Pandora Plus vs. Premium

[Crestmeadow1600]

in the past I have been able to play specific songs however now I can't. Also I'm getting ads with a pais subscription 

mod edit: changing title for clarity

[TannerPandora · Accepted solution]

Hi @Crestmeadow1600! Thanks for posting, hope your Saturday is going well. 

I checked your Pandora account and I noticed a couple of things. Your account is currently upgraded to Pandora Plus, billed through Google Play. In the past, you've been upgraded to Pandora Premium, which offers a few more features. 

Here are the difference:

With Pandora Plus:

• All advertising removed
• Create radio stations and enjoy podcasts
• Higher quality audio
• Skip all you want
• Replay songs
• Listen offline with your Android or iOS phone

With Pandora Premium:

• Listen to songs or albums on-demand.
• Create custom playlists.
• Enjoy podcasts.
• Download songs, albums, stations and playlists for offline listening.
• Access Higher Quality Audio
• Queue content to keep the music playing
• Utilize all of the benefits of Pandora Plus, like ad-free music, unlimited skips and replays on your stations.

The reason you're hearing ads is because you're triggering a complimentary session of Premium in order to listen to on-demand content. 

In the past, free listeners and Pandora Plus subscribers were only able to look for artists and tracks in order to create radio stations.

We've updated your experience so that you have the ability to listen to content on-demand, without being a Pandora Premium subscriber.

If you search for and select the name of an artist, or track, or album, you should be brought to a "backstage page" where you can either create a radio station or press play.

If you press play you indicate that you'd like to listen to that content right away (or "on-demand"). Since only Pandora Premium subscribers can listen on-demand, you will either see an ad for Pandora Premium, or be prompted to watch a video ad to unlock a complimentary session of Pandora Premium.

Hope that helps to explain.

++

If you'd like to upgrade back to Premium, let me know and I can offer some steps on how to do this through Google Play. 

Thanks for being part of community! 🎧

[Thomashumphreys]

I've had premium for years, but ever since I got a new phone my downloaded albums are gone and I can't download more AND  I'm still being charged 

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Thomashumphreys! Thanks for posting to community. 

I moved your message over to: Pandora Plus vs. Premium

I checked your Pandora account and see that you're currently upgraded to Pandora Plus, not Premium, through Google Play. 

Plus has different features than Premium. You can check out my post above for more details on this.

If you'd like to upgrade to Premium, you can do this from your Android device:

1. Open the Pandora app and sign in (if necessary).
2. Go to your stations list and tap the menu icon in the top left corner.
3. Select Subscription. From here you can view your current plan, as well as your options for upgrading to Pandora Premium.

**Please note: If you upgrade directly through Google Play, you will immediately be transitioned into Premium, and the unused portion of your current Pandora Plus subscription will be applied to that cost. Once you've used up the remaining value of your most recent Pandora Plus payment, you will be charged for your first month of Pandora Premium.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!

[tmkruse68]

What is the difference between the premium version and the version I'm paying $4.19 a month for?

I've been paying $4.19 a month for a while and don't have commercials... 

Thanks! 

Tina

[AdamPandora]

@tmkruse68 I moved your post to this thread since you have a similar question: Pandora Plus vs. Premium

For a breakdown on the differences between Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium, check out the accepted solution to this thread.

Hope this helps! 

[BadBadDog]

Hi Tanner --

Been a Plus member for (I can't remember how many..........) years.

I have 2 specific questions plus vs premium. 

1. Do plus and premium members have access to the same library of songs? In other words, is there any difference in the galaxy of songs one of my stations has to suggest when it suggests new songs to me?

2. Both Plus and Premium claim "higher quality audio", is there any difference in the maximum bitrate available with Plus and Premium? If so, what are those bitrates?

Thanks!

[TannerPandora]

Hi @BadBadDog! Thanks for posting to community. 

Just in case you are curious. You've been a Pandora member since 6/19/2013 and have been a Plus subscriber 3/8/2017 - thank you for all your support! 🎉🎧🙌🏻

To answer your first question, Plus and Premium members have access to the same catalog of songs - your stations should suggest the same content.  However, Premium listeners have access to on-demand content. Meaning they can look up and listen to a song, album or playlists without an advertisement. 

For your second question, mobile devices receive a variety of different rates depending on the capability of the device and the network they are on, but never more than 64k AAC+. On our website, Pandora plays 64k AAC+ for free listeners and 192k for Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium subscribers.

Here are the current bit-rates for each audio quality setting on Pandora Premium:

• Low (32kbps)
• Standard (64kbps)
• High (192kbps)

Keep in mind that each setting will affect:

• Data used while streaming on your cellular network.
• Bandwidth used when listening on Wi-Fi.
• Device memory when downloading music for Offline listening.

The following are general guidelines for each setting:

• Low audio quality is better for data efficiency and device memory.
• Standard audio quality balances data efficiency, sound quality and device memory.
• High audio quality is recommend for listeners with high fidelity audio systems, but will use more data and device memory.

We are constantly testing and evaluating what the right rates are for each setting level and do plan to migrate our high audio quality to 320kbps AAC over time.

Hope this helped answer your questions. 

[BadBadDog]

Hi Tanner --

Thanks for the quick response! Just so I am clear: if I am listening on an iPhone or iPad (w/external speakers, of course!), then even if I am connected to WiFi I am limited to 64k AAC+.

Thanks (again)....... 

[AdamPandora]

@BadBadDog With Pandora Plus, that is correct.

Only Pandora Premium subscribers can receive 192kbps on their iOS and Android devices.

Hope this helps clarify!

[miguelgiacomo]

So, Pandora charges a fee for listening to music without ads for only about two dollars less than Amazon Music.  Amazon charges 7.99 for unlimited music , which is less than what Pandora wants for their Premium account.  If the Pandora Plus is simply no ads but no access

mod edit: changed title for clarity

[TannerPandora]

Hi @miguelgiacomo! Thanks for posting. I moved your message over to a thread that I believe will help: Pandora Plus vs. Premium 

Check out the accepted solution to learn about all the great features that Plus and Premium have to offer. If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know. 

[freddiep7]

Hello Tanner, 

Your response was from about One year ago. When is Pandora going to finally migrate to 320kbps AAC? 

[AdamPandora]

@freddiep7 If you haven't already done so, I recommend upvoting this existing feature request with a ❤️ if you'd like to see it implemented in the service: Higher Audio Quality

Feel free to also leave a comment on that thread as well.

Thanks for being a part of the Community!

[Luisdale1]

What is the difference in Pandora Premium ad free personalized music and Pandora plus add free personalized stations?

[AdamPandora]

@Luisdale1 I'm happy to help explain the differences between Pandora Plus and Premium.

With Plus, you get:

• Ad-free personalized stations
• Unlimited skips
• The ability to replay songs
• The option to download radio stations for offline listening

A Plus subscription is $4.99 USD monthly or $54.89 annually.*

On the other hand, Premium subscribers receive all the same benefits, as well as: 

• Listen to songs or albums on-demand
• Create custom playlists
• Download songs, albums or playlists for offline listening
• Access Higher Quality Audio
• Queue content to keep the music playing

A Premium subscription is $9.99 USD monthly or $109.89 annually when purchased directly through Pandora.*

Pandora Premium Family – which provides all of the features of Pandora Premium for up to 6 individual accounts – is $14.99/monthly or $164.89 annually, and only available when you upgrade directly through Pandora.* You must be at least 21 years of age to purchase this subscription and be the primary account holder.
 

We are also proud to offer discounted student and military subscriptions. The Premium Student subscription is only $4.99 USD monthly or $59.88 annually for students who qualify, while the Premium Military subscription is only $7.99 USD monthly or $87.89 annually for qualified listeners.*
 

For more information about our subscription options, make sure you’re logged in with the correct account and visit our upgrade or subscriptions pages. (Select Get Premium to view Premium options.)
 

Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.
 

*Please note that additional taxes may apply to these subscription costs, depending on your area.

[Chewy2125]

I just got Pandora plus, it says that you can search and play what you want, I tried looking for a song and play it and it says that I have to upgrade to premium.

 Is that right?

[MariaPandora]

Hi @Chewy2125  , welcome to the community!

I moved your post to this existing thread: Pandora Plus vs. Premium.

That's correct, although you can search for any song/artist/album with Pandora Plus, on-demand listening is a Premium-only feature, so you need to have a Premium subscription or enable a Premium Acess session to listen to the song.

For more details about the differences between Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium please check the Accepted Solution on this thread.

Let us know if you have any other questions!