How Much Did the Microsoft Zune Cost in 2006?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Zune price was $249.99 when it went on sale in the United States on November 14, 2006. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $418.02 in September 2026 money, roughly 1.7 times the original price.
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Microsoft Zune 30 at a glance
- US launch price
- $249.99
- In today’s money
- ≈ $418.02November 2006 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- November 14, 2006
- Where it was designed
- Redmond, United StatesDesigned by Microsoft at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- en.wikipedia.org
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
What did $249.99 get you?
The first Zune was a portable media player with a 30GB hard drive, a 3-inch screen and an FM radio. It played music, videos and pictures, and came in black, brown or white.
Its big new idea was social: Zunes could share songs with each other over Wi-Fi. A song you were sent could be played three times over three days.
The Zune price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2006. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Zune price of $249.99 works out at about $418.02 in September 2026 money, around 1.7 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the Microsoft Zune sells for second-hand.
When was the Zune released?
- On sale in the US: November 14, 2006
- Price cut to $199.99: September 5, 2007
- Zune hardware discontinued: October 2011
- Zune brand ended: June 2012, replaced by Xbox Music and Xbox Video
Where was the Zune made?
The Zune was developed by Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, near Seattle. The first players were made in cooperation with Toshiba, and the words “Hello from Seattle” were printed on the back of each one.
Microsoft against the iPod
Microsoft aimed to challenge Apple, whose iPod had an enormous share of the market. Three hard-drive Zunes and six flash-memory players followed, but the Zune’s share of the US market stayed low, behind Apple, the SanDisk Sansa and the Creative Zen.
Zune facts you might not know
- At midnight Pacific time on December 31, 2008, Zune 30s around the world froze. A bug in a driver could not cope with the 366th day of a leap year.
- Only 100 magenta and 100 orange Zunes were handed out at launch, each with a numbered certificate.
- A Halo 3 Zune was made with Bungie, the game’s creators, in 2007.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the Zune cost?
The first Microsoft Zune cost $249.99 when it went on sale on November 14, 2006.
How much is $249.99 from 2006 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Zune’s $249.99 price is about $418.02 in September 2026 money.
When was the Zune discontinued?
Microsoft stopped making Zune players in October 2011, and the Zune brand ended in June 2012.
Why did the Zune fail?
It arrived years after Apple’s iPod, which already dominated the market, and its US market share stayed low.
Want to compare the Zune price with other launch prices? See what the Apple I cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play this question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Press release: Microsoft, “Microsoft to Put Zune Experience in Consumers’ Hands on Nov. 14” (28 September 2006)
- Wikipedia: Zune 30
- Wikipedia: Zune
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)