How to Cancel Spotify (2026): Step-by-Step

Updated September 9, 2026 · 6 min read · By SubLess Team

Quick answer

Spotify Premium cannot be cancelled inside the app. Go to spotify.com/account in a browser, sign in, open Your plan, choose Change plan, scroll to Spotify Free and click Cancel Premium. You keep Premium until the next billing date, then the account switches to Free with every playlist, liked song and follower intact. If Apple, Google Play or a phone provider bills you, cancel there instead.

Official cancellation page ↗

Cancel Spotify Premium from the website

The mobile app deliberately has no cancel button. It links you to the website, and that is where the whole thing happens.

Open spotify.com/account in any browser, on your phone or a computer, and sign in with the account that pays. If you log in with Facebook, Google or Apple, use that same button; a fresh email login creates a second, empty account.
Click Your plan, then Change plan. The page lists every plan. Ignore the upgrades.
Scroll to the bottom to Spotify Free and click Cancel Premium. Spotify asks once whether you are sure and shows the date Premium ends.
Click Yes, cancel. A confirmation email follows within minutes. Your account page now shows "Premium ends on" instead of a renewal date.

Spotify makes one retention attempt on the way out: a reminder of what Free lacks, sometimes a discounted month. There is no phone call, no chat, no waiting. Two minutes, start to finish.

If the Cancel button is missing, someone else bills you

When the account page shows your plan but no way to cancel it, Spotify is not the one charging you. The page usually names who is. Three cases:

Apple (iPhone in-app purchase)

Spotify stopped selling Premium through Apple years ago, but subscriptions started that way still run. Open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap Spotify, then Cancel Subscription. If Spotify is not in that list, Apple is not billing you.

Google Play (Android in-app purchase)

Open the Play Store app, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, Subscriptions, Spotify, Cancel subscription. Works from a computer too at play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions.

Phone provider or bundle

Some carriers include Premium in a plan or add it to the bill. Cancel through the carrier's app or customer service, ask for the end date, and check the next bill.

Family, Duo and Student plans

Family and Duo: only the plan manager, the account that pays, can cancel. Members cannot leave the plan from their side without the manager removing them, and when the manager cancels, every member drops to Free on the same date. If you are a member who wants out, ask the manager to remove you; your account and playlists stay yours.

Student: the discount needs re-verification every twelve months, and it lapses automatically after four years. Cancelling works exactly like the standard plan. If you want to keep Premium but lost the discount, do not cancel; change the plan instead.

What happens after you cancel

Premium runs until the billing date. Cancelling stops the next payment, not today's music.

Nothing is deleted. Playlists, liked songs, followed artists, podcasts, the algorithm's idea of your taste: all of it stays on the Free account. Come back in a year and it is there.

Downloads stop working. Offline music is a Premium feature. The files sit on your phone until you open the app, then they are locked.

Free means ads and shuffle on mobile. On phones, Free plays most albums and playlists in shuffle mode with ads every few songs. On desktop and web, Free plays on demand with ads.

No refund for the rest of the month. Spotify does not refund unused days, so cancelling the day before renewal is free and cancelling the day after costs a month. The date is on the account page.

Want to keep Premium but pay less? Duo for two people in one household and Family for up to six cost far less per person than two or more individual plans. Change plan on the same page you cancel from.

Charged after cancelling: the two usual reasons

Two Spotify accounts

This is the most common Spotify billing complaint by a wide margin. You once signed up with an email address and later logged in with Facebook or Google, which created a second account. One of them has Premium; the other is the one you cancelled. Search your inbox for Spotify receipts and look at the account name at the top; then sign in to that account and cancel there. Spotify support will usually refund a duplicate Premium charge when you show them both accounts.

Cancelled on Spotify, billed by Apple or Google

Your Spotify account shows Free but the charge continues. The charge on your statement will say Apple or Google, not Spotify. Cancel in Settings (iPhone) or the Play Store (Android) as described above.

Trial converted

Free trials become paid on the last day. Cancelling during the trial keeps Premium until the trial ends and prevents the charge; Spotify says so on the confirmation screen.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel Spotify Premium from the iPhone app?

No. The app has no cancel option and sends you to spotify.com/account. If you originally subscribed through Apple, cancel in iPhone Settings under Subscriptions instead.

Do I lose my playlists when I cancel Spotify Premium?

No. Playlists, liked songs and followed artists stay on your account, which simply becomes a Free account. Only downloads stop working.

When does Spotify Premium end after I cancel?

At the end of the period you already paid for. The exact date is shown when you confirm and on the account page as "Premium ends on".

Why was I charged after cancelling Spotify?

Usually because you have two Spotify accounts and cancelled the wrong one, or because Apple or Google Play bills you and you cancelled on the Spotify site. Check your receipts for the account name and the biller.

Can a Family plan member cancel on their own?

No. Only the plan manager can cancel or remove members. A member who wants to leave should ask the manager to remove them; their account and playlists are unaffected.

Does Spotify refund unused days after cancelling?

No, as a rule. You keep Premium until the billing date instead. Duplicate charges and charges after a confirmed cancellation are the exceptions.

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Sources

Steps checked on September 9, 2026. Menus change from time to time; if something looks different, the official page linked above is always current.

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