Apple's subscription sharing is the money-saving lifehack you need

Summary

Sharing subscriptions via Apple can be a great way of saving money if two or more people are splitting the bill.
With some services, though, everyone will need an Apple device.
There’s also the risk of people being unable to leave Apple’s platform without sowing personal discord.

Many of us depend on online subscriptions for things like music, video, and storage, yet each company likes to pretend that they’re the only ones handing us a bill. It could easily cost hundreds of dollars per month to get the most out of every app on your iPhone or Android device.

If you’ve got a partner or a child, a hidden advantage of the Apple ecosystem is that you can cut down on your household’s bills. I feel like that may make sense for a lot of people — as long as they’re willing to go all-in on the company, which isn’t always a good idea.

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Mostly simple, with some caveats

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The most essential component is Family Sharing, something baked into iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS. This lets you add adults and children into a group, one of the primary benefits being parental controls — your six-year-old shouldn’t be able to watch YouTube at 2AM. That’s why I first decided to switch it on, in fact. On your own iPhone or iPad, you can get started by going to Settings -> [your name] -> Family -> Set Up. Note that every Family member has to have an Apple Account, which may mean creating new accounts before you can get going. For a smooth experience, start with adult accounts and add any kid(s) after basic Family Sharing is up.

Once you’ve got your Family going, you can share subscriptions for Apple services and third-party App Store subscriptions by visiting Settings -> Family -> Subscriptions. Be aware that you can only have up to six people in a Family, and that not all third-party subscriptions will work with the feature. We’ll touch on that again later.

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Splitting the bill in a tough economy

Apple

Some services force you to pay for higher tiers if you want to use them on more than one or two devices at a time. The best known example is Spotify — if I’m listening to my gym playlist in the middle of a deadlift set, for example, it’s going to go silent if my son decides to listen to The Octopus Project, no matter if he’s still in his bedroom. The only way around that is upgrading to a Spotify Duo or Family plan.

With the exception of Apple Music — which requires a Family plan for it — all of Apple’s first-party subscriptions are shareable at no extra cost. That includes:

Apple Arcade
Apple News+
Apple Fitness+
Apple TV+
iCloud+
Any channel subscriptions in the Apple TV app

That last one may be particularly important. Some of the channels available in the TV app include Cinemax, Starz, AMC+, and Paramount+, and with Family Sharing, six people can watch at the same time — regardless of how much you’d pay for the option outside of Apple. If you’ve got partners, friends, and/or family willing to join your Family and split the bill, the cost of services can shrink dramatically. A $10 service might shrink to $2 on your end, which can be invaluable for preventing your bills from running out of control, or at least open up access to more services for the same amount of money.

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Locking yourself into the walled garden

Braden Newell/Pocket-lint

Excluding Apple Music, Apple TV+, and other TV channels, you’re stuck using shared subscriptions on Apple devices. If others in your Family are Android users first and foremost, sharing subscriptions may be pointless. Apple’s goal is to keep you in its ecosystem. Indeed, it’s likely that the only reason Apple Music and Apple TV+ are multi-platform is that otherwise, they wouldn’t have enough customers to be profitable.

Apple’s goal is to keep you in its ecosystem.

Even if everyone you know owns an Apple device, some people may not be happy with the services that support subscription sharing. Despite its cost, I personally prefer Spotify over Apple Music — it has better playlists and an easier interface, in my opinion. Likewise, while Apple News+ may get you publications like the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker, that’s not going to help you if you want to read the Washington Post or the Austin American-Statesman.

Worse, it’s not guaranteed that third-party apps will support subscription sharing. Many services skip in-app subscriptions to avoid giving Apple a 15 to 30% cut, and the ones that do allow it won’t necessarily support sharing — they may insist on you paying extra for more people. Check with the services you want to share before shelling over any hard-earned cash.

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A lifehack with some potential drawbacks

Apple Music Spatial Audio on the iPhone 16 Pro

If you’re in an Apple-centric household or friend group, subscription sharing can qualify as a genuine lifehack — there’s no sense paying inflated fees if you’re going to go with Apple apps and devices anyway. Although you may rather have the freedom of switching ecosystems, it’s probably worth the sacrifice, especially when your budget is tight.

Think twice if you’re making a comfortable salary and the people you’d like to share with aren’t deeply committed to Apple.

I’d think twice if you’re not deeply committed to Apple, though. Users can end up locked into the ecosystem simply to appease others, which might even create relationship conflicts if you’re not careful. At the very least, you should have a backup plan if someone decides to bail from sharing, whether that means recruiting another friend or ponying up for a more expensive service.