No paid promotions here. Our experts test each app for an honest review. Learn more
Is Spotify the Best Music Streaming App? We Put Them All to the Test
Is there a music streaming app out there that can challenge Spotify? We put 9 other apps to the test to see how they compared.

Read on to see why we picked Spotify and which other apps made our list.
Table of Contents
Deserving of the top spot
- Premium plans are $9.99 per month, which gives you full access to ad-free music and offline playback
- Add other household members to your premium plan for a discount of $12.99 per month for 2 or $14.99 for 6
- Listen to podcasts from all over the world
- You can create your own playlists or listen to ones that have been created by others or curated just for you.
- Ability to follow friends and share playlists and music with others
- Huge library includes over 50 million songs giving you a wide range of choice and more than enough to help you find a playlist for every occasion
The features on the Spotify app are incomparable, and with the ability to create playlists and share with your friends and family, you’re able to share your passion for music with anyone.
Read Spotify's Full ReviewEssential for long-time Apple users
With an extensive library of music and a smart, "typically Apple" interface, you’ll come to love the Apple Music app. If you’re already part of the Apple world, then this app is likely the one for you.
Why we chose Apple Music:
- You get a 30-day free trial. After that, the monthly subscription is directly comparable to Spotify at $9.99 per month.
- Modern interface makes the app simple to use and very familiar if you’re already an Apple user
- Share songs, playlists, and even connect with friends thanks to the Apple Music social features
- Can listen to live radio stations, or select from the vast collection of playlists to suit your mood
- Enjoy the huge selection of songs from the 50 million tracks that are available
Although the sound quality isn’t as good as some its competitors, it’s still a great alternative to Spotify if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem. Especially if you want to listen to your age-old iTunes albums alongside your new steams, and you don’t want to clog up your phone with new apps.
Read Apple Music's Full ReviewOut of this world sound quality
Why we chose TIDAL:
- A standard TIDAL membership is $9.99 per month, although there is an opportunity to upgrade to HiFi, which is well worth the $19.99 per month if you have a sharp ear
- Incredible audio quality provides a supreme listening experience at 24-bit/96kHz streams
- App is super easy to use and straightforward to navigate from browsing new tracks to creating playlists
- TIDAL includes some of the latest music videos, so you won’t have to use other apps to watch.
- Currently has over 60 million songs available in over 50 countries worldwide
Everything We Recommend
-
Our Pick
Spotify: Music, Podcasts, Lit
4.6 Ratings 54M+ Reviews 1B+ DownloadsWith the Spotify music and podcast app, you can play millions of songs, albums and original podcasts for free. We have even added audiobooks, so you can enjoy thousands of stories wherever you are!
Stream music and podcasts, listen to audiobooks, discover albums, playlists or even single songs for free on your mobile or tablet. Subscribe to Spotify Premium to download and listen offline wherever you are.
Spotify gives you access to a world of free music, curated playlists, artists, and podcasts you love. Discover podcasts, new music, top songs or listen to your favorite artists and albums.
WHY SPOTIFY FOR MUSIC AND PODCASTS?
• Listen to over 80 million songs and 4 million podcasts (and counting)
• Enjoy over 300,000 newly added audiobook titles
• Discover new music, albums, playlists and original podcasts.
• Search for your favorite song or artist by typing a lyric
• Enjoy amazing sound quality on music and podcasts across all devices.
• Create and share your own music playlists to suit your mood or discover other playlists you might like.
• Listen to daily music mixes made just for you.
• Explore top songs from different genres, countries or decades.
• Sing along to each song with our lyrics feature.
• Play music from your favorite Netflix shows
• Subscribe to your favourite podcasts so that you never miss an episode, then curate your very own podcast library.
• Bookmark individual podcasts into Playlists
• Listen to music and podcasts on your mobile, tablet, desktop, PlayStation, Chromecast, TV or wearable device.
Listen and discover the latest music from artists like;
• Bad Bunny
• Billie Eilish
• Renzo Pianciola
• The Temper Trap
• Harry Styles
Listen to your favorite music artists all day every day via the Popular Radio playlist feature. Here are just some of the artists we’ve already curated;
• Taylor Swift
• Drake
• Eminem
• Coldplay
• Paolo Nutini
• Fleetwood Mac
Listen to over 40 category genres - New Releases, Charts, Live Events, Made for You, At Home, Only You, Summer, Pop, Workout, Hip-Hop, Mood, Party, Pride, Dance/Electronic, Alternative, Indie, Equal, Wellness, Rock, Frequency, R&B, Disney,, Throwback, Radar, Chill, Sleep, In the car, Kids & Family, Caribbean, Classical, Romance, Jazz, Instrumental, Afro, Christian and Gospel and Country.
Listen to popular and exclusive podcasts like;
• The Joe Rogan Experience
• Modern Wisdom
• 2 Bears, 1 Cave with Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer
• Call Her Daddy and Crime Junkie
Introducing audiobooks on Spotify. Everything you listen to, all in one place. Music, podcasts, and now audiobooks. Now you can:
• Get lost in great stories.
• Discover exciting audiobook titles across all devices
• Easily switch between your favorite songs, shows, and stories.
Search, discover and play music, podcasts and audiobooks from all over the world for free, anywhere, anytime or create your own music playlists with the latest songs to suit your mood.
Audiobooks are only available in the US. Audiobooks on Spotify are available for a one-time purchase and are not associated with any subscriptions you may have.
WHY GO PREMIUM?
• Listen to albums, playlists and podcasts without ad breaks.
• Download and listen to music and podcasts offline, wherever you are.
• Jump back in and listen to your top songs with on-demand playback.
• Choose from 4 subscription options – Individual, Duo, Family, Student. There’s no commitment and you can cancel any time
LOVE SPOTIFY?
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spotify
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/spotify
Please note: This app features Nielsen’s audience measurement software which will allow you to contribute to market research, such as Nielsen’s Audio Measurement. If you don't want to participate, you can opt-out within the app settings. To learn more about our digital audience measurement products and your choices in regard to them, please visit https://www.nielsen.com/digitalprivacy for more information.CostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$4.99 - $15.99 per item$3.99 - $16.99 per item -
Runner UpFill your world with the songs, albums, and artists that define you. Get unlimited access to millions of tracks, curated playlists and original content from the artists you know and love. Experience Lossless Audio, and hear sound all around you with Spatial Audio featuring Dolby Atmos.
Over 100 million songs, all ad-free.
Spatial Audio, featuring Dolby Atmos.
Follow along with time synced lyrics, and share the parts that move you in Messages.
Download your favorite music and listen offline.
Make and share playlists with friends.
Get personalized picks in Listen Now
Browse picks and playlists from Apple Music editors.
Stream your favorite music via Chromecast to your favorite device.
Search for songs by lyrics.
Go deep into the music with interviews, live performances and more that can only be found on Apple Music.
Explore dozens of exclusive shows, created by the most iconic names in music, live or on demand.
Follow friends to discover what others are listening to.
Availability and features vary by country, region or plan. Subscriptions automatically renew unless they are canceled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscriptions in Settings after purchase. Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/.CostFreeFreeIn-App Purchases$5.99 - $19.05 per itemNo -
Also GroovyYou can now enjoy TIDAL FOR FREE or through our new paid subscriptions. With more options to elevate your music streaming experience with TIDAL, now’s the time to sign up and experience over 80 million audio tracks the way they were meant to sound.
In addition to premium, immersive audio experiences on our new HiFi Plus subscription, you can learn how your listening behavior adds up to support your favorite artists, and support artists directly as a result of your streaming.
With TIDAL HiFi, never miss a note with lossless quality audio.
With TIDAL Free, you can enjoy music across all genres with limited interruptions.
Get TIDAL HiFi to:
- Listen to over 80 million songs in HiFi, ad-free sound anywhere you are, even when you’re offline
- Use TIDAL Connect to listen to HiFi on your favorite devices, including TVs, Amazon Alexa, your preferred speakers and more than 150 other integrations.
- Access 350K+ music videos*
With HiFi Plus, get everything in HiFi and:
- Listen to music in premium, immersive audio formats (MQA, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio)
- 10% of your subscription gets directed to your most streamed artists every month**
You can start streaming now with TIDAL Free, or visit tidal.com to start your free HiFi or HiFi Plus trial, and then come back to the app to start listening. The subscription is automatically renewed and charged on a monthly (30 day) basis. You can cancel it at any time up until the day before renewal and you can at any time turn off the auto renewal.
By signing up, you agree to TIDAL’s Terms and Conditions of Use, Privacy Policy and Mobile Terms, see http://tidal.com/terms
*Video not available in UAE
**Select plans may have lower percent allocationCostFreeFreeIn-App PurchasesNo$12.99 - $39.99 per item
The 411 from our Appventurer
How we tested?
As an avid Spotify user, my goal was to see which music streaming apps could challenge Spotify. So I began by searching for the highest-rated and most popular apps on the market. Once I found the top 10, I downloaded them onto my phone and began testing them over 10 days.
I spent anywhere from 30-90 minutes a day testing the apps and used them when I was working, going for a walk, doing chores, or working out. I wanted to see if these apps could offer me the same level of service as Spotify, or even beat it.
As far as criteria, I looked at how easy the apps were to use, what the design was like, how many songs were available and the diversity of content, what the sound quality was like, and if they had the same type of playlist capabilities and social settings that Spotify has.
With so many of the apps having such huge catalogs, I tested this too. I searched for a range of content from across different musical genres, and on the apps that had them, I did the same thing with podcasts. Once I’d found the content I wanted, I used the apps in the same way I use Spotify. Due to current restrictions, this is mainly when I go walking/running, do chores or cook, and work out at home.
Why get the app?
Many of these apps do actually have a website option, but the only way to get the most out of these services is through an app. If you were to use the standard website for listening to music, you’d be reliant on being near a computer whenever you want to listen.
Obviously, by using an app, you can listen wherever you are. Whether you’re connecting it to your integrated home device, streaming from a Bluetooth speaker, or listening on your phone when you’re out of the house, apps bring your music streaming to a whole new level.
We listen to music in many different ways and having an app that you can take wherever you want and listen to your own terms is one of the best. Our phones are always in our hands and being able to carry your music with you so that it is always available is something that everyone is sure to appreciate.
More About Spotify: Our Pick
Their free plan keeps users active on the app and happy to interact with their service, even if it does involve ads and only limited features, but their wide selection of music and straightforward functionality keep people coming back.
When you take a closer look at what Spotify can do, especially with its $9.99 "premium plan," it’s easy to see why so many people love it.
That isn’t always a bad thing, and it’s certainly great to be able to find new talent, but what we love about Spotify is when they say they have 50 million tracks available, you know you’re going to be able to find your song.
The music discovery system is incredible, and its ability to find awesome playlists that it knows you’ll love is a great feature that makes the entire listening experience so much more enjoyable.
One that not only makes it easy for you to listen to the music that you love but one that can help your friends to feel included in the party.
However, if you're just using your app, you’ll still be able to enjoy a great experience, as the Spotify app is very well designed, extremely easy to use, and perhaps the best app out of all the ones we tested, which is just another reason why it came out on top.
Snags but not drags:
One surprising snag to us was audio quality. To be honest, we were blown away by how much better the audio quality was on TIDAL. It’s not something you often notice as most apps have a similar level of sound, but once we heard how good TIDAL was, everything else was simply a step below.
Right now the only thing stopping TIDAL from moving up is that, for higher-quality sound, you’d need to pay double the price of Spotify. If Spotify were to increase their audio quality to at least step above the majority of the competition, we feel that would be a huge win and a way to keep them firmly on top. Outside of this, there’s not much more they can do. It’s a great app and fantastic service and one that we think deserves its place at the top of this list.
More About Apple Music: Runner Up
Like Spotify, the premium plan costs $9.99, and once you’re signed up, you get many of the same features available on Spotify.
Once you’ve signed up with Apple Music, you will be able to share your playlists with friends and family, as well as see what they’re listening to, and you even get access to original shows and concerts, as well as access to live radio shows.
Apple does a great job of finding great playlists for you using its intelligent recommendations system, which is very useful if you don’t like spending your time searching for tracks yourself.
If you’re on Android, you should stick to Spotify.
More About TIDAL Music: Also Groovy
The more expensive TIDAL plan is called "HiFi," and it’ll set you back $19.99 a month. However, if you’re really into your music and you appreciate good quality, that fee may well be worth it. The Hi-Res sound is far superior to anything that Spotify can produce, and the difference in sound quality is noticeable as you can access millions of Hi-Res tracks at 24-bit/192kHz.
When you look at the actual TIDAL app, you quickly realize that they didn’t throw all their money at getting the best quality sound, but that they’ve also developed a pretty great app. In many ways, they’ve used a similar format to Spotify, and quite frankly, we love it.
It makes total sense to produce something that is proven to work and that people are already familiar with, and in this case, we think it’s a good idea.
The TIDAL app is easy to navigate, extremely user-friendly, and very well designed. Overall it’s a great app and one that music lovers should certainly consider.
Other Apps Considered
If we’re being completely honest, the idea of using Youtube solely as a music app does feel weird, but it does a great job, and we’re sure it’s going to make waves in this area in the future. Right now though, it just missed the cut in terms of usability, features, and sound quality.
With over 40 million titles available and sound quality as impressive as TIDAL’S, Amazon music is great. However, where it fell down was with the variety of music available. We struggled to find some songs that we searched for, which was a surprise given how many titles the app actually has.
Pandora is a classic and still a good choice for those who really just want to throw on a certain music genre without giving much thought to picking a playlist or queuing up the right songs. That being said, the other more versatile streamers had better "radio" options, in our opinion, making them more worth the price than Pandora's $4.99/mo ad-free service. The free service with ads is frankly annoying enough not to be worth it.
We enjoyed using the Deezer app, it was easy to use and the set up was straightforward. We also loved how you could tailor your musical tastes and get the content that you like. However, if there was an area we’d like to see improved it would be the podcasts available on the app as we couldn’t find the ones we wanted.
Soundcloud is a good app, but not quite premium quality. It has a selection of music available, mostly from independent or small artists, and sitting at over 125 million total. However, we don’t feel it’s ready to challenge the big names in music streaming just yet.
We found the Bandcamp app quite cluttered and felt the interface could have been smoother. It does a decent job of helping you to find the music you like, but it’s no threat to the big names in music streaming yet.
LiveXLive allows users to create and share customized music stations. Unfortunately, we had had difficulty getting the app to work for us at all. We’ll have to check back in on this one in the future and see how it stacks up.
Anton Mark
As a freelancer, I use all types of different apps so that I can manage my time and remain organized with ease. I’m always on the go so I love anything that can help me to stay on top of my tasks but for fun, I love playing games or watching movies.
I’m a huge sports fan so I’ll usually be checking the latest scores or following up on my teams and I also like to expand my mind with audiobooks and podcasts. Using apps allows me to get through so much more in a typical day that I simply wouldn’t be able to cover otherwise and I love it.
Being able to write about apps is pretty great as I get to research the best apps out there and find the hidden gems that people may not know about then share that information to help others discover their new favorite apps.
Hey app lover! Want to save on your faves?
Sign up for FREE and get app deals and money-saving reviews delivered to your inbox daily.
Chuck1
I prefer this blog because it has much more informative stuff. https://www.oskarjacket.com/product-category/yellowstone-outfits-collection/