These Are the Best Music Streaming Services

While Apple Music and Spotify are the two dominant music streaming services, there are plenty of other legitimate options worth trying. You may be looking for something that prioritizes the highest possible digital music quality; perhaps you need something that works well and is free; Perhaps your priority is to ensure your favorite artists are compensated fairly. Whatever your interests, there’s a streaming service for you.

The Best Music Streaming Service for Most People

Spotify remains the best music streaming option for most people even now. It has a great music recommendation algorithm, a low barrier to entry thanks to its free tier, and useful social features. I wouldn’t normally consider social features an important part of a music streaming service, but Spotify has made some of them pretty cool.

Chief among these features is Spotify’s annual Wrapped review , which lets you show how much music you listen to, as well as your top songs and artists. There’s also Spotify Jam , which allows you and your friends to create a fun party playlist, and Spotify Blend , which is great for sharing a playlist with your partner.

However, not everything is perfect with Spotify. Its aggressive promotion on podcasts has angered many people, as there is no way to hide these episodes from your Spotify homepage. It still doesn’t offer the lossless audio that services like Apple Music offer at no additional cost, and its free tier is a bit limiting since it lacks a skip button.

pros

• Has a free level
• Useful social features
• Music recommendations
• Cross-platform applications

Minuses

• There is no option to hide podcasts
• Lossless sound is missing

Price : Free (with ads), $10.99 per month (individual), and $14.99 per month (family).

The Best Music Streaming Service for Apple Users

It’s no surprise that Apple Music is the best music streaming service for most Apple users. It has a great catalog, good recommendations, and some great editorial playlists. Apple has the advantage of an entire ecosystem of services, meaning the company can offer a package of services at a competitive price. This makes Apple Music an affordable option for those who want to use other Apple services such as Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+ or Apple TV+. There are some features that Apple does best, such as lyrics syncing and Spatial Audio support, lossless music, and integration with Apple devices like HomePod.

On the other hand, if you want to use Apple Music with third-party devices, it won’t be up to par. It’s clear that Apple wants to offer the best music experience in its ecosystem, and you’ll notice it in the quality of its apps on PC, web, and Android. The service also lacks great social features, which is Spotify’s big advantage.

pros

• Editorial playlists
• Integration with the Apple ecosystem
• Has lossless sound at no extra charge

Minuses

• No free tier
• Android and PC apps are not up to standard
• Lacks great social features

Price : $4.99 per month ( limited to music playback via Siri ), $10.99 per month (individual), and $16.99 per month (family).

A great alternative music streaming service on Android.

While Spotify works great on Android, there’s reason to believe that YouTube Music is a great alternative on the platform. It has an extensive catalog, a free tier that lets you skip songs, and radio stations that let you discover new music. Audio quality is limited to 256 Kbps, but for many people this is enough.

pros

• Huge library
• Skip songs on the free tier

Minuses

• Lacks high resolution audio

Price : Free (with ads), $10.99/month (Individual), $16.99/month (Family).

The Best Music Streaming Service for Audiophiles

While Apple Music is good enough to satisfy most of your high-quality audio needs, there are music streaming services built specifically for this market. Qobuz is the best of the bunch as it allows you to stream 24-bit FLAC video at up to 192kHz, which is as good as digital audio can get. If you want to own your music rather than stream it, Qobuz also has a download store that lets you buy albums in high definition. The price is good, it works with the devices you use and is compatible with many dedicated high-resolution audio devices. The downside is that it’s not the best service if you like social features, and it lacks spatial audio.

pros

• High definition sound at a good price
• Compatible with audiophile equipment.
• Digital Download Store

Minuses

• Lacks social features
• No spatial audio
• No free tier

Price : $12.99 per month (individual), $21.90 per month (family), $129.99 (yearly).

The Most Ethical Music Streaming Service

If you are concerned about the low payouts that artists receive from music streaming services and want to choose the one that pays the best rate, then your best option is Bandcamp . We have a detailed article outlining what each streaming service pays , and it’s clear that Bandcamp is head and shoulders above the rest. It’s not really a music streaming service per se, but rather a digital music store. However, if you want to buy music and generate the highest possible income for the artist, this is the best choice.

pros

• High payouts for artists
• no DRM
• You own the music

Minuses

• Limited streaming options