7 of the Best Spotify Alternatives for Music Streaming

Spotify’s one of the top music streaming services, but it’s facing some serious competition. But, Spotify might not always have the artists you want or even the quality you prefer. If you’re ready to try something new, check out some of the best Spotify alternatives to see which one fits your needs the best.

1. Best for Hi-Res Music: Qobuz

Price: Plans start at $10.83/month

Qobuz boasts over 100 million tracks, with most in hi-res audio. Plus, it’s available on nearly every platform. You can even buy digital downloads and physical CDs directly from the platform. Easily download for offline listening at any time, and enjoy ad-free listening.

While there isn’t a free tier, you can try Qobuz Studio, with studio-quality audio, free for 30 days. It’s proving to be a worthy competitor, especially to Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music, that all offer higher-quality audio. The platform also offers Duo and Family plans to save costs.

If you prefer buying music versus just streaming, Qobuz has a Download store as well. Just like with streaming, all downloads are hi-res audio. The downside is, if you buy an annual plan, you can’t cancel until the year is over.

Pros

• All music is offered in the highest quality available
• Download for offline listening or even buy tracks/albums
• Generous one-month trial

Cons

• No free tier
• Annual plans are non-refundable

2. Best for Integrating With YouTube: YouTube Music

Price: Free with premium options

YouTube Music has quickly become one of the best Spotify alternatives, while still offering something different. It’s available on most platforms. Enjoy over 100 million tracks for free with ads, or upgrade to skip pesky ads.

YouTube Music brings together music from the biggest record labels and uses Google’s AI learning to tailor your streaming just for you. It also taps into the untold millions of songs from the main YouTube site: covers, fan versions, uploads, and much more.

You’ll have to buy premium to listen on mobile devices with your screen off and download for offline listening. However, if you hate YouTube’s ads, it’s worth noting that YouTube Premium comes with YouTube Music, giving you both for $13.99.

Pros

• Integrates with YouTube for independent music and covers
• Creates custom mixes
• Free version offers the entire library

Cons:

• Ads are frequent in the free version
• Music stops if you turn off your phone screen in the free version

3. Best for Apple Users: Apple Music

Price: Plans start at $4.99/month

With a massive library and attractive user interface, Apple Music is one of the best Spotify alternatives for Apple users. It’s available on most platforms, including Apple’s HomePod. Even if you don’t use Apple products, you can still enjoy it.

If you have an iPhone, it just may be a better choice than Spotify, as you can play music via Siri on your phone through voice commands. What really sets Apple Music apart is the spatial audio that provides a more immersive experience.

Apart from the option to listen to over 100 million songs, watch music videos and listen to live radio stations run by real DJs. When you first sign up for the service, it will try to build a music profile and suggest radio stations and playlists, which are about as good as Spotify’s (read: hit or miss). You can also download music for offline listening.

Pros

• Integrates well with Apple’s ecosystem
• Real DJs for human-created mixes
• Control audio with Siri

Cons

• No free tier, though there are ways to get Apple Music for free

4. Best for Personalized Playlists: Pandora Radio

Price: Free with premium options

As you may know, Pandora started off a bit differently than other streaming services. It’s more like a custom radio station than a jukebox. Users create stations based on the stylistic similarities between songs and artists, then Pandora’s algorithm plays music that matches those stats.

Pandora’s evolved to become one of the better music streaming services. In premium, create your own custom playlists or stick with free to create personalized stations. Songs are chosen based on the Music Genome Project, which is surprisingly accurate at picking songs based on your feedback.

The free version is extremely ad-heavy. Skipping songs makes you listen to ads as well. It’s not available on as many platforms as Spotify, but it covers most users, such as desktops, mobile devices, and smart TVs.

Pros

• Some of the most personalized stations
• Endless curated stations
• Create your own playlists, song by song, in premium

Cons

• Doesn’t receive updates as often since it was purchased by SiriusXM
• Numerous ads in free version

5. Best For Mood Music: Deezer

Price: Free with premium options

Deezer is one of the closest to Spotify of all the alternatives. Like other services on this list, it includes a huge library (over 120 million tracks), on-demand radio, podcasts, and more. Even the interface feels similar to Spotify.

When you first sign up for the service, you’ll build a profile of your listening habits by selecting your favorite genres and artists. It will suggest playlists based on those choices. The service uses Flow, an AI-based music mixer, to pick songs that fit your tastes and moods.

You can only listen to tracks on-demand with a premium account. It’s also only available on the Web, desktop apps, and mobile apps. But, that’s usually enough for most listeners.

Pros

• AI-generated lists based on mood
• Set up custom lists in premium
• Hi-res audio in premium plans

Cons

• Can’t listen to individual songs or create playlists in free version

6. Best for Discovering Rising Artists: Tidal

Price: Premium starts at $10.99/month

Jay-Z’s Tidal was one of the first to offer hi-res audio, but many services are now offering lossless and hi-fi audio options. What really sets the platform apart is its focus on emerging artists. If you’re tired of all the mainstream names, be the first to discover something new.

Tidal offers over 650,000 music videos, over 100 million tracks, group listening, live stream events, custom playlists, and of course, curated mixes and playlists. It’s also available on nearly every platform.

The downside is Tidal’s highest-quality audio plan is the most expensive among Spotify alternatives at $19.99/month. But the platform is well known for being more supportive of artists financially.

Pros

• Find more new artists faster
• Listen live together with friends
• Hi-res audio

Cons

• The price almost doubles to go from 16-bit to 24-bit audio

7. Best for Alexa Integration: Amazon Music Unlimited

Price: Free with premium options

If you love Alexa integration and are looking for Spotify alternatives, Amazon Music Unlimited is the perfect option. There are three versions: Free, Prime Music, and Music Unlimited. All of them give you access to over 100 million songs with a few feature differences.

Amazon Music Unlimited is a strong competitor, offering most of the same features as Spotify, including podcasts. You can also enjoy spatial and HD audio on compatible devices. Naturally, you’re able to control your music with Alexa devices, since it is an Amazon product. You don’t need to be an Amazon Prime member to subscribe to Music.

With Free, you’ll have to deal with ads and can’t pick individual songs or create playlists. The version that’s included with Amazon Prime lets you listen ad-free and shuffle existing playlists, but you’ll need the full Music Unlimited for all features.

Try these methods to help you save when shopping on Amazon.

Pros

• Control music with Alexa
• Built in to most Amazon devices
• Premium versions have a 30-day free trial

Cons

• No option to pick individual songs in Free or Prime Music versions

Honorable Mentions

Of course, the above aren’t the only music streaming services available. However, they are the closest to what Spotify offers. A few more options you may want to consider include:

iHeartRadio

Listen to live radio stations around the world with iHeartRadio. You can also create playlists, listen to curated lists, enjoy podcasts, and catch up with your favorite artists and news stories. It’s free to listen to live radio and curated lists, but everything is ad-supported. Ad-free premium plans start at $4.99/month.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud has over 150 million tracks and keeps adding more. Unlike Spotify and its other alternatives, SoundCloud features independent content creators, though you can find some mainstream artists as well. Listen to a limited catalog for free, but the platform is ad-supported. Ad-free listening starts at $4.99/month.

Once you’ve found your favorite Spotify alternatives, learn how to easily delete your Spotify account. When you’re not busy listening to music, check out how to stream your favorite sporting events. Or, save money and stream TV and movies for free.

Image credit: Unsplash. Screenshots taken by Crystal Crowder.