Tools · Issue #16 ·
Suno, the AI music maker that turns a one-line idea or your own lyrics into a full song with vocals
In one line: Suno writes and performs complete songs, vocals and instruments included, from a short description or lyrics you type, with a free plan of 50 credits a day (Suno puts that at about 10 songs) for personal, non-commercial use.
What it is
Suno is a web and mobile app (iOS and Android) that makes music from text. In Simple mode you describe what you want to hear, something as plain as "a synth pop song about having fun all night" or as detailed as a genre mashup with instruments and structure, and Suno writes the lyrics, picks the arrangement and sings it. If you'd rather write the words yourself, Custom mode gives you a field for your own lyrics plus more control over style; Suno says you keep ownership of any original lyrics you type in, on any plan. The current models are the v6 family, which Suno says are the first it built in partnership with artists and producers, including its partners WMG and BMG: v6 is the flagship, v6-wild is the experimental one that takes ideas in less predictable directions, and v6-mini is the faster version that free users get. A single generation can run up to 8 minutes, and Extend adds more music to the end. Beyond that there's remixing (covers, extensions, speed changes), cropping and fades, replacing or adding a section on paid plans, stem separation (splitting vocals from instruments), recording or uploading your own voice, and Suno Studio, a full editor with MIDI, effects and automation on the top plan. Songs are private and link-only by default; you can share the link or publish them to your Suno page.
Who it's for
Anyone who needs a song and can't make one: a birthday or wedding song with the guest of honor's name in it, a jingle for a small business video, a theme for a podcast, a silly song for the kids, a teacher's song to help a class remember something, or a songwriter who wants to hear lyrics sung before taking them into a real studio. It's also a lot of fun to just play with. It's less useful if you need music you can monetize without paying (free songs are non-commercial only and Suno owns them), if you're a producer who needs precise control over every note, or if you were hoping to download a big library of tracks for free (see the catch).
Try this today
Go to suno.com, sign up (no card needed for the free plan), then open Create in the left toolbar and choose Simple. Type a description of a song you'd actually use this week, for example "an upbeat acoustic birthday song for my dad Mike, who loves fishing and bad puns." Hit create and listen to what comes back. If it's close but not right, change the description and try again: name the genre, the mood, the tempo and the kind of voice. Then switch to Custom, paste a verse and chorus you wrote yourself, and hear them sung. When you have one you like, copy the song's link from your Library and send it; sharing a link doesn't use a download. Tip: if a song is missing something, describe what you want left out or added rather than starting from scratch, and use Extend when it ends too soon.
The catch
The free plan is for listening and sharing, not keeping. Free users get the v6-mini model only, the shared (slower) queue, and no commercial rights: songs made on free are for personal, non-commercial use, Suno keeps ownership of them, and subscribing later does not make them commercial after the fact (Suno says it may do this in certain cases, but not by default). Downloads are now limited on every plan. Suno's pricing page lists "no monthly song downloads" for free; its help center says free accounts get up to 7 lifetime trial downloads, while another help page says free users who joined on or after September 3, 2026 only "may occasionally receive trial downloads." Free downloads are MP3 only, and paid limits apply to your whole library, including older songs. Paid plans give 20 (Pro) or 60 (Premier) downloads a month; downloads beyond that cost extra. Credits don't roll over, either the daily free ones or the monthly paid ones; top-up credits never expire but only work while you're subscribed. Payments are final and non-refundable except case by case (Suno's examples include an accidental yearly purchase or an account with zero songs). And before you monetize anything, even on a paid plan, you need to own 100% of what's in the song: using someone else's lyrics can get your channel or releases pulled.
Pricing
Free: $0, 50 credits that refresh every day (UTC), v6-mini model, standard features, up to 4 songs at once in a shared queue, audio uploads up to 8 minutes, no commercial rights, no stem separation and no add-on credits. Pro: $10 a month, or $8 a month billed yearly ($96 a year), 2,500 credits a month (Suno's listing says up to 500 songs), v6 and v6-wild, commercial use rights for songs made while subscribed, 20 song downloads a month, 2 stem separation types, a priority queue with up to 10 songs at once, your own voice and custom models, plus the option to buy more credits and downloads. Premier: $30 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly ($288 a year), 10,000 credits a month (up to 2,000 songs), 60 downloads a month, Suno Studio with MIDI and effects, 3 stem separation types, audio uploads up to 30 minutes and adding new vocals or instruments to existing songs. When paid credits run out you fall back to the free 50 a day until your billing date. You keep commercial rights to songs made while subscribed even after you cancel. Prices don't include tax.
Pricing checked on suno.com/pricing and the Suno help center (free plan rights, ownership, downloads, trial downloads, credits, v6 models and refund articles) on Oct 30, 2026.