Spotify and Apple Music are the two biggest players when it comes to music streaming services. Both companies offer more songs than you could listen to in a lifetime, available to stream or download on almost any device.
SummaryPricingApple Music PricingSpotify PricingCan You Listen For Free?Discounted Music Streaming PlansLibraryMusic DiscoveryApp Interface and AvailabilityLyrics, Credits, and Artist InfoSpotify Has More to Offer Than Apple MusicBut choosing between Spotify and Apple Music is no easy feat. We've compared the key features of each service below to make the decision as easy as possible.
Apple Music and Spotify offer a range of subscription plans at the same prices, with Apple Music also offering a discounted rate if you sign up for an annual plan.
You can try both services for free. Spotify offers a one-month free trial while Apple Music extends it to three months. Yet, at the end of this trial, Spotify is the only service that lets you continue listening for free on its ad-supported tier.
Listening to ad-supported Spotify means:
Both services allow you to link six accounts for a discounted family plan. With Apple Music, you all have to be in the same iCloud Family Sharing group; this means that you must all use the same payment method for other Apple purchases. On the other hand, Spotify only asks you to each have the same address linked to your account.
Spotify also offers a couples plan, which is cheaper if only two of you sign up.
To get a student plan, you need to prove your eligibility using UNiDAYS for Apple Music or SheerID for Spotify. Both streaming services require you to be a college or university student, with Apple Music limiting you to a maximum of 48 months on the student plan.
As a student, you also get extra gifts. Apple offers a limited subscription to Apple TV+, but Spotify gives you access to SHOWTIME and ad-supported Hulu.
Winner:Spotify
Spotify and Apple Music have over 50 million tracks to stream or download. Almost all artists are available on both services, although some artists occasionally offer exclusive preview releases on one service or the other.
Check out the release history of your favorite artists to see where they tend to release music first.
Spotify is also expanding its music library with a huge selection of podcasts available directly within the app. All the biggest podcasters are here, making it easy to keep all your audio entertainment in one place. Spotify even uses your music preferences to suggest new podcasts you might like.
Although Apple Music does not offer podcasts in the same application, it is much better than Spotify at managing local music files. Spotify separates local files from the rest of your music collection and forces you to sync anything you want to listen to from a computer.
In contrast, Apple Music integrates local files with the rest of your library. It also lets you upload to the cloud with iCloud Music Library so you can stream or download local files from anywhere in the world. The same goes for any music you've purchased in iTunes, which automatically appears in your Apple Music library.
Winner:Apple Music
The best part of a music streaming service is discovering new music that you might never have found without it. Spotify and Apple Music each offer a range of tools to help you find new music, including curated playlists and radio stations.
Spotify and Apple Music both allow you to create “radio stations” inspired by certain tracks. But Apple Music also offers live digital radio stations broadcast around the world. Follow your local stations or check out Apple Music 1 to listen to shows from the world's best radio presenters.
Browse The Spotify and Apple Music section lets you search for popular music by selecting a genre or mood you like. But the best place to discover new music is in the Made for you section of Spotify or Listen Now section of Apple Music.
Made For You in Spotify creates five Daily Mix playlists you can listen to throughout the week, each geared around a different genre you love. It also creates a Discover Weekly playlist, which resets every Monday, and a Release Radar playlist with all the latest releases from your favorite artists.
Apple Music offers fewer custom playlists, although each is very different from the last. You can choose from New Music, Friends, Favorites, Get Up! And chill. You can also find a What's New section in the Listen Now tab, along with various suggestions based on the artists or albums you're listening to.
Although the curated playlist selections seem similar across both services, popular opinion suggests that Spotify is much better at finding new music you actually like.
Winner:Spotify
Spotify and Apple Music offer very similar apps. Each app is easy to navigate, with a sidebar available on desktop and tabs at the bottom of the screen on mobile.
Apple Music features a clean, white design while Spotify opts for black and green. Although you can also dim Apple Music by putting your device in dark mode.
