This year, I tried out both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited to discover which provider offers the most user-friendly and enjoyable listening experience. I compare and contrast the features of the two services below.

Similarities:

Access to tens of millions of songs and ad-free streaming

Support streaming on only one device at a time

Allow users to download music for offline listening

Offer a desktop application or desktop player

Ability to create playlists and listen to curated playlists

Both services boast a catalogue of about 50 million songs

Price point: Both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited cost $9.99/month but the latter is available for $7.99/month for Amazon Prime members

Student pricing is $4.99/month and family pricing is $14.99/month for both services

Differences:

Apple Music offers a 3-month free trial while Amazon Music Unlimited offers a 30-day free trial

Apple Music allows users to sync their music across any number of devices with the same Apple ID using Apple’s iCloud Music Library while Amazon Music Unlimited allows users to sync music across a maximum of 10 devices

Apple Music is compatible with Windows, iOS and Mac, works with Apple TV and Apple Watch, and is available on CarPlay and Sonos systems as well as on Amazon Echo products

Amazon Music Unlimited is compatible with Windows, iOS, Mac, Android, Fire TV, and Fire tablets, works with home entertainment products such as Roku, Sonos, and Bose, and is available in cars from Ford, BMW, and Mini

Amazon Music Unlimited is available in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Japan while Apple Music is available in over 100 countries around the world

Amazon Music Unlimited only allows individual downloaded songs to be removed from a mobile device one at a time in offline mode while Apple Music allows both individual downloaded songs and entire playlists to be easily removed from a mobile device

Amazon offers personalized recommendations in the way of the “My Soundtrack” station while Apple complies playlists for users throughout the week — a “New Music Mix” on Fridays, a “Favorites Mix” on Tuesdays, and a “Chill Mix” on Sundays

Amazon Music Unlimited users can still view (but not listen to) added and created playlists after their subscription ends but any playlists associated with Apple Music will disappear at the end of the subscription

Amazon Music Unlimited offers a single-device plan for $3.99/month for individuals who only want to stream on a single Amazon Alexa device

Amazon Music Unlimited has a web browser listening platform

Amazon Prime members already have access to over 2 million songs and over 1,000 playlists at no additional cost as part of Prime music

Apple Music provides features on new album releases, interviews with artists, live performances, concert videos, and additional supplementary materials

Apple Music allows users to watch music videos

Apple Music allows users to search for songs by lyrics

Overall, both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited offer access to similar libraries at similar price points. If you are already an Amazon Prime member looking for a few playlists to listen to on occasion, Amazon Prime Music, which is already included with Prime membership, may be your best bet. On the other hand, if you’re a music aficionado keen on following the latest updates on trends, muses, and industry partnerships, Apple Music might be a better fit. Another consideration that current iTunes users may want to take into account is the fact that iTunes music will soon be shifted to the Apple Music app library with the release of MacOS Catalina, coming this fall. However, users will still be able to access their existing music collection without subscribing to Apple Music.

In my experience, Amazon Music Unlimited offers better personalized recommendations than Apple Music. Additionally, when listening on the web browser platform, Amazon Music Unlimited displays a section on the right-hand side that reads “Customers who listened to this song also listened to...” which makes for some great new song suggestions. On the other hand, Apple Music’s platform is more user-friendly, especially in regards to downloading and removing songs from my phone. If you’re still on the fence, sign up for a free trial and see which service you prefer!