Spotify and Apple Music are two big music-streaming giants on the market. But how does one choose between these two options?
Both provide premium music experience services to music lovers and each service, in itself, has its own set of pros and cons. This guide is meant for anyone looking to get the premium version of Spotify or Apple and is confused between the two.
I will be covering a few important differences between Spotify and Apple Music. The point of this guide is not to decide which one is the best app; instead, it is to help people choose the right music platform suitable for them.
At the end of the day, both Spotify and Apple Music are great choices and millions of people use them. We need to figure out what suits our interests!
Spotify vs. Apple Music Prices, Free trials and Free tiers
Spotify Premium for a single user costs $10.99. Spotify also has a duo-plan that costs $14.99.
The family plan for Spotify Premium costs $16.99 and up to six family members can use the same account. For students, Spotify offers their premium services at just $5.99.
When it comes to Apple Music, it costs $10.99 for a single user, $16.99 for the family plan (up to six members) and $5.99 for students.
If you look at the pricing, it costs the same for both Spotify and Apple Music. Spotify offers a duo-plan and Apple doesn’t.
However, what makes them a lot different is that Spotify offers a free tier. Under this free tier, you will have the choice to listen to music for free but with ads and lower quality. You will also have a limited number of skips—six tracks per hour.
Apple Music does not have a free tier. You can also listen to the Beats1 radio for free on this app.
When it comes to trial periods Spotify provides users with a 3-month trial whereas Apple only gives a 1-month free trial to its newcomers. During this trial period, you can explore all the premium features.
Winner: Spotify; Visit our store and buy Spotify premium gift card to start your Spotify premium journey today!
Spotify vs. Apple Music Catalog
A quick Google search tells me that Apple Music’s library hosts 100 million songs, while Spotify has about 80 million songs. Does that matter? For most users, no, and they wouldn’t even notice. However, those users who like listening to classics and who are into a particular type of niche genre might not find a few songs on the Spotify app.
At the end of the day, the choice of which music platform is perfect for your needs is solely yours. In my opinion, Spotify is doing great, especially for users who primarily listen to regional music and popular artists from their country.
Alongside this huge library of songs, Spotify contains many audiobooks and podcasts. People would not always be in the mood for songs. Maybe sometimes you just want to enjoy a podcast and sit back while doing your work.
Apple also offers these services but under different apps. Spotify, however, puts music, audiobooks, and podcasts in one single app.
Winner: Up to the user. (Apple Music for a bigger song catalog. Spotify for podcasts and audiobooks along with songs.)
Now that we know what Spotify and Apple Music offer, how about we talk about the audio quality offered on both of these music platforms?
Spotify vs. Apple Music: Better Audio Quality
The audio quality on Spotify depends on whether you’re using the free tier or the premium version.
Spotify free-tier: 160 Kbps
Spotify Premium Version: 320 Kbps
These numbers mean little to nothing for a casual music listener like most of us. We do not understand the quality of audio by numbers; we do it by listening. In my personal experience, Spotify Premium offers great audio quality, which is very acceptable.
However, Apple Music does much better when it comes to audio quality. Apple uses a special audio compression called lossless, which preserves all the original data, resulting in higher-quality audio.
Apple collaborated with Dolby to bring what is called spatial audio. This uses the Dolby Atmos feature to create a 3D audio experience for the listener. It makes the audio feel like it is coming from all different directions, 360 degrees.
You will need spatial audio-supported devices like AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max for this experience. Check the full list of supported devices on the Apple Support page.
You will need really good headphones to actually feel the difference between the two in terms of audio quality. Any casual music listener is going to like both Spotify and Apple Music just fine. However, if you know your audio, you will prefer Apple Music.
Winner: Apple Music
Spotify vs. Apple Music: Better Music Recommendations
Another huge factor to consider before getting a subscription is their music recommendations. It is through these recommendations most people discover their new favorite songs.
Spotify and Apple Music have their own music recommendations that run on their algorithms, and both of them do a great job.
Spotify has Discover Weekly, which comes up every Monday. This playlist is exclusively made for you based on your interests. Looking for new release suggestions? Check out the Release Radar tab for such recommendations.
Spotify also has multiple Daily Mix recommendations from different genres; all of these recommendations are tailor-made and narrowed down to your liking.
Apple Music, on the other hand, gives recommendations in a wider range. This is a huge plus for some people and some people may not like it.
Apple also has tailor-made recommendations for you called the New Music Mix; it’s just that you won’t find narrowed-down music suggestions here. If you are ready to explore some music on a wide spectrum, Apple Music will suit you.
Winner: Spotify
Spotify vs. Apple Music: Better User Interface
Having great music, features and everything else is fine! But what if you cannot browse through the app easily? This is where a good UI comes into play.
Spotify does a great job at placing things where they need to be. Let me explain: I never had trouble finding my recommendations, playlists or even simply navigating the app. The fact that Spotify also offers audiobooks and podcasts under the same app and you don’t have to navigate much to find them is another huge plus.
If Apple Music can manage to bring all their related services under one application and make it easy for their users to find their recommendations and other stuff, Apple Music might be able to beat Spotify when it comes to UI.
Winner: Spotify
Spotify vs. Apple Music: Accessibility and Social Factors
Both Spotify and Apple Music do a great job with their social integrations. Both platforms allow you to follow an artist, share music with your friends, or even share them on other social apps, etc.
Spotify has Jam and Apple Music has SharePlay. These are both group sessions that allow multiple people to collaborate and listen to music together. People can add their songs to the playlist and listen to them with their friends in real time.
From what I’ve seen, almost all Android users use Spotify, even though Apple Music actually works on Android phones. You might have small limitations, like not being able to use Apple Music as alerts or notifications on your Android, but everything else works just fine.
A lot of PC users also prefer Spotify. Both the Spotify app on Windows and their web app work perfectly fine. The fact that you can integrate Spotify with other apps like Discord to share your status is another advantage.
Finally, you also need to consider what your friends, family, or co-workers are using, especially if you want to share the joy of listening to music.
Winner: Both
A Quick Look at Spotify vs. Apple Music
| Spotify | Apple Music |
| $10.99 for a single user or $16.99 for family | $10.99 for a single user or $16.99 for family |
| Student plan at $5.99, duo-plan at $14.99 | Student plan at $5.99, no duo-plan |
| Offers free tier | Only free radio |
| Audiobooks and podcasts with music | A bigger music catalog (100 million songs) |
| Better User Interface | Spatial Audio for audiophiles |
| Better music recommendations | Better audio quality (lossless) |
| 3 month free trial | 1 month free trial |
Spotify vs. Apple Music: Final Verdict
As mentioned, the purpose of this article is to help people choose the perfect music platform for their needs.
Like better audio quality? Want to experience spatial audio? Apple Music is the right choice for you.
Want multiple services like podcasts, audiobooks, and songs all under one single app? Then you must go with Spotify.
Spotify for narrowed-down music recommendations and Apple Music if you like exploring music on a wider range.
Already a part of the Apple ecosystem? Apple Music would be perfect for you. Check out the Apple gift card discount to get iTunes gift cards at a cheaper price.
Still confused? You can try out the free trial version of both apps and decide for yourself.
