In a world that’s constantly looking for motivation, many resort to music streaming services. Two applications that have particularly dominated the streaming field are Apple Music and Spotify. Though both platforms have the same goal at heart, they were both made to be uniquely different. So which streaming service should you use?
Pricing
Many users agree with the idea of having a music streaming service, however, many disagree with the pricing. Across both Spotify and Apple Music, you’ll find that prices are relatively the same.
According to Spotify’s official website, there are four options: Individual, Duo, Family, and Student. Limited to one person, the Individual plan is around $9.99/month. Unique to Spotify, the Duo plan is $12.99/month and offers two premium accounts for any couples or friends. The Family plan is $14.99/month and provides six premium accounts and access to Spotify Kids. Lastly, the Student plan is $4.99/month but is only limited to college students. Every plan guarantees an ad-free experience and on-demand playback which is a collection of song playlists that have been catered to your listening needs.
Meanwhile, Apple Music has three options: Student, Individual, and Family. Similar to Spotify, the Student plan is $4.99/month while the Individual plan is $9.99/month. The Family plan is $14.99/month and allows up to six different accounts. Every Apple Music plan ships with an ad-free experience and can function alongside your Itunes library easily. Both platforms offer free trials with the inclusion of ads and limited song skips.
Content/Features
Both Apple Music and Spotify have over 70 million songs on their services. According to soundguys.com, Apple Music has been known to make “exclusive deals with artists like Drake and Taylor Swift for early-content release.” In addition to exclusives, Apple Music allows its users to use iTunes alongside their Apple Music library. With this feature, users can access their Itunes library including any songs they have imported/downloaded. Spotify also offers a similar feature. Whether it’s on a phone or a computer, users have the ability to import their own songs to Spotify. Spotify calls this feature Local Files, though, some Spotify users have reported that some of their imported songs don’t appear across all their devices.
Clearly, Apple Music has the upper hand here as it’s a matter of dragging and dropping the song into the iTunes software. In terms of content and the number of songs available, users will feel satisfied with either platform.
Music Quality
The whole idea of using a streaming service is to listen. Apple Music and Spotify are no exceptions when it comes to developing open, bright sounds for their users. Both services use the AAC format, which means that tracks may sound similar through both platforms.
If you want to read more about their sound qualities, this is a great article. Users can even take sound quality into their own hands using the built-in EQ feature. With this tool, users can create the tone they desire.
What are people saying?
A good comparison is nothing without input from the users. Here’s what some had to say:
“It offers personalized recommendations and cleaner UI compared to Apple Music,” said Hector Galvan, a user of the Duo plan.
“I don’t like Spotify’s algorithms,” said Justin Seratan. ” They give too many popular songs.”
Conclusion
Spotify and Apple Music are two separate platforms yet serve the same purpose- to provide the user with the best music experience. Regardless of what platform you decide to use, you won’t be missing out on any features the other app may have as they’re both similar in functionality. If you want to be able to use your Homepod and other Apple products for seamless connectivity, try Apple Music. If you want a cleaner UI, go for Spotify. In the end, there are no wrong answers and it’s all up to you, the consumer, to decide which service to use.
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