Music streaming apps provide access to millions of tracks at the tap of a screen, making it easy for people to discover new music or catch up on their favorite albums. However, when searching for the best music apps it’s important to know some are better than others, depending on the experience you desire. That's why this post will feature the best music streaming services compared.
Whether you want to compare Amazon Music vs. Spotify or Amazon Music vs. Apple Music, this comprehensive music service guide will cover 10 of the most popular music platforms. We'll cover the costs, pros and cons, and a brief overview of each music streaming service, providing you with enough information to decide the best music streaming service for you.
- Apple Music
- Spotify
- Amazon Music Unlimited / Prime Music
- Tidal
- YouTube Music
- LiveXLive
- Pandora
- Deezer
- Pandora CloudCover
Apple Music
Best For: Apple Music is best for people who already have an extensive iTunes library or are committed to Apple's products and brand.
Price: Individuals are charged $10.99 per month, with a $5 discounted rate for students. Families (with up to six members) pay $16.99 per month. New members can access a 3-month free trial.
Sound quality: Apple Music encodes music with a lossless compression format (ALAC). All the data from the original file is included, delivering a listening experience that’s very much like a CD.
Integrations: Apple Music integrates tightly with Siri and allows for playback with voice commands only. Siri can also choose music via mood or genre and add songs to a library.
Community integration: Apple Music has no built-in social media aspect.
Library size: The personal library is capped at about 100,000 songs. The service has an extensive catalog that could be much larger, but Apple doesn’t disclose it.
Pros: With over 60 million songs, you can select your favorite tracks from Apple Music’s extensive library. Additionally, human curators create bespoke playlists for people looking to discover new music. Occasionally, Apple Music provides exclusive early releases from famous artists.
Apple Music is the only music streaming service that will stream from a HomePod device (Apple's smart speaker) without connecting your phone. It also boasts a unique feature that allows subscribers to search for songs using lyrics, which is great when you can't remember a song title.
Cons: Not ideal for Windows computer users and non-compatible for direct streaming with Google Home smart speakers.
Spotify
Best For: When we look at the leading music streaming services compared, Spotify works best for people who want to listen to lots of music across various devices. Their free tier is perfect for people on a budget who don't mind listening to ads.
Price: If you don't mind ads, you can use Spotify for free. Alternatively, Spotify Premium costs $10.99 per month for individuals, $5.99 per month for students, $14.99 per month for two users at the same address, or $16.99 per month for up to six family members.
Sound quality: The free version is limited to 128 kbps on a web player and 160 kbps on a mobile app. Premium versions come with a higher bitrate, including up to 320 kbps, using the Ogg Vorbis codec.
Integrations: Spotify integrates with Siri on Apple devices running iOS13 and later. You can use Spotify via voice controls alone.
Community: Spotify is currently developing a feature called "Community" that aims to integrate social aspects into the app, but it's not fully rolled out as of April 2024.
Library size: Spotify has over 100 million songs in its library, along with more than 5 million podcasts.
Pros: Spotify gives users access to over 100 million tracks and creates bespoke playlists based on users' listening habits. It's great for discovering new music, and it works on most smartphones, speakers, and computers, including the PS4 and PS5 game consoles.
Cons: If you're looking to use Spotify for free, their on-demand song section is limited to a small selection.
Amazon Music Unlimited / Prime Music
Best for: Members of Amazon Prime often choose this service.
Price: If you have an Amazon Prime membership, a library of 100 million songs is free. Amazon Music Unlimited offers a larger library and a better experience. It costs $9.99 per month for Prime members, $10.99 per month for non-Prime members, and $5.99 per month for a single-device plan.
Sound quality: Amazon Music Unlimited streams at up to 850 kbps using the lossless FLAC codec, which is similar to listening to music on a CD.
Integrations: There’s no deep integration between Amazon Music and Siri, so you can’t control playback with your typical Siri voice commands. You can use Amazon Alexa voice commands instead.
Social: There isn’t a community-developed solution at the moment.
Library size: Amazon Music has a library of more than 100 million songs.
Pros: Amazon Music Unlimited provides access to thousands of personalized stations, hand-curated playlists, and over 100 million songs. If you have an Echo or Alexa device, you can use voice commands to activate this music streaming service.
Cons: You can’t use Siri to help you play your Amazon Music library.
Tidal
Best for: People who love high-quality audio and want to listen online like Tidal.
Price: Tidal costs $10.99 per month for an individual, $16.99 per month for a family of five, and $4.99 for students.
Sound quality: Tidal music streams at a standard bit rate of 160 kbps.
Integrations: Tidal doesn’t integrate with voice tools like Siri. However, you might use a personal assistant program to allow for playback control.
Community: Tidal doesn’t have an online community program to help you interact or share recommendations.
Library size: Tidal has a library of more than 100 million songs. A library of more than 650,000 music videos is available too.
Pros: Tidal provides good quality audio. Music video lovers can access over 650,000 on-demand videos and 100 million songs. The service includes access to multiple music platforms.
Cons: The high-quality audio can burn through mobile data plans reasonably quickly due to some of the tracks' file sizes. Also, although Tidal offers millions of tracks, not all of them are available in high-resolution.
YouTube Music
Best For: If you already spend a lot of time watching music videos on YouTube, this service is ideal.
Price: YouTube Music is free if you're prepared to watch ads. Their ad-free premium subscription costs $10.99 per month or $5.49 per month for students.
Sound quality: YouTube Music streams at bitrates of 48 kbps to 256 kbps depending on the quality setting you choose. YouTube Music currently does not support lossless formats like FLAC or high-resolution audio options that go beyond 256 kbps.
Integrations: YouTube integrates with Siri on Apple devices, but only on Apple HomePod speakers, not iPhones or iPads.
Community: YouTube Music offers a limited form of community integration within the platform itself, but it doesn't have features like social media interaction or collaborative playlists.
Library size: YouTube has a music library of over 100 million songs.
Pros: YouTube music users can upload 100,000 audio files to stream for free from the cloud. Therefore, this is the best option for users with an extensive collection of tracks that cannot be found on music streaming services.
YouTube Music gives users access to a significant library of personalized playlists, music videos, songs, and premium users to download videos and music for offline use.
Cons: When streaming from the free tier of YouTube Music, the music stops if you lock your phone screen or change apps unless you're listening to one of your own uploads.
LiveXLive
Best For: Laidback listeners who don't mind what song will play next when they stream. Additionally, this service streams a lot of live performances so that subscribers can get exclusive access to certain concerts and shows.
Price: A free tier lets you access hundreds of live radio stations but includes ads. The Plus version costs $2.99 per month, and the premium version is $9.99 per month.
Sound quality: The free tier streams at about 64 kbps, while the Plus and Premium tiers stream at 320 kbps.
Integrations: LiveOne doesn’t integrate with tools like Siri or Alexa.
Community: There isn’t a robust community integration tool.
Library size: There’s no available data on how large the library might be, although the company says its catalog is “massive.”
Pros: LiveOne provides access to a wide variety of radio stations, as well as many popular music genres.
Cons: LiveOne is designed for people who listen to stations rather than stream tracks on demand.
Pandora
Best For: If you're looking for a hands-off listening experience and tailored music recommendations, Pandora is a great option.
Price: Pandora's streaming radio is free with ads or $4.99 per month without. Pandora Premium costs $9.99 per month, while a family Pandora Premium plan costs $14.99 per month for up to six users.
Sound quality: The free version plays at 64 kbps, while the premium versions can play up to 192 kbps. Pandora doesn't offer lossless audio streaming, which preserves all the data from the original recording for the highest possible fidelity.
Integrations: Pandora integrates with Siri on Apple devices. You can use Siri to play stations and podcasts.
Community: Pandora doesn’t have a built-in community integration.
Library size: Some experts say it exceeds 70 million songs, but firm data is hard to find.
Pros: Pandora is easy to use and can be streamed from most major platforms, including smartphones, iOS, smart speakers, and web browsers.
Cons: The best audio quality on Pandora's streaming service isn't as good as most music streaming competitors.
Deezer
Best For: Hi-resolution music lovers will appreciate this service.
Price: Deezer has a free service for people who don't mind listening to ads. Premium subscribers can enjoy unlimited music for just $9.99 per month, whereas high-quality music-lovers can access hi-res tracks for $15 per month.
Pros: Deezer offers subscribers 360 Reality Audio tracks. This is a super-immersive audio format designed specifically for streaming music. They also offer vast device support, an extensive catalog, a user-friendly interface, and some fantastic non-music content.
Cons: Deezer doesn't offer its HiFi option on mobile devices and has a limited number of podcasts available. Also, the 360 Reality Audio feature requires a separate app download.
Pandora CloudCover
Best for: Pandora CloudCover is ideal for U.S. and Canadian businesses who want to stream music legally with low-cost licensing and setup. The company provides enterprise features and tools that meet the demands of chains with thousands of stores, as well as single location businesses.
Price: Pandora CloudCover provides a 14-day free trial and three scalable pricing plans:
- Music Plan - $16.95/mo/location (prepaid annually) or $18.95/mo/location (monthly)
- Manage Plan - $21.50/mo/location (prepaid annually) or $23.95/mo/location (monthly)
- Messaging Plan - $26.95/mo/location (prepaid annually) or $29.95/mo/location (monthly)
Pros: The company covers licensing fees with ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN, and GMR. Music can be scheduled to specific times and days of the week, and customers can create their own mixes by combining stations. Songs can easily be removed if they don't fit in with your company's branding. Plus they offer a free trial, including music plans to match your business objectives.
Pandora CloudCover's in-house curators have created targeted stations that help to engage with predetermined demographics. Playing appropriate music has been proven to boost morale and improve sales.
Cons: Pandora CloudCover is designed for commercial use by businesses. Therefore, it's not ideal for individuals looking for a day-to-day streaming service. Pandora CloudCover makes it easy to try their music subscription services for business. Sign up for a free 14-day trial today! Terms and conditions apply.