Switching between music streaming services used to mean losing years of carefully curated playlists. Third-party transfer tools have solved this problem for both directions – YouTube Music to Apple Music and Apple Music to YouTube Music – and most of the transfer process is automatic once you connect your accounts.

Tools for Transferring Music Between Services

There is no official direct transfer feature built into either YouTube Music or Apple Music. You need a third-party service to handle the migration. The most reliable options in 2026 are:

• SongShift (iPhone app) – The most popular and accurate tool for Apple Music transfers. Free for basic use, paid for bulk transfers.
• TuneMyMusic (web and app) – Supports both directions and handles large libraries well. Free tier available.
• Soundiiz (web) – Fast and accurate, good for large libraries. Subscription required for full features.
• FreeYourMusic (app and web) – Simple interface, good accuracy for matching tracks.

How to Transfer YouTube Music to Apple Music Using SongShift

1. Download SongShift from the App Store on your iPhone.
2. Open the app and tap Setup Source.
3. Select YouTube Music and log in with your Google account. SongShift will access your YouTube Music library.
4. Tap Setup Destination and select Apple Music. Authorise SongShift to access Apple Music when prompted.
5. Choose what to transfer: select individual playlists, liked songs, or your full library.
6. Tap Start Transfer. SongShift matches tracks in YouTube Music to the equivalent in Apple Music’s catalogue.
7. Review any unmatched tracks after the transfer completes. Unmatched songs are usually obscure tracks not available on both platforms.

How to Transfer Apple Music to YouTube Music

The process is the same using SongShift or TuneMyMusic, just with Source and Destination reversed:

1. Set Apple Music as the source and YouTube Music as the destination.
2. Sign in to both accounts within the transfer tool.
3. Select the playlists or library to transfer.
4. Start the transfer and review unmatched tracks.

What Gets Transferred and What Does Not

Transfers successfully: Playlists and their contents, liked songs, albums you have saved.

Does not transfer: Your listening history, custom playlist artwork, song ratings (these are platform-specific and have no equivalent in the other service), and any offline-only content (music not available in the destination platform’s catalogue).

Handling Unmatched Tracks

Transfer tools match songs by title and artist name. Tracks that do not match are usually regional exclusives, rare releases, or songs with slightly different metadata between platforms. After the transfer, review the unmatched list and manually search for these tracks in Apple Music or YouTube Music to add them.

Keeping Both Libraries in Sync

If you are running both services during a trial period rather than permanently migrating, SongShift and Soundiiz offer sync features that keep playlists updated across both platforms as you add new music. This is useful if you are still deciding which service to stick with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the transfer free?

SongShift allows you to transfer up to a limited number of tracks for free (currently 8 playlists or 200 songs). For larger libraries, a one-time purchase or subscription accesses unlimited transfers.

How accurate are the transfers?

Most tools achieve 90-95% accuracy for mainstream music. Accuracy drops for regional content, independent artists, or tracks with inconsistent metadata across platforms.

How long does a transfer take?

Small libraries (under 500 songs) transfer in minutes. Larger libraries of several thousand tracks may take 30-60 minutes depending on the tool and server load.