How to split subscriptions in NZ

Most major subscription services sell a group or family plan designed for several people at once. Splitting the cost of one of those is normal use, not a workaround. Spotify's Family plan in New Zealand is $33.99 a month and covers up to 6 people, which comes to about $5.67 each if you divide it evenly.

For comparison, Spotify Premium on your own is $21 a month. So the saving is real, and it is the main reason people bother.

Find five other people, put one person's name on the plan, and have everyone pay them back each month. It costs nothing beyond the plan itself, and if you have a flat or a family who all want the same service, it is the obvious choice.

The catch is the admin. Someone has to collect money from five people every month, follow up the ones who forget, and sort it out when a person drops off. That is usually what kills these arrangements, not the setup.

A subscription sharing platform matches you with people who want the spare seats and runs the payments automatically, so nobody has to chase anyone. You pay a fee for that convenience.

On KiwiSubs, joining a plan costs $8.99 a month, which is about $144 a year less than paying for Premium on your own. If you already pay for a Family plan, each person who takes one of your spare seats pays you $5.67 a month, so filling all 5 brings $28.35 back on a $33.99 plan. Listing is free.

Only ones sold as multi-person plans. A single-user subscription shared by passing around a password is a different thing entirely, and it is the practice services actually act on.

KiwiSubs currently supports Spotify Premium Family only, with more services planned.

Services set their own conditions on group plans, and some describe them as intended for people at a single address. Those conditions vary by service and change over time, so read the current terms of whichever one you are splitting.

We go into this properly in our guide to whether subscription sharing is legal, and the FAQ covers the practical questions.