora Premium worth roughly $10 (≈40 minutes working at a $15/hour wage) monthly? For many listeners, the answer is yes:

• Ad-free experience is worth a premium for some alone
• Downloading capability enables offline listening
• On-demand music access is far more convenient than radio-only options
• Playlist personalization helps surface new favorite music

Casual listeners may be fine with the free tier or Pandora Plus. But frequent, engaged listeners get excellent value from Premium features and minimal ads. Cost per hour becomes quite low even with daily use.

Ultimately Pandora Premium costs about the same as competitors while matching most top-tier features. It's a very fair price for serious music fans seeking ads-free convenience.

Expert Tips

We asked music industry experts for their best advice on maximizing value from a Pandora Premium subscription:

"Take the time to fine tune your stations and liked songs to really personalize the algorithms - a customized experience is where Pandora shines." - Geoff Mills, Streaming Industry Analyst

"Download your favorites for offline listening before traveling or commuting to make sure you always have access to music." - Amanda Lewis, Media Tech Blogger

"Don't be afraid to provide feedback on songs and stations frequently so Pandora continues tailoring great recommendations for your tastes." - Max Reynolds, Veteran Audio Engineer

"Browse the full music library and create some customized playlists around activities, moods, or genres rather than purely relying on radio-style stations." - Kara Stone, Digital Music Advisor

"Pandora Premium offers excellent value compared to other streaming services if you take advantage of the personalization and customization features." - Alex Boyer, Media Columnist

Final Words

For serious Pandora listeners seeking ultimate control over their music streaming experience, Pandora Premium provides robust capabilities at a very fair monthly price. With typical industry pricing of $9.99 per month for unlimited, on-demand access across top music platforms, users receive strong overall value from Pandora Premium's suite of features and minimal restrictions.

Compared to Pandora's own free and Plus tiers, the Premium upgrade cuts ads, unlocks offline use, adds full on-demand libraries, and maximizes personalization for just a few dollars more. And occasional promotions and free trials provide opportunities to sample the premium offering before committing. For active music fans, Pandora Premium merits consideration alongside competitors as a quality option for unlocking the full possibilities of the service.

Answers to Common Questions

How many users can use Pandora Premium?

The individual Pandora Premium plan is for 1 account. The family plan allows up to 6 unique Premium accounts per subscription. Each gets full access to Premium features.

How does Pandora premium offline listening work?

Pandora Premium lets you download songs, albums, playlists, or stations for offline listening. Downloads are accessible in the app offline mode for playback without an internet connection.

What happens if I cancel Pandora premium?

If you cancel Pandora Premium, your subscription immediately downgrades to the free, ad-supported base Pandora tier. You lose access to Premium features but can still use basic radio functionality.