AWA combines music and playlist listening with lounges where listeners can enjoy music and conversation together. It is ad-free even on the free plan, but ordinary music playback has limits on listening time and track length. Understanding its prices and free features can help you decide whether it suits the way you listen.
Prices and availability in this article refer to Japan and were checked on October 24, 2026. The table uses official listed prices, excluding promotions. Before subscribing, check the amount charged through your chosen purchase channel, free-trial eligibility and the next renewal date.
Check Full-Length Playback and How to Use LOUNGE
FREE mainly provides highlight playback. If you want to hear complete tracks, check paid-plan prices and the conditions for using LOUNGE.
STANDARD and Student Plan Prices
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Plan / Signup Channel | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
STANDARD — Official Website | ¥980 | ¥9,800 |
STANDARD · App Store / Google Play | ¥1,080 | ¥10,800 |
Student — Official Website | ¥480 | — |
These are the main plans for regular unlimited listening. STANDARD pricing differs by signup channel. An annual payment costs less overall than paying monthly for 12 months, but first consider whether you expect to continue using the service.
Source: AWA official plans and prices
The student plan is for students from junior high school upward. Registration is available only through the official website and requires a review of student documentation and annual renewal. If verification is not approved, the subscription automatically renews at the standard STANDARD price, so check the result of your application as well.
Source: Student eligibility and verification
FREE Is Ad-Free, but Limited to 20 Hours of Highlight Playback per Month
FREE provides ad-free highlight playback of ordinary tracks for up to 20 hours a month. It does not support full-length playback from beginning to end or offline listening to downloaded tracks. This does not mean up to 20 hours of unlimited full-track listening.
STANDARD adds full-length and offline playback and removes the listening-time limit. The plan you need depends on whether you want to discover songs through short previews or listen to whole albums.
Source: FREE versus STANDARD features
Discover Music Through Playlists and Lounges
Alongside personalized recommendations, AWA lets you discover music through playlists by editors, artists and users. If you want to start listening without a particular track in mind, you can choose by genre or mood.
Source: How to find music
Lounges let you interact with other listeners while listening to music. Hosting is free and available through the app or a browser. Official help also explains how to play music using highlights. Paid support features are available, so distinguish the music subscription price from payments made to support a creator.
Source: How lounges work
Audio Quality up to 320 kbps: Adjust It to Your Connection
On iOS and Android, the quality settings are Eco at 24 kbps, Normal at 96 kbps, and Excellent at 320 kbps. Quality can be set for streaming and downloads. Official help lists PC playback at 320 kbps.
On a smartphone, you can also automatically switch to 320 kbps only when connected to Wi-Fi. Check how these settings let you adapt to your connection, such as saving mobile data outside and using higher quality at home.
Source: AWA audio-quality settings
Deleting the App Does Not Cancel Your Subscription
AWA's official help advises canceling at least 24 hours before the current purchase period ends. If you subscribed through the App Store, use Apple's subscriptions settings; for Google Play, use its subscriptions settings; and for a web subscription, use the plan details on AWA's official website.
Uninstalling the app does not stop the subscription. On the web, complete the final cancellation confirmation and check the displayed end date and time. Canceling during a free trial and then subscribing again does not carry over the unused trial period.
Source: Cancellation methods by purchase channel
What You Can Try with FREE and Hear with STANDARD
When trying AWA for free, you can start by exploring playlists, finding songs with the right atmosphere, or trying a lounge. However, FREE's 20-hour monthly limit applies to highlight playback. It does not mean you can listen to every track on an album in full as long as you stay under 20 hours.
If you want to hear entire albums, enjoy music without a connection while traveling, or listen without watching the clock, check STANDARD's full-length playback, offline listening and unlimited listening time. Being ad-free on the free plan does not mean having all the features of the paid plan.
Source: Comparing FREE and STANDARD
Lounges Offer a Way to Enjoy Music with Other People
In lounges, people in the same space can listen to music together and chat. If you want to discover tracks through someone else's selections or conversations, rather than only searching and building your own library, this feature is worth trying. It is a separate comparison point from sound quality and monthly price.
Conditions differ between participating and hosting, and between free and paid use, so start by reading the official explanations. Do not assume every lounge feature is unconditionally free: examples include highlight playback when hosting on FREE and paid Flower Chat features.
Source: Official guide to hosting lounges
A Checklist Before You Start
- If you are a student, check eligibility for the web student plan. Students from junior high school upward are listed as eligible, but student information must be verified and eligibility reconfirmed annually.
- For the standard plan, compare ongoing web and in-app prices. The ¥980 web monthly price and ¥1,080 in-app monthly price reflect different purchase channels.
- Compare monthly and annual payments over the period you actually expect to use the service. Twelve web monthly payments total ¥11,760, versus ¥9,800 annually, a difference of ¥1,960.
- Check the audio quality you use on mobile. Eco, Normal and Excellent change data use and sound quality. Consider separately when to prioritize quality and when to save data.
- Check which service manages cancellation. Deleting the app alone does not end the subscription.
Source: Plans and prices / Student requirements / Audio-quality settings. The price difference was calculated by FTZ from the listed prices.
Frequently Asked Questions About AWA
Is Highlight Playback Always 90 Seconds?
This article does not treat every highlight as 90 seconds long. We use the term "highlight playback", as confirmed in the official information. If the ability to hear full tracks affects your subscription decision, check the feature differences from STANDARD.
Is 320 kbps the Same as Lossless?
They do not mean the same thing. AWA's Excellent bitrate and the bit-depth and kHz figures used by lossless services measure different things. Choosing based on your device and listening habits is more useful than simply ranking the numbers from largest to smallest.
Is an Annual Plan Right for Everyone?
It is an option worth comparing if you expect to keep using the service, but it is not necessarily better value for short-term use. Check more than the price: whether your favorite releases are available, how easy playlists are to find, and whether you will use lounges can help you decide.
Points to Consider When Choosing AWA
AWA is a service to consider if you want to discover music through other people's selections in playlists and lounges. When trying it for free, see how highlight playback works for you, then consider STANDARD if you spend more time listening to complete tracks. Compare web and in-app prices, along with verification requirements if you are a student.
Compare Other Music Services
Our comparison of six major services covers prices, free tiers, audio quality and student plans using the same criteria. Compare them based on how many people will use the service, your everyday devices and the situations in which you listen.
