(Credit: Apple/Spotify/PCMag)Plans and Prices
Apple Music's Individual plan ($10.99 per month) and Family plan ($16.99 per month, covering six people) cost slightly less than Spotify's equivalent tiers ($11.99 and $19.99 per month, respectively). Both services offer a discounted Student rate for $5.99 per month. These premium packages lack ads and offer unlimited skips per hour. You'll enjoy offline playback on mobile, too. That's where the price similarities end.
Spotify has a Duo package ($16.99 per month) aimed at couples that saves a few bucks if you don't need a full Family plan. Don't want to spend any money on streaming music? Check out the ad-supported Spotify Free, which limits your skips per hour and only lets you listen to shuffled songs—you can't play tracks on demand.
Apple Music, on the other hand, lacks a free tier. It's a subscription or bust. However, you get a free three-month trial upon purchasing AirPods, an iPhone, or another eligible Apple hardware.
If free sounds good, Spotify is a worthwhile choice. If an ad-free subscription with a lower price than Spotify's premium offerings is more your speed, go with Apple Music.
Winner: Tie
(Credit: Apple Music/Spotify/PCMag)Content: Music, Video, Podcasts, and Audiobooks
Apple Music and Spotify have more than 100 million songs on their platforms, plus many playlists and videos. That means no matter the service you select, you'll have a lifetime's worth of tunes. So, it's the other content that may sway you in one direction or the other.
Apple Music offers live radio, which Spotify lacks. That includes local stations and six dedicated Apple stations. However, Spotify trounces Apple Music with nearly seven million podcasts and 250,000 audiobooks. Those are huge numbers. Apple Music features just two million podcasts and zero audiobooks. Simply put, Spotify has more entertainment variety.
Winner: Spotify
(Credit: Spotify/PCMag)Music Discovery
Any streaming music service worth its salt must have a good search engine and recommendation system. Spotify is the older and more experimental of the two platforms, giving you many ways to find content. For example, its For You page has a fantastic, easy-to-read layout that displays playlists and recently played albums. Scrolling up or down spotlights the latest releases from your favorite artists and related music acts.
Spotify's algorithms auto-generate playlists based on your listening preferences. For example, the Discover Weekly playlist is a cool, weekly mixtape of new music and deep cuts catered to your listening preferences. In addition, AI playlists are a cutting-edge feature that Spotify is exploring. Although still in beta, it lets you generate playlists via text prompts and even emoji. It’s a fantastic way to discover new music if you’re in an adventurous mood. However, if you're more of a hands-off listener, fire up Spotify's AI-powered disc jockey, DJ X, who queues your favorite tracks and adds new ones for variety. Of course, Spotify has curated playlists that cover a wide gamut of musical genres.
Like Spotify, Apple Music's Home tab gives you quick access to new and familiar songs. The service also lets you create Stations, which are essentially endless queues of music based on whatever you’re listening to at the moment. Apple Music's Discovery Station is similar to Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist, as it features a music queue based on your listening habits. Apple Music features many curated playlists across different genres, just like Spotify.
Both services have a search-by-lyric feature. So, if you can't quite remember a song title but you remember the hook, you can use those words to prompt a search. For example, type, "I said, 'Hey what’s going on,'" into the search box and you'll get results for the song "What’s Up?" by 4 Non Blondes (as well as the arguably superior Slackcircus cover).
Apple Music's discovery and recommendation systems are good, but Spotify's AI-powered DJ and playlists top them.
Winner: Spotify
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)Music Streaming Quality
Spotify supports audio streams of up to 320kbps. The audio is serviceable for casual listening and could potentially save you money due to its lower data usage compared with Apple Music. That said, Apple Music has better quality audio, no question.
Apple Music streams range between 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD Quality) and lossless 24-bit/192kHz audio files, which is crisp, high-definition audio. The service also supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. Not every track supports it, but many do. Apple even provides extensive playlists with music that takes advantage of this audiophile-centric format.
Keep in mind that this audio disparity may not affect your day-to-day listening experience, depending on how you consume music. This is especially true if you listen via Bluetooth headphones. Bluetooth streaming comes with audio compression and bandwidth limitations, so you won't enjoy the depth and richness Apple Music delivers. Wired connections are a different story. So, audiophiles with high-quality headphones may pick up Apple Music's sonic superiority.
Winner: Apple Music