There are lots of music streaming services to choose from these days, with new offerings entering the market every month or so, but the one that always comes to mind first for us, and which consistently delivers, is Spotify. Not only did Spotify get there early and claim the crown of the coolest, easiest-to-use, and arguably best music service around, it’s also still the most popular, despite stiff competition from the likes of, Google Play Music and other music-specific services like Pandora Music. One of the main reasons for Spotify's enduring popularity is that it remains true to its roots, offering a stable, intuitive experience with plenty of choice, while at the same time it’s constantly adding new features that are genuinely useful and have real staying power. These include its super-smart playlists, podcasts and social sharing tools, and there are more exciting developments expected soon, such as a dedicated.
But perhaps the most significant change to the Spotify app is what the company calls Endless Artist Radio. Spotify’s partnership with Musixmatch ended a few years ago.However, the Musixmatch app, available on all devices, will still detect your Spotify music and display its lyrics.
In this review we’ll take a good look at what makes Spotify so special, as well as considering why one of those rival services might be a better fit for you. Pricing plans Although you’ll obviously get a better experience when you pay for a service, we love that Spotify still offers a decent streaming solution for those who don’t have the cash for a subscription. Spotify Free isn’t really free, of course – it’s ad-supported. So companies are essentially paying Spotify to give you the luxury of listening without coughing up any cash. But Spotify would still love for you to sign up to a subscription, so the 'free' service isn’t the best or most easy-listening around.
On the web or the desktop app you can play any track, album or playlist at any time or in any order, which is pretty good, but you’ll hear an ad, which you can’t skip, every few songs. The experience is a little more clunky on mobile. With the Spotify app and a free account you can pick 15 playlists featuring up to 750 songs in total. These can't be stored for offline playback, but there is a low-data-use mode that caches some of the data, to go easy on your allowance. You can't freely skip tracks in these playlists, and there are still, of course, ads.
(Image: © spotify) Although you’ll get a semi-decent experience if you don’t pay, a Spotify subscription is definitely worth it if you can afford the commitment. Most people tend to sign up for the Premium subscription. This costs $9.99/£9.99 a month, and gets you unlimited access to the 30 million-plus track library on your laptop, phone and tablet. One of the best bits about a premium account is that you can download tracks to three devices at a time for offline playback too, which turns Spotify from an online streaming platform into a solid music service. If there are a few of you in your household you can save a lot of money with a Premium for Family account. This costs $14.99/£14.99 a month, but lets up to six people connect to Spotify at the same time. If you try to share a standard account you'll be bumped off as soon as someone else tries to play a song.
Music catalogue A few years ago, in an attempt to get more users to sign up for their services, various streaming platforms revealed how many tracks, albums and artists they had. Thankfully this trend has died down, as it doesn’t really benefit users in any way; we all know that a great experience and solid selection are more important than a few thousand more obscure tracks we wouldn’t have listened to anyway. And for that reason it seems Spotify has stepped out of the tracking-counting game for good. It was saying it had 'more than 30 million tracks' back in 2016, but these days the website just says it has 'millions', although estimates from the community suggest that figure could be closer to 40 million now. When it comes to exclusives, these are mostly linked to Spotify Singles, which are recordings of live sessions. And as you’d expect, there are some big omissions in the library, but that’s less to do with Spotify and what it has to offer and more to do with the fact that some artists still don’t like the idea of streaming. If you’re really not sure which service to opt for, your best bet is to browse the various libraries to check that your must-have tunes are available.
(Image: © Unsplash/@willianjusten) Platforms You can get Spotify on Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. If you use a laptop or desktop, Spotify also supports OS X and Windows. There are also rumblings that this year, but there's been no official confirmation yet. There's a web interface too, which lets just about any connected gadget with a browser get involved in the streaming action. Having said that, most people tend to use their mobile to listen to Spotify on the-move – and it's easy to see why.
The Spotify app has a black interface, which is peppered with albums covers and playlist artwork that really stand out against the dark and minimal background, putting the music and the artists front and centre. Spotify really wants you to get on board with its generated playlists, and we can't see any reason why you shouldn't.
That's because Spotify looks at what you've listened to, and fills a whole bunch of playlists with tracks it thinks you'll like based on its smart algorithms. Discover Weekly has long been a TechRadar favorite. This features tracks and artists you may not have heard, but which Spotify thinks you'll like. It's a good way to find new, and often slightly obscure, music – and the general consensus in the office is that the algorithms get it right nearly every time. If you want something more familiar, the Daily Mix playlists are packed with tracks you've listened to before. And My Time Capsule is filled with old tracks that may stoke a bit of nostalgia. If it feels eerily accurate, that’s because it cross-references your date of birth with your current tastes to guess the tracks you may have listened to when you were growing up.
(Image: © spotify/becca caddy) Spotify also offers a great selection of playlists that have been created for all kinds of genres and moods. When buying music you'll probably search for an artist or album name, but a less traditional approach often works well with Spotify. As an example, one of the playlists we often come to while working is Electronic Concentration, which is packed with tracks that aren't too distracting. You'll find loads of results for terms such as 'relax' and 'chill', and there are playlists for runners based around the specific beats-per-minute of the tracks.
Each artist also has their own 'radio', which is a generated playlist based on the style of that band or singer. It'll feature some of their songs, and others that are similar or relevant in some way. Spotify tries to make sure that you don't have to think too much about what to play, as you may have done in the old days when using an iPod. Interestingly, and refreshingly, the service has also announced it'll be like R. Kelly from its suggestions. That means his work won't be completely taken off the service, but it won't pop up in Discover Weekly or similar curated playlists. (Image: © spotify/becca caddy) Web player We can’t pick many faults with Spotify, but if we were forced to then the web player would be its weakest link.
This lets you use the service on a laptop or desktop without installing anything, and it might be handy if, for example, you can't install apps on your work PC. It's a Flash-based interface, however, and therefore won't work on all browsers – you can't use it on Safari, for example. While you can listen to music happily enough on other browsers, making playlists in the web UI is more difficult, and you can't sync songs for offline playback here. It also doesn't incorporate podcasts, which have become a big part of the mobile and desktop apps.
That said, none of these feel like deal-breakers, because there aren’t many instances where you wouldn’t be able to use the Spotify app on your mobile. (Image: © Unsplash/@bravelyventure) Mobile app For a few years, Spotify's mobile app was only available for Spotify Premium users, but the service has now opened up music on the move to everyone.
The apps are all stable, easy to use, and are offered on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. There used to be significant differences between the iOS and Android versions, but they're now similar.
As of April 2018, Android just uses more colorful blocks in the Browse section. You have four basic ways to approach looking for tunes. The Browse feature lets you find curated and mood-based playlists easily. Radio uses playlists again, but they're genre-based, more like an array of virtual radio stations.
You can manually search for artists, which is what we end up doing. Or you can head to Your Library, which you can treat more like an old-school digital music collection. (Image: © spotify) Podcasts Back in 2015, Spotify added podcasts to its service. This may seem like a strange move when podcasts are freely available anyway, but Spotify wants to become the only audio app you use.
In a normal podcast app you subscribe to a podcast feed. But in Spotify you 'follow' them, and recent episodes then appear in an 'unplayed podcasts' part of the app.
Podcasts fiends may not be ready to switch over from a dedicated app just yet, but it's a nice feature for anyone looking to trim down the number of apps they use daily. In the same way Spotify can recommend playlists for certain moods, it’s good at paying attention to the podcasts you like. It’ll recommend podcasts and individual episodes, and also allow you to pick ones based on your interests, from stories and games to news and politics. Spotify Connect Spotify Connect is one of the most important features for anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled wireless speaker. Many wireless models support it, and it lets you stream tunes to them directly from the Spotify mobile and desktop apps. It's similar to a Spotify version of Apple AirPlay or Google Cast.
And if your speaker uses Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi that's not a problem, as Bluetooth simply transmits all audio from your phone. You can head over to to check if your speaker supports Spotify Connect. (Image: © spotify) Social While it's primarily Spotify's catalogue and app collection that make it one of the best music streaming services, integration of social features make it even better. A little three-pip icon by any artist, playlist or song lets you share links to Facebook or Twitter, or copy a link that you can send to a friend over WhatsApp or SMS. We use this feature all the time to suggest new artists to friends. Of course, some aspects of Spotify's social features aren't quite so good.
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You can follow artists, which helps the recommendation system, but it's half-baked and is of limited use. Offline syncing You can download playlists and albums inside Spotify to guard against network outages, but you can only do so with three separate devices. A fourth device will revoke access to your first device without warning – something worth considering if you're using a laptop, phone, tablet and more to access Spotify.
How many tracks can you sync? We've never actually reached the limit ourselves, but you get 3,333 tracks per device, for a total of 9,999. Even at lower quality that many songs will take up a chunk of your phone's internal storage, so it's worth bearing in mind before you go on an offline syncing spree. (Image: © Spotify) Bitrate If you subscribe to Spotify Premium, you can choose between three sound quality levels: normal, high and extreme.
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When using the mobile and desktop apps, Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis. This was a semi-popular format a decade ago, and Spotify continues to use it because it's open source. Spotify doesn't have to pay a license fee for it. At Standard setting, music streams at 96kbps, which sounds a lot better than MP3 at 129kbps. Switch up to the high quality setting and the bitrate bumps up to 160kbps. Most people will be happy at this level, as any compression trade-offs aren't obvious.
The extreme setting uses 320kbps, which is perceptually close to lossless. Spotify doesn't offer any lossless or Hi-Res streaming, which is one reason why audiophiles might want to consider another service. Deezer and TIDAL are two other options for those who want ultimate quality. Deezer's HiFi subscription costs $19.99/£19.99 a month, and lets you stream lossless 16-bit FLAC files. Still not enough?
Then TIDAL is your best bet. With a $19.99/£19.99 Tidal HiFi subscription you can stream lossless 16-bit FLAC and ALAC audio, but there are also thousands (but not millions) of TIDAL Masters files that stream at 24-bit. You need to use the desktop app for this at present, though, not your phone. (Image: © Unsplash/@neonbrand) Verdict Spotify is still the undisputed king of streaming, and its reign doesn't look like ending any time soon. One reason why we think that is Spotify’s dedication to innovation.
That might sound a little cheesy, but it’s constantly adding new features and has more in the pipeline, like a feature that and a that might be rolled out globally soon, as well as a. If you're interested in what the service is working on, check out.
The team is consistently testing new services, adding in open source projects, and providing users with an insight into what they might be working on next. You could argue that constantly evolving the service is vital when there’s such strong competition around, but it’s also refreshing, given that even some of the most forward-thinking tech companies around at the moment seem wary of introducing new features and being bold. Spotify’s newer features, like Discover Weekly and Time Capsule, take what was already a brilliant service and add the level of polish and comprehensiveness required to make it a five-star product. Its fantastic catalogue, its ability to use its brand to win major exclusives, and its superb (and unrivaled) social features make it the obvious choice for anyone looking to take the plunge with streaming.
Apple Music and Spotify are the dominant players in the streaming music industry. Spotify just announced they have paid subscribers with 170 million total active users. Apple recently hit. It’s clear that both companies are a hit with consumers.
In fact, the streaming music industry has the music business. I often get asked, how do I choose between Apple Music vs Spotify I’ve gone back and forth on that. In reality, Apple Music and Spotify are both excellent services. I remember paying $20 for a single CD that probably had two good songs. This time period is the golden age for music fans.
We have access to all the music in the world for around $10 per month. Apple Music vs Spotify Pricing Both services are $9.99 per month. Both services offer family plans that cover up to six people for $14.99 per month. Both services provide student plans for $4.99 per month. Apple also offers a $99 per year plan for single subscriptions. This plan makes the monthly rate $8.25 per month. Spotify has offered this plan on occasion in the past, but it’s just a promotion (instead of an ongoing pricing plan).
Spotify made the news recently by offering a bundle with The bundle costs $12.99 per month, and for that you get Spotify Premium plus the entry-level Hulu package. That’s a saving of five dollars on the normal $18 cost. Spotify Premium subscribers can also trial Hulu for three months for just 99 cents. The downside to this bundle is you can’t use a Spotify family plan or activate any add-ons with Hulu. Spotify and Hulu also offer similar plan that is only $5 per month. In the end, both services are around the same amount of money per month.
If you are buying a single subscription, Apple’s $99 per year plan is the way to go. Apple Music vs Spotify Content Comparison When looking at Apple Music vs Spotify, they are both loaded with music. Spotify claims it has over 35 million songs in its library. Apple claims it has 45 million songs. When it comes down to it, both are loaded with tons of back catalog and current content.
Apple Music will have the occasional exclusive album for a few weeks, but most albums usually appear on both at the same time. One aspect where Apple Music has a clear advantage is for content that isn’t available on its service. A feature of Apple Music is iCloud Music Library. This feature lets you add music to iTunes on the Mac or PC, and then it will add it to your library across all your devices. This feature is helpful if you have a lot of live albums that aren’t available for any streaming service.
ICloud Music Library is also handy when a record isn’t available to stream but is to purchase. An example of when this is useful is when Taylor Swift’s most recent album was released. It didn’t appear on Apple Music or Spotify for. If you wanted to buy it as an Apple Music subscriber, you could just purchase it on iTunes and then it would be automatically added to your library. If you are a Spotify user, there is no way to do this.
You can still buy it, but it would be inside the Music app on your iPhone vs being inside of Spotify (where the rest of your library is). Apple Music is also its music video section. Apple now curates playlists of music videos to watch like ‘Today’s Video Hits,’ as well as featuring the latest new music videos and spotlights on particular artists. Music videos have been part of the Apple Music service since its inception, with unlimited ad-free video playback included in the monthly subscription. The updates take the content that was always available and make it more prominent with recommendations and continuously updated editorial, akin to the New Music page for singles and albums. Spotify doesn’t offer music videos.
It includes a video section with some exclusive music-related content, though. If music videos matter in your Apple Music vs Spotify comparison, then Apple Music’s videos will be a strong reason to pick it.
One area that Apple could do a lot better is on Beats 1. I love the premise of Beats 1 with DJs who love music and are sharing a lot of new music with the world. I find the premise of it hard to follow. There are no notifications for certain shows (or when artists I follow are going to be doing interviews, etc).
Spotify has been promoting its podcast support recently, and while Apple offers a podcast solution, it’s inside another app. Spotify is touting “one app” for all of your audio content. If you only listen to one or two shows, you might find it useful. Otherwise, you should look at a dedicated app like Apple Podcasts.
Outside of a few exceptions, both companies have more content than you could probably ever listen to. Social Experience Both apps offer a social experience that I find well done. Apple’s social experience is tied to its For You tab. You can follow your friends and will show you what you are listening to. Spotify’s desktop app has a listing that shows what your friends are listening to.
App Experience It feels comical to be critiquing both of these services. Both are good.
I probably prefer Apple’s design a tad better, but Spotify isn’t far behind. Here are a few things Apple does well regarding app design:. Tapping on an Artists takes you to a list of the albums you have saved by the said artist. It’s really easy to add albums to your library and find them later. The Recently Added feature helps keep new albums top of mind. Here are a few things Spotify does well:. Launch screen does a great job of finding your something timely to play (piano music late a night, happy music first thing in the morning, etc).
Its browse screen makes it easy to find a playlist for whatever you are in the mood for at the time. The Recently Played section is front and center in the Your Library section. I have my pros and cons for both of them. They both are close to perfect, but just place priorities on different things. I wish Apple’s For You section was laid out slightly different. Their overall album section could use a lot of work (see Benjamin Mayo’s ). In Spotify, my number one complaint is that if you go to Your Library Artists, tapping on said artist shows you all the songs you have saved.
This section should take you to an album page. It’s clear Spotify would prefer you listen to a playlist or just shuffle that artist’s entire catalog. Apple Music vs Spotify Hardware Support From a hardware support perspective, you could argue both are excellent. Apple Music excels if you are firmly in the Apple hardware ecosystem.
If you have Apple TV, HomePod, and Apple Watch, Apple Music has a definite leg up on Spotify. If you use Amazon Echo devices, Spotify is well-integrated.
Apple Music is on everything Apple, and Spotify is on just about everything non-Apple. Both services work with, but Spotify’s integration is a little bit better in my opinion. You can use the Spotify Connect protocol inside the native Spotify app, but Sonos has a custom Apple Music interface inside its app. Music Curation and Algorithms I saved this section for last because I think it’s critical for a lot of people. Here’s the thing, Spotify’s Discover Weekly is the best recommendation engine I’ve ever seen. If you are curious how it works, watch the video below. Between Discover Weekly and Spotify’s, you’ve always got personalized music ready to go.
Apple has a couple of personalized playlists that update weekly. The first is New Music Mix. It’s similar to Discover Weekly, but not as good.
The Favorite Mix is a collection of songs you’ve favorited. Chill Mix is similar to your New Music Mix, but with more relaxing songs.
It’s not that they are bad, but it’s just that Spotify’s are so spot on. This conclusion is obviously personal to me, and you may feel differently. All I know is that Spotify seems to recommend new music that I end up saving to my library more than Apple does. Apple Music vs Spotify Conclusion There is no wrong answer. I think both services are amazing, and it’s going to come down to a few things. I’ve spent a lot of time with both services, and it’s hard to look at Apple Music vs Spotify and pick a clear winner. It’s just going to depend on your circumstances.
Do you want Apple Watch support? Do you want a native Apple TV app? Do you have/plan to buy a HomePod? If you answered yes to any of those, go with Apple Music. Do you prefer playlists over complete albums? Do you want Amazon Echo support?
Do you have a Sonos system? If yes, I’d say Spotify is the best pick for you. One thing I haven’t mentioned until now is Siri support. Apple Music has relatively deep Siri support, where Spotify is just now beginning to roll out. While I only use it in the car, Siri support for Apple Music is a pretty significant feature. I love both services, and both are worthy of your money.
I think for the person who sticks to mostly Apple services, Apple Music is a great solution. Spotify offers a free version so you could use it for the great playlists and use Apple Music for everything else. Apple Music also offers a three-month free trial. Give both of them a shot to see which one fits you best. For most people, it’s just going to come down to personal preference when choosing between Apple Music vs Spotify. If you want to swap between the two, check out. Can Spotify survive being independent against companies who don’t have to make a profit in the music business (Apple, Amazon, etc)?
Scott Galloway of L2, Inc. Thinks Spotify is the. He also thinks that Apple Music is growing faster than Spotify because it’s abusing monopoly power. CIRP recently reported that, and it said Apple Music was the reason. On the other hand, they recently hit their. Apple is said to have more US subscribers now. What do think you?
Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments (and include why).