
When it comes to choosing between Spotify and Apple Music, both platforms offer a wealth of features, extensive music libraries, and compatibility across various devices. Here’s a detailed comparison to help you decide which service suits your needs best.
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Library
Spotify boasts over 100 million songs, 6 million podcasts, and a growing collection of more than 350,000 audiobooks. It excels in new releases, exclusive live sessions, and a robust New Releases tab every Friday.
Apple Music matches Spotify with over 100 million songs and secures numerous exclusives. It integrates seamlessly with your iTunes library, allowing all your purchased, ripped, or uploaded music to appear alongside Apple Music’s catalog.
Winner: Spotify (due to its addition of audiobooks)
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Audio Quality
Spotify offers different streaming qualities: AAC 128Kbps for free users and up to 320Kbps for Premium users. The promised lossless tier has not yet been introduced.
Apple Music provides lossless audio for all subscribers, ranging from CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) to high-resolution audio (24-bit/192kHz). It also supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos for an immersive listening experience.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Music Discovery Algorithm
Spotify is renowned for its personalized playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar, which provide excellent music recommendations based on listening habits. Collaborative Playlists and the new DJ feature enhance its discovery capabilities.
Apple Music curates playlists based on user preferences and offers the Apple Music 1 radio station with live DJ shows. Its Listen Now section suggests music based on listening history and shared tracks.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Radio
Spotify allows users to create radio stations based on specific artists, albums, playlists, or songs. The assisted playlist creation feature personalizes playlists based on user preferences.
Apple Music excels with Apple Music 1, offering live radio shows hosted by notable musicians and curated genre stations. Non-music stations like BBC News and ESPN add to its diverse offerings.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Podcasts
Spotify leads with over 6 million podcasts and numerous popular originals. Its app supports features like timers and playback speed controls, making it ideal for podcast listening.
Apple Music does not include podcast functionality; podcasts are managed through a separate Apple Podcasts app.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Price
Spotify recently increased prices: Individual plan ($12/month), Duo plan ($17/month), and Family plan ($20/month). A free tier is available with ads.
Apple Music costs $11/month for Individual, $17/month for Family, and $6/month for students. It offers a one-month free trial but no free tier.
Winner: Spotify (due to the free tier option)
Apple Music vs. Spotify — User Interface and Mobile Experience
Spotify features a clean, user-friendly interface with easy navigation across Home, Search, and Your Library tabs. It supports web players and third-party integrations well.
Apple Music has a minimalist design, integrating Siri for voice commands and offering features like Sing for karaoke. It works best within the Apple ecosystem.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Social Features
Spotify offers robust social features, including following friends, sharing playlists, and the Collaborative Playlist feature. Integration with Facebook enhances social interaction.
Apple Music has limited social functionality, mainly allowing users to see what friends are listening to and share playlists.
Winner: Spotify
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Workout Modes
Spotify integrates with apps like Runkeeper for personalized workout playlists but lacks native support for these features.
Apple Music offers Apple Fitness+ integration, creating customized workout routines and playlists based on Apple Watch data. The Fitness+ Studio Series offers genre-specific workout music.
Winner: Apple Music
Apple Music vs. Spotify — Offline Downloads
Apple Music allows up to 100,000 songs to be downloaded for offline playback across 10 devices.
Spotify permits downloading up to 10,000 songs on up to five devices.
Winner: Apple Music
Overall Winner- Spotify
Spotify wins overall due to its superior music discovery algorithms, extensive podcast library, social features, and flexible pricing. However, Apple Music excels in audio quality, radio, workout integration, and offline downloads, making it a strong contender for users deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Choose based on the features that matter most to you.