Napster, once infamous as a peer-to-peer file sharing service, has evolved into a legitimate music streaming platform with over 110 million tracks.
Now owned by Infinite Reality, Napster provides on-demand streaming access to a vast catalog spanning genres from pop and rock to classical and jazz. The service combines reliable streaming quality with a range of discovery features designed to help users explore new music and artists.
Unlike the more popular players in this space, Napster is a subscription-only service that offers a 30-day free trial before charging $10.99/month.
Want to know if it’s worth it?
Well that’s what this article is about. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the Napster free trial in 2025, how to make the most of it and the benefits of having a Napster subscription.
What You Get With a Napster Free Trial
Napster does not have an ad-supported free account tier. Free trial users will get access to everything you’d get as a paid subscriber for 30 days.
This includes access to over 110 million songs completely ad-free and with high quality audio. You can stream most songs in lossless audio although not all songs are available in this format.
Other features available to free trial subscribers:
- Official music videos
- Curated playlists and radio stations
- Offline listening
- Personalized recommendations
- Music discovery tools
- Transfer your library for free
For casual music listeners, you can explore easy-to-use radio stations and playlists for all moods. Or check out popular charts and new releases to discover even more music.
Audio enthusiasts will love that most of the tracks are available in lossless audio format, so they can enjoy the songs in all it’s uncompressed glory. The songs also have detailed track information and you’ll also find artists biographies and similar artists.
Things To Watch Out For
There are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind when taking a Napster free trial. These may affect your decision to continue with a paid subscription or you may want to choose another service.
First, you’ll need to remember that your credit card is required to try the service and it automatically renews in 30 days. You can cancel at any time and enjoy the remaining time. There is no commitment required and you can continue with a paid subscription at any time.
If you’re into podcasts, you’ll need to know that Napster has a less extensive podcast library when compared to competitors. Music fans will benefit more from a Napster free trial and subscription.
How To Get the Most Out of Your Napster Free Trial
You’re going to have a lot of time to try out Napster. Over the next 30 days, here are some things to do to get the most out of your Napster free trial whether or not you plan to continue with a paid subscription.
Signing Up for a Napster Free Trial
From the time you get to the Napster website or app, they make it easy for you to sign up for a free trial.
I’m normally doing these free trials from my desktop so the process outlined is for the website experience. However, the app should have a similar signup flow.
Here’s how to get started.
1. Visit the Napster website or download the app
When you visit the Napster website, you’ll see the “Try for fee” button to get started with the free trial signup. Click on the button to begin.
Napster also has apps for Apple and Android devices, Windows desktop, and major smart TV brands. You can also start with any of these.
2. Choose a plan
The first step is to choose a plan. Napster has monthly or annually billed individual plans or you can choose a family plan to include more accounts if you’d like others to try it out.
To select your billing type (monthly or annually), just click the “Try Napster” button and you’ll be able to choose and continue.
3. Fill in the signup form
After selecting a plan and billing term, it’s time to enter your account info. Enter your email address and a password. Verify the password by entering it a second time then check the Terms of Use box.
If you want you can also check the other box to give Napster permission to send you personalized emails with music picks, product updates and more. Click the continue button to move on.
4. Enter payment method
A payment method is required for you to start your Napster free trial. You aren’t billed until your 30-day free trial expires.
Napster gives you the option of credit/debit card or PayPal. You can easily cancel inside your account settings at any time if you decide you don’t want to be automatically billed.
Enter your credit card info or choose PayPal then click on the “Start Free Trial” button.
5. Select your musical preferences
Before you start listening, like all the other music streaming services, Napster wants to know what you enjoy listening to most so they can personalize recommendations and more.
Select your favorite artists and genres at this point or you can skip and do it later.
6. Enjoy your Napster free trial
And that’s it. You’re now ready to explore Napster and enjoy one free month before deciding whether to continue with a paid account or not.
What I Think About Napster
For a brand that’s around 25 years old, I was not expecting much from Napster but it turned out to actually be quite decent.
The interface was modern and functional. Maybe not as polished as giants like Apple Music and Spotify but definitely in that league. You still get a better experience on mobile which is expected because that’s where most people are going to listen to their music anyway.
The web player offered stable performance with minimal buffering no matter the audio quality. Napster also offers a good search functionality and you can discover new music artists in a number of ways.
If you do need customer support, it’s available via email with typical response times of 1-2 days.
Napster may not be top 5 when you think of music streaming but they do provide a decent service that is actually worth paying for.
How Does Napster Compare To…?
So how does Napster compare to the other music streaming services that you could go with?
Napster is most suitable for fans of music so let’s compare them with two of the biggest streamers available that cater to music fans – Spotify and Apple Music.
Napster vs Spotify
Napster offers a comparable music library with over 110 million tracks but lacks Spotify’s social features, podcast variety, and algorithm sophistication.
When it comes to audio quality, Napster shines with their offering of lossless audio while Spotify only offers up to 320kbps.
Napster vs Apple Music
Napster and Apple Music both offer a 1 month free trial period. However, Napster doesn’t match Apple Music’s ecosystem integration and exclusive content.
Napster Pricing After Free Trial
During the signup process, you’re able to choose the plan that is right for you. Unless you change it during the free trial, this is the plan that will auto-renew when the 30-day period ends.
Napster has two pricing tiers, each having monthly and annual billing options.
Individual Plan ($10.99/month or $99/year)
The Individual Plan is their only premium paid plan designed for individuals. It is competitively priced at $10.99/month if you choose monthly billing. Or you can get two months free by choosing annual billing and pay $99 for an entire year.
This plan gets you everything Napster has to offer including:
- Access to 110 million songs completely ad-free
- Stream in lossless audio (not all songs are available in this format though)
- Official music videos
- Offline listening capabilities
- Curated playlists and radio stations
- Transfer your library for free
Family Plan ($14.99/month or $149.99/year)
You can share your plan with up to 6 accounts by choosing the Family Plan. This plan has everything you’d get on the Individual Plan but you’ll only pay $14.99/month for 5 other people to enjoy Napster.
You can also save 2 months by paying annually and this would cost $149.99/year.
Each plan comes with a 30-day free trial that you can cancel at any time.
How To Cancel Napster Free Trial
Napster requires that you enter your credit card info to activate the free trial. They automatically charge you for the plan you selected when the trial ends.
If you decide that you don’t want to continue with a paid subscription or you just don’t want to be automatically billed, you can always cancel before the free trial ends.
Cancelling does not affect your free trial duration – you can still listen for the remaining time.
Napster makes it easy to cancel. Here’s how:
- Log into your Napster account on the website.
- Go to “Account Settings”
- Select “Manage Subscription”
- Click on “Cancel Subscription”
- Follow the prompts to cancel your subscription
Important: Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends to avoid being charged. Your access will continue until the end of the 30-day trial period even after cancellation.
Go Try Napster for Free
While Napster may not be the coolest kid in the class, its generous 30-day free trial, extensive music library, and lossless audio option make it worth exploring for music lovers.
With solid audio quality and a straightforward approach to music streaming, Napster is a viable alternative in the streaming space.
Try Napster’s 30-day free trial today and see if its no-frills approach to music streaming fits your listening style.
