Apple Music is the go-to alternative music streaming service to Spotify, but which scores best overall?
If you are thinking about switching to an choice tune service, then our face-off between Spotify and Apple Music — Spotify's closest rival — will assist you make up your idea as the Tom's Guide crew compares each offerings to locate out which offers the first-rate typical ride for tune fans.
(iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra)
Latest news
Despite asserting plans for a Spotify HiFi tier remaining year, there is no phrase on when it will ultimately arrive. Meanwhile, Apple Music affords lossless streaming and spatial audio help at no more cost, and additionally launched Apple Music classes with stay performances in the past this 12 months to take on Spotify Sessions.
Here's how to attempt out Apple Music for up to six months for free. Plus you might also be fascinated to discover out how to switch your Spotify playlist to any other track streaming service.
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Price
The pricing for every Spotify and Apple Music is very similar, with one huge difference: the former affords a free beginning tier. However, Spotify's free alternative will interrupt your listening with recorded ads, as nicely as commercials inside the app, whilst paying for the Premium tier will get rid of both. Check out our Spotify Free vs. Premium evaluation for the full rundown of differences.
Spotify additionally affords a Premium Duo package, aimed at 2-person households. It consists of the Duo Mix playlist, an robotically produced set of tunes primarily based on the users' listening habits.
Note that signing up the Apple Music annual graph is a bit of an arcane process: you first want to signal up to a month-to-month plan, then change to annual billing in the app or via your Apple device's account settings. You can locate full guidelines for this on the Apple guide site(opens in new tab).
Apple Music's scholar graph went up with the aid of $1 per month, so it is now $5.99, as adverse to Spotify's scholar plan, which is $4.99/month.
Apple Music vs. Spotify: At a glance
| Apple Music | Spotify | |
| Starting Price | $9.99 per month | Free |
| Price for offline mode, no ads | $9.99 per month | $9.99 per month |
| Student Price | $5.99 per month | $4.99 per month |
| 'Duo' Household | - | $12.99 per month, 2 accounts |
| Family Package | $14.99 per month, 6 accounts | $15.99 per month, 6 accounts |
| Annual Plan | $99 per year | $99 per year |
| Exclusives | Works with Siri on the HomePod/HomePod mini; Apple Music 1 Radio; Cloud music locker; spatial audio | Available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox One; Spotify Studios podcasts |
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Music library
Apple Music and Spotify each characteristic huge libraries, however Apple claims the benefit with "over ninety million" songs to Spotify's "over 70 million." The latter additionally consists of round 2.6 million podcast titles, whereas there may be an totally separate Apple Podcasts service; Apple Music consequently genuinely has extra pure track tracks in total.
However, Apple Music has additionally moved away from its preliminary center of attention on unique (or timed-exclusive) album launches, with then-Apple government Jimmy Iovine admitting in 2017 that "The labels don’t appear to like it." Likewise, Spotify's exceptional content material is frequently restricted to podcasts, so there may be large overlap between the two offerings on song content.
Technically this is a win for Apple on sheer numbers, however until you’ve acquired specially eclectic tastes, you’re extremely in all likelihood to locate the artists you choose on both platform.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Sound quality
Previously, standard-quality Apple Music tracks have been 256kbps AAC files, the identical structure as tracks bought from iTunes. Last 12 months Apple Music up to date its complete catalogue, which is now encoded the usage of ALAC in resolutions ranging from 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD-quality) up to 24-bit/192kHz (hi-res audio quality).
Spotify streams songs at three distinctive fees (96kbps, 160kbps and 320kbps) all in the Ogg Vorbis format, although the easiest caliber is restricted to paid Premium subscribers. This will trade when Spotify's delayed HiFi tier launches, even though when it comes to decision and bit fee proper now, Apple Music's library of lossless content material has Spotify beat.
That's now not to say that headphones and audio system do not make a distinction at wellknown resolution, however keep in mind that modern-day Bluetooth tech sincerely does not have the bandwidth for high-resolution audio.
As with listening to any lossless content material besides compromise, Spotify HiFi will additionally in all likelihood require wired headphones to hear the benefit, even though Spotify(opens in new tab) notes that Spotify Connect-enabled audio system will aid it.
Check out our choose of the fine headphones, exceptional Bluetooth audio system and excellent pc audio system to make positive you’re getting the high-quality sound nice experience.
In any event, Apple presently helps higher-resolution streaming and Spotify doesn't. In the absence of any different huge differences in Spotify's favor, we have to provide this one to Apple.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Cloud locker
Apple Music's largest extraordinary characteristic is the iCloud Music Library, which permits collectors to get right of entry to their libraries of tracks in AAC 256kbps anyplace they go. While the service's authentic rollout used to be hampered by way of collection-distorting bugs, it is presently a beneficial characteristic that helps the provider stand out from the pack.
Spotify is supposed to enable you to pay attention to your MP3s inside the app itself, however this has by no means labored that smoothly, and really does not enable you to add tracks.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Browser playback
Thankfully, Apple no longer requires customers to set up iTunes, and presently lets you pay attention in a browser simply as Spotify does. Both browser variations let you browse their respective libraries, get entry to your playlists and play “Made for you” content, simply like their app counterparts.
Winner: Draw
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Availability
Both offerings have labored on widening their availability in latest years. In addition to the predicted gadgets like phones, tablets, PCs and Macs, Spotify content material can be performed through your video games consoles. That goes for the most latest PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, as properly as older consoles like the Xbox One sequence and the PS4. Early in 2021 Spotify additionally launched the Car Thing, however this has now been withdrawn from the market.
Apple Music has its personal automative answer in Apple CarPlay, and additionally claims an wonderful breadth of supportive devices, from the Apple HomePod and HomePod mini to the Apple TV 4K and Apple Watch.
Spotify additionally works on smartwatches ranging from Fitbit and Garmin fashions to extra fashion-minded Samsung and Google Wear OS wearables. It’s getting higher in this regard too, as Spotify is getting offline listening on Wear OS units as properly as the Apple Watch.
Either way you’re spoiled for choice, via thanks to its bonus video games console support, Spotify edges this one. You may want to possibly additionally name it a poor that Apple Music lossless content material can't be skilled in full decision via wi-fi headphones or audio system due to the bandwidth obstacles of Bluetooth connectivity, which include its very own AirPods models. Although, this ought to soon change.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Playlists and curated content
When it comes to user-curated playlists, Apple and Spotify are if truth be told on parity. Both will current you with personalised playlists, like Spotify’s Daily Mix lists and Apple Music’s Get Up! And Chill mixes. Both offerings will additionally advise songs and artists you haven’t listened to yet, however would possibly like based totally on your listening preferences.
The Apple Music 1 (previously regarded as Beats 1) radio station additionally serves as a conceivable supply of new music, although considering the fact that it features like a regular radio station — fronted by way of veteran DJs like Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden — its content material is curated for the Apple Music subscriber base as a whole. Spotify’s model of “radio” is in truth just playlists, curated for positive genres, subjects and tastes.
Winner: Draw
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Social media
One of Spotify's clearest wins is its wealth of social sharing features. You can without difficulty share Spotify content material as Instagram and Facebook stories, publish album artwork on Snapchat (which then hyperlinks pals and followers to the song) or create hyperlinks and scannable, QR-like Spotify Codes to share track and playlists on any messaging platform.
Apple Music lets you share playlists with different registered customers over AirDrop, or create content material hyperlinks to submit at any place you want, however its social media integration is extra fundamental than Spotify’s. If you’re now not overly eager with sharing your listening habits with the world, this is not likely to be an issue.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Design
Ever seeing that Apple Music’s huge redecorate for iOS 10, it is graph is shut to Spotify in a lot of respects. Both rent giant pictures in an nearly tile-like UI, with a navigation bar the backside of the display screen for speedy get entry to to your track library or the respective search function.
Honestly, the most important distinction right here is simply aesthetic. Apple Music favors a light, brilliant and white appear with high-contrast text, whilst Spotify has lengthy caught to its darker black/grey colour scheme with flashes of neon green.
Winner: Draw
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Value
If you don’t prefer to pay for streaming track and you’re OK with ads, Apple’s insistence on now not having a free design will maintain you the usage of Spotify. New customers can strive Apple Music for free for three months, which is extra beneficiant than Spotify Premium’s 1-month free trial, however after than you’ll want to subscribe.
For these who are inclined to pay, the enjoying area appears balanced at a glance. Apple Music and Spotify Premium are each $9.99 a month for character accounts, and whilst Spotify’s Family design is extra expensive, it’s solely by way of a single greenback per month. Both offerings additionally provide a $.99 month-to-month subscription for students.
Keep in mind, however, that Apple Music is now throwing in spatial audio and lossless audio for no greater charge. As such, it virtually affords extra than Spotify Premium does for the equal cash.
If Spotify HiFi was once folded into the current Spotify Premium tier, as an alternative than launching as a separate tiered service, that would maintain matters incredibly even. But that hasn't passed off yet, and even if it does, Apple Music will nevertheless have the spatial audio advantage.
The reality that Spotify has a free choice makes this unique conflict a tie, however if you have the money for a top class subscription, Apple Music appears like the higher deal proper now.
Winner: Draw
Apple Music vs Spotify: Which is the higher song app?
We first ran an Apple Music vs. Spotify assessment a few years ago, and Spotify without difficulty won, on the returned of its curated content, price for cash and wealth of supported hardware.
Credit to Apple Music, then, for no longer simply closing the hole however surpassing Spotify overall. It’s nonetheless in the back of on social features, and lacks native assist for video games consoles, however altering its strategy from consumer-unfriendly exclusives to greater thoughtfully curated content material streams has paid off. It’s additionally accurately received a browser model and stays the higher desire for these who like to hoard their track files.
Really, though, it is lossless and spatial audio that make the difference. Not solely does this make Apple Music the higher preference for listeners who favor the first-rate sound pleasant possible, however given it is no greater steeply-priced than a Spotify Premium subscription, it is additionally higher on cost for these inclined to pay.
Apple Music vs. Spotify: Scorecard
| Apple Music | Spotify | |
| Music Library | ✔ | |
| Music Quality | ✔ | |
| Cloud Locker | ✔ | |
| Browser Playback | ✔ | ✔ |
| Supported Hardware | ✔ | |
| Playlists | ✔ | ✔ |
| Social Integration | ✔ | |
| Design | ✔ | ✔ |
| Value | ✔ | ✔ |
| Total | 7 | 6 |
.png)
