When picking a music streaming service in 2024, it can feel like there are a million options. Spotify is free, but you’ll sit through some ads or pay premium prices. YouTube Music is pretty cool, but it has its limitations too. Apple Music seems to be the standard if you own an iPhone, but is it the best? We’ve got all the answers for you here in this helpful guide. So, pop on your favorite tunes, grab a hot drink, and come along as we compare and contrast some of the most popular music streaming services.
Best for Your Budget
First of all, let’s talk about the price of these things. As of right now, Spotify is dominating the music streaming world. The platform offers a free version, so it is accessible without paying. However, free users will run into numerous ads. Spotify offers several paid plans for individual streaming alongside family, duo, and student plans. The premium plan is $11.99 per month for an individual. For a duo, it’s only $16.99 per month. Family plans are $19.99 per month and student plans are only $5.99 per month.
Spotify’s competitor, Apple Music, is slightly cheaper, offering an individual plan for $10.99 per month, a family plan for $16.99 per month, and a student plan at the same rate of $5.99 per month. Apple does not offer a free version. YouTube Music is also one of our streaming giants, so let’s discuss their prices too. One convenient thing about YouTube music is that YouTube Premium subscribers have this service included in their subscription. YouTube Premium costs $10.99 per month across the entire platform. They offer a student rate of $5.49 per month and a family plan for $16.99 per month.
Another streaming option is Amazon Music, with a limited version accessible with an Amazon Prime subscription. The individual plan without a Prime subscription is $10.99 per month and gets discounted to $9.99 per month with the Prime subscription. Amazon’s family plan is $16.99 per month and their student plan is $5.99 per month. While this may be the right choice for someone who frequently uses their Prime account, requiring subscribers to pay an additional fee does take some value away from this option. Overall, If you aim to pay the least each month, YouTube and Apple Music win in the budget category.
Features and Accessibility
Spotify’s features are straightforward. The platform offers playlisting, collaboration playlisting with friends, and the ability to download music to listen offline with a premium subscription. However, this platform doesn’t have lossless or spatial audio, so if you are all about the highest quality, Spotify might not be the best choice. The free version is almost useless as well. It is littered with ads and you can’t choose the order of your songs. Spotify is user-friendly and comfortable with a huge music catalog, but it has lower sound quality while being the most expensive of the four streaming services.
Apple Music offers lossless and spatial audio, boasting Dolby Atmos for less per month than Spotify. However, they do not offer a free option at all. Compared to Spotify though, most of the features are the same. Apple also allows for offline listening and is generally the first choice for iPhone users as it comes pre-installed. The app is also available on Android. However, YouTube Music might offer the most features of all. It includes ad-free video streaming across the entire site, the ability to lock your phone and still hear the videos’ audio, and some free movies and shows. It also includes playlisting and lossless audio. The biggest con of YouTube is the lack of offline listening.
Finally, Amazon Music is likely best for the podcast listener. They boast the largest podcast library on the web. They also offer high-quality sound, similar to Apple Music with Dolby Atmos and spatial 360 audio. Essentially, the other features are the same. Amazon offers playlisting, on-demand song choice, and a limited version included with Prime. However, that free version also includes ads and limited skips, similar to other free streaming services. In the category of features and accessibility, YouTube Music is the clear winner. It offers the most satisfying free version and the most features for the paid version.
Conclusion and Honorable Mentions
These streaming services are the most popular currently, but that doesn’t mean other options don’t exist. Pandora, for instance, offers fair rates for many of the same features as Spotify. Deezer, Tidal, and SoundCloud are also strong contenders. The service you choose should come down to your preference. If the most important feature to you is quality audio, Amazon or Apple might be the best choice. If you’re looking for the best value for your dollar, YouTube Music is absolutely the winner. However, if you’re more into offline listening and collaborative playlists, Spotify should be your go-to. Furthermore, the best service for you should cover everything you need it to do for the money you put into it.
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