Ezstems Free vs. Subscribed: Upload Limits, File Size, and API Access

Ezstems' free tier caps you at 20 uploads per day and 20MB per file. Subscribing removes both limits and adds direct API access for your own applications. If you only separate a few songs a week and your files stay under 20MB, the free version is enough. If you hit either ceiling, or you want to automate stem separation from your own code, the paid subscription is the intended path.

What the free version gives you

The homepage states the core promise plainly: "Create stems from any song for free." No account is required to run a separation, and the processing itself uses the Spleeter AI model from Deezer Research (Hennequin, Khlif, Voituret, and Moussallam, ISMIR 2019).

Before you upload, the free tool lets you choose:

• Stem count: 2, 4, or 5 stems
• Output format: mp3 at 128, 192, 256, or 320 kbps, or wav
• Frequency cutoff: 11kHz or 16kHz

You must agree to the terms and conditions before processing starts.

The two hard limits

The site names them directly under the heading "Still hitting the limits?":

The exact new file size ceiling and subscription price are not published in the material available here, so check the subscribe page for current numbers before committing.

What happens during processing

After you upload, the interface walks through three states:

1. "Uploading your file..." — your audio is transferred to the server.
2. "Processing your song..." — Spleeter separates the track. The page warns: "Don't close your browser." It also shows your position in the queue ("You are # in queue") and offers a link to skip the queue via membership options.
3. "Processing Complete!" — stems download automatically, with a manual "Click here to download" fallback and a "Process Another" button.

The queue position display is the practical signal that free processing is shared capacity. A long queue is the moment the subscription upsell appears, which tells you the paid tier is positioned around priority and volume rather than different separation quality.

When subscribing is worth it

Subscribe if any of these describe you:

• You separate more than 20 tracks a day — for example, prepping a batch of rehearsal recordings before a session.
• Your files exceed 20MB — common with full-length wav mixes at higher sample rates.
• You want to call the API from your own app, script, or pipeline instead of uploading through the browser.

Stay on the free tier if you process a handful of songs at a time and your exports fit under 20MB. The stem counts, output formats, and cutoff options are the same choices shown on the free upload screen, so the subscription buys capacity and automation, not extra separation settings.

How to check current terms

Go to ezstems.com/subscribe for the live limits and pricing. The homepage links to it as "Subscribe" and as "Explore Membership Options" in the queue notice. Because the published page evidence does not state a price or the raised file size cap, treat those as things to confirm on the subscribe page rather than assume.