Spotify or Apple Music? The call on which music-streaming giant to commit to is not a simple one to make. Spotify laid the blueprint that helped shape the current music-streaming market and has tens of millions more paying subscribers than the competition, not to mention countless millions more free users. There are no signs of a slowdown as the company added another 11 million paid subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2019 — the best quarterly growth in its history — bringing the grand total to more than 120 million subscribers.

Related music content

Conversely, Apple Music is a relative newcomer known for its high-profile exclusive releases, large library, human-touch radio, and full integration into Apple’s popular iOS ecosystem. This meaty concoction helped Apple reach impressive growth in listeners, with 60 million premium subscribers vaulting it atop Spotify in the U.S.

Still, Spotify remains the global champ. The competition between these two has helped the recording industry reach record heights for digital revenue, and the question of which is better has become increasingly tough to answer. We’re here to settle the score. Join us below to see which of these juggernaut music-streaming services is right for you.

Music library

Spotify first took its dominant position on the strength of its impressive 30 million-plus song catalog. Couple this with the fact that it adds more than 20,000 new songs each day, and it’s clear that the service offers more music than your ears would even know what to do with. The Swedish streaming service also brings all the latest record releases, exclusive live sessions, and various new singles right to its New Releases tab each Friday, providing a great way to hear the latest from established artists and rising stars alike.

Apple’s service, on the other hand, touts over 60 million songs, which is superior to Spotify’s current 50 million-plus figure (though it claims to be adding as many as 40,000 per day), and also outdoes newer contenders like Amazon Prime Music and Jay-Z’s Tidal. Moreover, Apple has taken steps to secure many more exclusives than the competition, largely because it doesn’t offer a free tier. The Swedish streaming giant isn’t too happy with artists signing exclusivity deals with Apple, either — Spotify reportedly has a history of altering search rankings for artists who release their music through Apple first.

There’s another area where Apple Music has the leg up on its competition: Integration of the iTunes library. Any music you have — whether previously purchased via the iTunes Store, ripped from a physical CD, or uploaded to iTunes Match — will appear in your Apple Music library, giving you the option to freely browse your own music alongside Apple’s standard catalog. Spotify offers a similar function, relegating your local music files to a separate tab, but you can’t access your local music via broad searches as you can with Apple Music.

Winner: Apple Music

Music discovery

With so many songs at the ready, streaming libraries can seem daunting for those who want to find new music, but Spotify provides a lot of useful tools for finding new songs to suit your taste. Personalized playlists like Discover Weekly provide fantastic opportunities for subscribers to latch on to new music from artists they never stumbled across on their own. The deep well of dozens of base genres to choose from makes new music ripe for the picking, and other personalized playlists like Daily Mixes are constantly being added to the mix. Spotify even has a featured series called Secret Genius, which allows fans of pop music to listen to the songwriters behind some of their favorite hits.

Spotify for iOS Spotify for Android

Apple Music for iOS Apple Music for Android

Free users will be able to take advantage of these playlists, too, with up to 15 on-demand (meaning not shuffled) playlists to choose from daily. That adds up to about 40 hours of new music in total every day. These lists are curated based on a questionnaire you fill out when you sign up for a free account that asks you to choose your favorite artists.

Discover Weekly, in particular, deserves high praise in the streaming world (it’s so smart that Google copied the feature). Added to your feed every Monday morning, the feature delivers a two-hour playlist of personalized music recommendations based on your listening habits, as well as the habits of those who listen to similar artists. Playlists are often chock-full of tracks you haven’t heard before, as well as deep cuts from some of your favorite artists. Listen to a lot of Black Keys? Your weekly playlist might include The Arcs, a side project of Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach. The feature is not always on point, but it’s often impressive.

Spotify also gives you the chance to create, share, and follow playlists of any kind — including those shared by friends — with a simple click, along with expertly curated playlists for any mood or genre you’re into to keep things fresh.

As for Apple Music, upon creating an account, users are prompted to select some of their favorite artists so the service can get a sense of their tastes. The interface for this is a digital ball pit, with each ball representing an artist. Users simply tap particular balls to indicate artists they like (one tap) or love (two). You can also always head back via the Account tab — accessible by tapping the icon in the top-right corner of For You — to reselect your favorite genres and artists. While it is a visually striking way to dictate music preferences (the pink-on-white background is pure Apple-chic), the style stomps on the utility a bit. On mobile devices, in particular, the balls quickly clog up the screen, sluggishly bouncing off each other as they grow, and making it a pain to select more artists.

Thankfully, once the process is complete, Apple Music does a great job curating playlists to appeal to your preferences. Playlists might be based on genre, artist, or even a particular activity like driving. Apple claims the playlists are curated by a “team of experts.” This cabal of tastemakers — whoever they are — does a good job, creating varied playlists that are at once familiar yet fresh, like a mixtape you might get from a friend.

The level of individual curation is impressive, with one DT staffer quick to highlight a Behind the Boards playlist that encompasses music from audio engineers who have helped create some of the best music of their time from the studio control room. Spotify also offers “expertly curated” playlists, but Apple Music’s playlist selections come from individual DJs on the Apple payroll.

Apple Music’s Apple Music 1 function, which offers live radio 24 hours a day, also plays a major role when it comes to music discovery. It’s refreshing to see Apple move beyond sophisticated algorithms for a human approach to facilitating true music discovery — but Spotify has its own magic at work, and its personalized playlists are only growing.

Having proven a knack for the human element, Apple seems intent on beefing up its algorithmic recommendations with new features like Replay 2020, which resurfaces your most-played tracks throughout the year to keep you jamming. All the while, the company has remained committed to timely recommendations to match or distract from world events and trends to lift your mood.

Still, Spotify’s hands-off playlists, with its fantastic Discover Weekly and Release Radar segment, give it the edge. Until Apple Music can compete with this algorithm-based approach, we will give Spotify the win.

Winner: Spotify

Radio

Spotify did away with the radio tab of the past, replacing it with an “assisted playlisting” feature instead, which can be found under the search tab (wherein, naturally, you can search for artists and new music suggestions). This feature gives you contextual recommendations based on your music interests. Say, for example, you wanted to create a playlist to accompany you on your morning workouts. Using assisted playlisting, Spotify will pull from suggestions based on your past listening history, as well as recommendations based on songs others have added to their own, similar contextual playlists. You can continue to fill your playlists with tracks, or Spotify can autofill them once you’ve chosen a few to start with. Users are also able to search and preview songs before adding them to a playlist.

The company is still focused on playlists, but premium users do get a feature called Endless Artist Radio, which allows users to select an artist they like and get personalized playlists based on their listening history — all of which are also available for download.

This feature complements the previously discussed free-tier playlists option, which gives free users over 40 hours of music across 15 playlists generated from their musical tastes that they can listen to for up to 24 hours.

The experience differs from radio-style listening. While it gives you more control over discovery and personalization, it’s no longer the simple channel-based approach.

In an age that prioritizes automation, Apple Music’s preference for the human touch helps with radio-style programming. This philosophy is embodied in Apple Music 1, Apple Music’s premier radio station that runs nonstop music mixed by DJs on live radio shows.

While in-house DJs like Zane Lowe do an admirable job, especially when it comes to premieres, the most intriguing shows on Apple Music 1 are those hosted by notable musicians such as Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest). These shows provide listeners with a unique look into the tastes of artists they admire. Some of them also have interesting formats, such as St. Vincent’s Mixtape Delivery Service, in which Clark solicits fans to tell her what is going on in their lives and assembles playlists to suit them.

Beyond Apple Music 1, Apple Music has some more generic radio stations for those who simply want to listen to, say, classic rock, jazz, or Top 40 hits. There are also non-music stations such as BBC News and ESPN, creating a menagerie of options that are hard to beat.

Winner: Apple Music

Podcasts

Although Apple Music and Spotify are primarily music apps, podcasts have a natural home on audio platforms. Spotify has been the fastest-growing podcast destination since launching the feature in 2015. In fact, it recently dethroned previous champion Apple. You’ll find tons of popular programs, and there are enough compelling originals that podcasts alone may entice you to stay. The Spotify app handles the task beautifully, with timers and playback speed controls available to assist your binge-listening sessions.

Apple Music doesn’t have any such functionality built-in. Podcasts were split off into their own app right around the time Apple started breaking iTunes into little bits and pieces, and that’s where they’ll stay for the foreseeable future.

Winner: Spotify

Subscription fees

Apple Music costs the industry-standard $10 per month, as does Spotify Premium, Tidal Premium, Pandora’s on-demand service, and just about every other on-demand subscription service on the block (Amazon Music Unlimited costs $10 per month for existing users or $8 for new users and those with an Amazon Prime subscription). Apple originally hoped to undercut its competitors by offering its standard service for $8 or even $5 per month, but that plan was derailed by the major labels that own the rights to the vast majority of the company’s catalog. To make an Apple Music or Spotify subscription a bit more appealing, both companies offer special family packs that allow customers to add up to six individual accounts for a total of just $15 per month.

There’s another way to save some cash on both services. New users with an applicable student email can get a discounted monthly subscription of just $5. Both add a bit more for that bargain, with Spotify offering ad-supported Hulu access with Showtime into the mix, while Apple will hook the studious up with Apple TV+.

Apple Music subscribers can also get a year’s worth of service for $99 if you know where to look. You’ll first need to be subscribed to Apple Music (it doesn’t matter which subscription you have). Head to your Subscriptions in the App Store app (accessed through your Apple ID at the bottom of the Featured tab), and select Apple Music. You should see an Individual (1 year) option for $99 — select it, and you can save nearly 20% over a year. Or, you know, you can always subscribe to Verizon Unlimited and bag a six-month membership for free. AT&T Unlimited & More customers, on the other hand, have the option to redeem a free Spotify Premium subscription, which will run right through the end of the contract.

Considering Apple grants every prospective subscriber three months of Apple Music for free, the service may be sweeping away more of Spotify’s audience than CEO Daniel Ek would like to acknowledge. However — and this is key — Apple does not have a free, ad-based tier like Spotify, which is a big reason the Swedish company was able to corral so many users in the first place. The majority of Spotify’s users listen for free, and that’s better than any three-month trial or discounted yearlong subscription Apple could offer — and the sole reason it takes home the crown for having the most competitive subscription fees. Not to mention, new Spotify users can currently nab two months of Premium for free.

Winner: Spotify

User interface and mobile experience

Despite Apple’s penchant for minimalist design, Apple Music’s mobile interface was less than intuitive out of the gate. With the subsequent releases of iOS 10 and iOS 11, however, the cumbersome layout became a more streamlined experience that music lovers should appreciate. The library is now on the homepage of the Music app — all the music you own can be accessed in this tab, and you can easily filter by Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, and Downloaded Music, just in case you don’t want to waste your precious mobile data.

Tapping on the For You tab now brings up several different personalized options. The My New Music Mix and the daily themed playlists provide even more ways to discover new tunes, while the Browse tab gives you an avenue to explore popular music, videos, and Apple exclusives. Those looking for something specific can use the Search tab, which allows you to quickly search through either your personal library or the Apple Music library.

Apple has also integrated Siri with Apple Music, allowing subscribers to issue voice commands through their Apple TV, iPhone, or Mac. If you were to ask Siri to play the No. 1 song from 2001, for instance, Lifehouse‘s Hanging by a Moment would quickly start playing. It’s a cool feature that Android users won’t get, as they don’t have access to Siri.

The Android version of Apple Music is aesthetically different from the iOS version in that it hides its menu to the left side of the screen, as many Android apps do. If users need to navigate, they can pull the menu into view like a drawer. This keeps the layout clean and makes good use of your phone’s limited real estate. Though Apple Music is available for iOS and Android, Apple Music works best on iOS, especially with the added Siri functionality. As of MacOS Catalina, Apple Music is no longer accessed within iTunes. You’ll have a dedicated Apple Music app for that instead, though those on older versions or any version of Windows will still require the antiquated service.

Spotify, on the other hand, is more device-agnostic and has long been the industry leader in terms of sheer usability. The mobile and desktop applications provide users with an easy way to browse music, access playlists, listen to internet radio, and discover new music.

On mobile, all your bidding is done within three tabs — Home, Search, and Your Library. Each section features its own set of straightforward subcategories, which gives users easy access to the service’s many features. The search window actively populates the results field, much like Google’s search engine, often providing exactly what you’re looking for after typing just a few characters, and a filter function makes it easy to drill down even further. Spotify has middling support for voice activation through devices like the Amazon Echo or Google Home, but recent evidence points to the development of its own in-house digital assistant, according to Engadget. You’ll be able to call on it by issuing two magic words — “Hey, Spotify” — but only if the app is already open on your phone.

In February 2020, Spotify introduced key changes to its mobile interface to help streamline your playback efforts. The changes include the addition of a unified button for Play and Shuffle functions, as well as corralling the Like and Download buttons — among other actions — into a navigation bar that you can find near the top of any playlist. Finally, the company has started showing album art next to each individual track in all views except the album view. Furthermore, you can now edit your profile from your mobile device.

Spotify also dares to set an example of how a music company can help listeners during a crisis like recent viral breakouts. It recently announced initiatives to match up to $10 million in donations to music organizations that raise money to support struggling artists.

Spotify for iOS Spotify for Android

Apple Music for iOS Apple Music for Android

As for outside integration, both Apple Music and Spotify also support Amazon’s Echo ecosystem, allowing subscribers to play songs on the company’s smart home systems with simple Alexa voice commands like, “Play songs by Mumford and Sons.” Spotify even offers Google Cast integration, which is especially handy for those who like Google’s streaming devices like the Chromecast, allowing for a quick and easy way to stream music from your home theater system. Apple Music once had exclusivity on the Apple TV, but recently loosened its grip, allowing Spotify integration to Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD owners. HomePod, on the other hand, is still limited to streaming to it from other devices through AirPlay, though Apple could soon open up the floodgates to allow other services — such as Spotify — the same integration.

For those allergic to apps, Spotify has long offered a web player which, while not quite as intuitive as the native desktop app, offers quick, lightweight access. Apple has followed suit, with a web player of its own in beta. Both have the option to display the lyrics of the song playing.

Apple Music offers one of the most impressive music services around, but you have to be all-in on Apple’s smartphones, tablets, computers, and streaming boxes to get the most out of it. We’ll have to give Spotify the edge here for its clean and easy user experience, ubiquity, and increased availability of third-party integrations.

Winner: Spotify

Social features

Spotify’s social functions allow subscribers to follow friends (if you’re both on Facebook and connect your Spotify accounts) and see what they listen to and who they follow. It also gives users the ability to share or recommend playlists, along with the ability to publish their listening history to Facebook, which then gives their Facebook friends an opportunity to like or comment on the activity.

Late last year, it was reported that Spotify is prepping a Tastebuds feature that will curate a custom playlist based on common listening tastes between you and your friends. The feature might be similar to the Friends Weekly playlist the company previously tested, in which you’d find a collection of songs your friends have been listening to lately. Tastebuds may be a more algorithmic playlist, with the amalgamation of tracks not necessarily being a carbon copy of their weekly playback history. No recent news has surfaced regarding the feature.

Per TechCrunch, another social feature purportedly in the works for Spotify may allow select influencers to share “stories” to go along with a shared playlist. Similar to Facebook and Instagram Stories, Spotify’s feature will support multiple short videos that fans can tap through. Presumably, much of the content will surround the music, but there’s no telling what the company will allow participants to post.

While these features do give Spotify some added social clout, we would like to see the service add an easy way to chat with those you follow. It has also now removed the Inbox/Messages feature, which allowed users to privately message each other inside the app — something the company said most users simply weren’t using and therefore was too expensive to maintain.

Apple Music’s main social feature used to be contained within something called Connect, a Twitter-style feed that brought artists and fans closer together and effectively served as an all-access pass to your favorite bands. Artists could post photos, videos, and more. Unfortunately, Apple removed the rarely-used feature in favor of more informational artist pages.

Thankfully, some of Apple Music’s social functionality remains, including the ability to see what your friends are listening to and easy playlist sharing. Still, Apple Music doesn’t offer much in the way of social components. Even without messaging, Spotify’s solid social media integration, as well as the ability to see what friends and followers are listening to, gives the service the upper hand.

Winner: Spotify

Workout modes

Many people listen to music while running, and both Apple Music and Spotify are loaded with workout-themed playlists.

Spotify used to have built-in workout functions but has since offloaded some of those features to other apps. For example, on smartphones with the appropriate sensors, Spotify can be used in conjunction with running apps such as Runkeeper to automatically select a playlist that matches the user’s running tempo. The integration is a welcome one for people who don’t want to plan out their music selection before they hit the track — though it’s a shame the functionality is no longer natively supported in-app.

Similarly, Apple Music doesn’t have an in-app feature dedicated to exercise but is also integrated into running apps (Runkeeper as well) and has numerous workout playlists available. Though it’s not perfect and was better in the past, Spotify’s wider integration with third-party workout apps gives it the win.

Winner: Spotify

Offline downloads

Apple Music lets you download music for offline playback across 10 different devices at once, with no real limit on how much you can download. Technically, the upper limit is 100,000 songs, but you would be hard-pressed to reach that number unless you download every album you see. Spotify lags in this area, with their restriction sitting at 10,000 songs on up to five devices.

Winner: Apple Music

Final verdict

Spotify for the win. While Apple Music has made some serious strides, Spotify still reigns supreme. Its user interface is accessible and uncluttered, making playlist management simple. Its music discovery playlists, especially Discover Weekly, keep it brilliantly fresh, and it’s also free for those who can’t yet commit. Apple Music’s larger catalog, exclusive releases, human-curated playlists, and features like Apple Music 1 make it a serious contender. But for now, Spotify still has the edge.

Spotify for iOS Spotify for Android

Apple Music for iOS Apple Music for Android

Editors' Recommendations