Apple One price rises: is the subscription still worth it?
This autumn, Apple increased the price of its One Premium subscription. In Switzerland, it now costs 42.90 francs instead of 40.90 – a jump of almost five per cent. Even so, the subscription is still a good deal – under two conditions.
Apple device users who want their games, storage, TV shows, health tracking and music in one package sometimes take out an Apple One subscription. The all-in-one subscription gives users access to five services:
- Apple Music: An alternative to Spotify or Amazon Music. Costs 24.90 francs for a family plan with up to six members.
- Apple Arcade: The library of games included in subscriptions for the Apple TV box, Mac, iPad and iPhone, featuring titles such as Sneaky Sasquatch and Sonic Racing. Price: 7.90 francs.
- Apple Fitness+: Classes for fitness buffs, ranging from dance workouts and HIIT to meditation and guided walks. Available for 12.90 francs.
- Apple TV: Streaming service featuring Apple TV original productions such as Ted Lasso, Silo and Slow Horses. Price: 10.90 francs.
- iCloud: Cloud storage service offering two terabytes of memory. Price: 10 francs. Maybe you’ve already done the math in your head. If you were to take out each of these Apple subscriptions individually, it’d set you back a total of 66.60 francs. Compare that to the 42.90 francs for the Premium Bundle, and you get a saving of 23.70 francs.
That’s certainly how I calculated it, anyway. As someone who’s been subscribed to Apple One Premium for a few years now, I’m humbly doing my part in boosting Apple’s services sector revenue. If you’re wondering how much that is, the company made 30.7 billion US dollars from its services in the April-July 2026 quarter (article in German). Apple’s also stated that it has 1.5 billion paid-for subscriptions on the books.
I’m pretty sure there are some Apple lovers out there who don’t really know what they’re paying for month after month. Personally, my inner penny-pincher flinches whenever the charge shows up on my monthly credit card statement. But he breathes a sigh of relief when he remembers that my family meet the two conditions that make the most expensive Apple subscription worthwhile.
1. You need the two terabytes – and you share them
The real reason I went for Premium is the storage. It’s nine francs more expensive than the Family plan (which costs 33.90 francs per month), giving you two terabytes of iCloud storage instead of 200 gigabytes, as well as Apple Fitness+. If you need a lot of storage space, Premium is actually cheaper than going for the Family plan and taking out a separate two-terabyte plan (which would be 33.90 plus 10 francs, a total of 43.90).
My family easily fill up the available storage space; not only has my wife caught the Apple bug, but my daughter has an iPhone and got an iPad during the pandemic. On top of that, there are our holiday videos and photos, gaming apps, plus the umpteen apps I’ve installed for product reviews. So those two terabytes are being well used. If 200 gigabytes is enough for you, you won’t need the Premium subscription. As far as my family’s concerned, the other services are just an added bonus. Apple Arcade is included in the subscription, with no ads and no in-app purchases. Plus, it keeps my daughter (and me) provided with a steady stream of new games. Apple TV may not offer the huge selection that other streaming platforms do, but there’s enough for my wife and I to regularly find a show to watch. Or the three of us watch nature documentaries. That reminds me, I should really cancel – or at least pause – my Netflix subscription. It’s got way too expensive lately.
If I had a Sky Premium subscription, recent changes mean I’d be able to watch Apple TV content there too. Everything’s all over the place these days.
And Apple Fitness+? I’d be lying if I said it was the most-used app on my iPhone. But once or twice a month, I get the Apple coaches to motivate me to do planks, squats and supposedly relaxing yoga poses.
2. You only stream music through Apple
At 24.90 francs, Apple Music is the most expensive service of the bunch. Without Apple Music, the four other services would be worth 41.70 francs individually, while the bundle, including Apple Music, costs 42.90. If you keep Spotify and only have Apple Music because it’s part of your all-in-one subscription, you’ll end up paying twice for music – and you won’t make any savings.
So, two years ago, we took the plunge and said goodbye to Spotify. This meant leaving some beloved playlists behind and taking time to get to grips with Apple Music’s less user-friendly interface. Switching platforms today, however, would be slightly easier, as Apple Music has built-in import functionality for playlists.
Verdict: not a must-have, but it’s convenient
Apple One Premium has always been expensive, and from November onwards, it’ll cost two francs more per month. The chart below demonstrates where this has come from. The all-in-one subscription seems to be following the same course as Apple Music, which has also got more expensive. In July, the Family plan went up in price by three francs. So now, the savings compared to individual plans total 23.70 francs. That’s one to three francs more than in the years 2021 through 2025, because the prices of individual services have risen more sharply than the price of the bundle.
For my family, the subscription is still worth it. We need the two terabytes of storage space, and only listen to music through Apple. Mind you, we could probably live without Fitness+.
If you don’t need as much storage, the Apple One Family membership for 33.90 francs is a better option. Especially if you don’t need Fitness+ to help you work up a sweat while exercising. And if you only use one Apple service, it’s better to pay for that individually.
Admittedly, even for my family, Apple’s most expensive subscription isn’t a must-have. With a little more discipline, we could get by with less storage. Plus, no one really has to play games. I also don’t need Californian fitness instructors to teach me a few jumping, hopping and push-up exercises. My health insurance company’s app would manage that just fine.
If you’ve got any advice on how to build my own cloud, go ahead and drop it in the comments. In theory, I do know I could do that. But it’d take too much money and time to get everything up and running. I’d rather pay for my convenience. Unlike my colleague Richie.
What do you think? Is paying for a more expensive Apple subscription still worth your while? Let me know in the comments.
Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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