Apple Music vs. Spotify: Which is the Best Music Streaming Service?

There is no denying that Spotify is the most on-demand music streaming service currently. This music streaming service provider boasts of over 40 million songs. And according to Statista, the site has 108 million-plus monthly premium subscribers globally. However, Spotify is facing stiff competition from Apple Music with its 60 million-plus monthly subscribers. Today, we’ll take a look at Apple Music vs Spotify duel and find out who edges out the other.

1. Apple Music vs. Spotify Price

If you compare Spotify Premium vs Apple Music, the race is almost too close to call. That’s because the industry-standard fee for monthly subscribers is $9.99, which both of them offer. You’ll even find services such as Amazon Music Unlimited offering Premium subscriptions to new users for $8 only.

Both Spotify and Apple Music also provide other exciting packs apart from offering the feature-laden Premium monthly subscription. To begin with,Spotify offers monthly premium subscriptions to valid students and a 6-member family accountholdersfor $4.99 and $14.99, respectively. You can also opt for the yearly subscription that goes for $99 only (around 20% off).

Apple Music, on the other hand, offers precisely the same package. You’ll also get a free 90-day trial period, just like Spotify. Previously, Spotify used to provide a free 30-day trial period in an attempt to get more Premium users. However, the plan backfired thanks to increased competition. Spotify has since rolled up itsfree 90-day trial. The only glaring difference between Spotify and Apple Music here is that the latter doesn’t offer a free, ad-supported subscription. So if you’re on a budget, Apple Music isn’t for you.

2. Apple Music vs. Spotify Sound Quality

When it comes to selecting a music streaming site, the sound quality can either make or break the deal. That said, Spotify streams its music tracks in three different bit rates: 96Kbps (Normal), 160Kbps (High), and 320Kbps (High). As for Apple Music, it doesn’t have official bit rates yet,but their locally-saved music files are of 256Kbps AAC. Even songs downloaded from iTunes come with the same bit rate.

So if it’s about Apple Music vs.Spotify sound quality, Spotify undoubtedly floors Apple Music. That’s because you can stream songs at up to 320Kbps with Spotify. But to be fair to Apple Music, one would need fabulous headphones and a stable internet connection to make an exact conclusion. However, so far, Spotify should be your preferred music streaming service if you want the best audio quality.

3. Device Compatibility

Device compatibility can also play a significant role in the number of fans a music streaming service garner. Fortunately, both of these service providers offer streaming via Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. Their services are also web-supported. Therefore, you can access your music probably on any device.

However, you can only stream Apple Music songs to Google Smart speakers or Amazon Echo via Bluetooth on your iPad or iPhone. With Spotify Premium, you can directly stream tracks to Google Speakers or Amazon Echo. You can even request your favorite Spotify song by voice if you have a compatible speaker. Spotify is also accessible via a wide range of consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.

View Also: Best Way to Play Spotify on Apple Watch

4. Music Catalog

About the music catalog, what’s better?Spotify or Apple Music? Well, both of these music streaming services offer more than 50-million songs to their users. Spotify even claims that they add over 20,000 tracks to their library daily. You can find your favorite playlist, albums, and artists on both Apple Music and Spotify. Just keep in mind that you won’t get the latest music if you’re a Spotify Free user.

5. DRM Copyright Technology

Music streaming service providers have different DRM copyright technologies to prevent music piracy or unauthorized sharing. This will, in turn, ensure maximum revenue to the content creators. Meanwhile, Apple Music tracks are encrypted by the FairPlay DRM technology as Spotify’s DRM copyright technology protects Spotify songs. It’s because of DRM technology that you can’t share or play downloaded songs outside the platforms.

But on a brighter note, there are several third-party software that can break DRM protection. This way, you can download and convert your favorite music for future playback. If you’re a Spotify fan, you can use the Spotify Music Converter Windows/Mac to download, convert, and save your tracks on any device. You can convert your music to popular formats like MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, etc.

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Apple Music diehards are also not left behind thanks to the Apple Music Converter. You can use this smart app to remove the DRM protection from songs/playlists you download from Apple music, and convert to MP3, AAC, WAV, M4A, M4B, etc formats for offline listening. So if you have a long trip coming up, these two powerful tools should get you sorted pretty fast.

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6. Social Features

Spotify offers an exciting social feature that can be used to see what your friends and fellow subscribers are doing. You can see who your friends are following or listening to, share or recommend playlists, and many more. But while these features are undeniably great, you can’t directly chat with fellow users on the platform. That’s because Spotify recently removed the messaging feature citing lack of activity.

Moving forward to Apple Music, it comes with a Twitter-like feed called Connect to share and comment on contents and artists. Artists can share their backstage photos, videos, upcoming events, and many more using this feature. You can even go ahead and share the posts on your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media platform. But even with this, Spotify still boasts of robust social media features.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the Apple Music vs. Spotify face off obviously doesn’t have a clear winner. That’s because both of these services have an enormous number of active users and entertaining features. In that case, it all boils down to your requirements and allegiance.

So if you’re an Apple fan and intend to stream music on a strictly Apple ecosystem, then Apple Music is for you. But if you want better audio quality, exciting features, and incentives like free ad-supported streaming, Spotify is best. And don’t forget to use the iTunes Audio Converter to download and convert your Apple Music/Spotify songs for future playback.