Spotify vs Apple Music: Which to Choose?

Streaming music services offer us a fantastic opportunity to listen to the best songs legally and easily. Given apps became the next step in developing new-age music distribution and rapidly took their place in the lives of millions of people worldwide. 

And, of course, there are leaders in given service. We are talking about Spotify and Apple Music. These two brands represent the best functionality that can be found in the music software segment in 2023. But which of the two platforms to choose, and what are those Spotify vs Apple Music differences they have in between? Read on to stay in the picture 100%!

Spotify or Apple — A Comparative Review

Today, many listen to music almost everywhere: when driving a car or going to the subway, working in the office, washing dishes at home or wandering around the supermarket in search of something delicious for dinner. And all the conditions have been created for this, right? There are so many services now; it’s not surprising that choosing can be difficult. 

How to decide on a service for listening to music? Choose the best platforms! Apple Music or Spotify? Each service has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are the spotify vs apple music details.

Spotify — Description, Pros and Cons

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Spotify is the number 1 streaming service in the world. Why is that? 

Spotify features impressive recommendations, curated playlists, and the ability to integrate with other resources. It has much in common with a social network focusing on music lovers. Here subscribers exchange playlists and browse each other’s pages. Also, here you can subscribe to your favorite singer and listen to all his old and fresh tracks. 

Besides, Spotify comes with convenient functionality. One can manage music playback from different devices, for example, from your phone to put music on your computer. There is even such a thing as a group session, which allows multiple users to create and manage a playlist. And, this is incredibly convenient for music parties. 

The Pros of Spotify: 

• User-friendly look and great functionality. The Spotify app works quite simply. Thanks to its neat and intuitive interface, you can discover and understand each function pretty fast.
• Music collection. And this is the main reason why spotify is chosen by thousands of users. At the moment, users will find about 40 million songs here, as well as many podcasts. 
• Access to playlist management. You can create playlists and share them with other users. Your selected playlists are displayed in the search results. 
• Recommendation algorithms. Spotify offers top music recommendations to play whenever you have no idea which song to stream.
• Compatibility. This app is also compatible with everyday gadgets such as PCs running Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc.
• Free mode. The service provides free-of-charge options but with ads.

The Cons of Spotify:

• High price for service. Buying your premium subscription will cost the user a lot. 
• Sound quality. In the free version of the service, the sound quality of the music is average. The free user can only play 160 kbit/s.
• Access zone. The number of regions in which its music collection is available is small.
• Advertising options. One more drawback of using Spotify for free is the random ads between songs.

Is Spotify more fantastic than another service that you are used to? Indeed, you need to try it first and decide for yourself. By the way, Spotify provides a free format for listening to music, but then get ready to tolerate advertising, low bitrate and lack of extra options.

Apple Music — Description, Pros and Cons

Since it was launched back in 2015, the iOS music platform has become known to music fans worldwide. To date, one can find at least 60 million songs in its library. This platform has fantastic apple music revenue, which is positioned as a top competitor to all existing streaming apps such as Spotify platform, Google Play Music, Amazon, as well as Tidal.  

It comes with diverse music options, exclusive albums and online radio broadcasts. All music streaming functions are available in Apple Music on any device. Switching from various gadgets can also be performed without issues since all user data is synchronized in real-time.

The Pros of Apple Music:

• iCloud Library. Apple’s service allows you to store your personal music online to sync and listen to your music on all devices easily.
• An incredible listening experience. As for the choice of music, one of key benefits of the Apple platform is its high competitiveness since it has more than 90 million songs, which is much more than its competitors. 
• You are editing a playlist. You can do much more with your playlist than other streaming platforms offer. 
• Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio. It brings users to the forefront of listening to music. It offers 24-hour live radio broadcasting.
• Free testing period. Given period lasts 3 months for new users.

The Cons of Apple Music:

• Paid use only. None of the versions are available for free.
• Podcast Subpar. Apple stores its podcasts separately from the entire set of songs and musical numbers in a separate application.
• Protected songs are limited. The company protects digital access to its songs, sometimes at a subscriber’s or user’s expense.

Actual service prices — why Spotify is better?

Although the music streaming services mentioned in the article offer an average price level (nearly $10 per month), slight differences in their pricing policy still exist.

Spotify

And the main difference here is that Spotify offers a free format for viewing ads. If the user wants only music and no ads, he buys a Premium level. 

Spotify also has a Premium Duo package, available to two users simultaneously. It has a playlist called “Duo Mix”, which comprises songs based on how people usually listen to music. 

Apple Music

Now about the pricing specifics of Apple. Please note that it is a little difficult to subscribe to the Apple Music annual plan. First, a person needs to subscribe to a monthly tariff plan. Only then will he be able to switch to yearly billing in the app or the account settings of his Apple device.

By the way, Apple has recently raised its prices and stated that an increase in licensing prices caused the new pricing structure. This will lead to more performers providing their innovative products to this platform. We also add new features that make Apple Music the best way to listen to music worldwide.

Whats better spotify or apple music in terms of spendings? Compare prices for listening to music offline: 

• Apple Music – $10.99 monthly (No Ads). 
• Spotify – $9.99 monthly (No Ads)

Annual subscription: 

• Apple Music – $109.99.
• Spotify – $99.

Music quality — Apple Music vs. Spotify

Well, and what about apple music vs spotify sound quality? Initially, Apple Music quality was presented in AAC format with a bitrate of 256 kbit/s. Speaking of Spotify, if a user buys a Premium account, he has access to tracks with a bitrate of 320 kbit/s. If the subscription is standard, the bitrate will be 128 kbit/s. 

In one of the recent announcements, Apple stated that the entire catalog in the branded music service would soon come in updated resolutions: Lossless (up to 48 kHz) and Hi-Res Lossless (from 48 to 192 kHz).

Summary

So, let’s summarize everything that we managed to find out. Apple Music is an excellent service for those music lovers who prefer simple functionality. You can quickly and conveniently add, listen to and sync music between your gadgets. This resource offers an expanded music library where you can find a song from anywhere in the world and in many languages. For those listeners who value high-quality recommendations, Spotify is an obvious choice.