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Streaming services have redefined our music-listening experience. Apple Music and Spotify are among the top players in this category. Both have a super large audio library containing millions of tracks from our favorite artists, polished navigation, and high-resolution audio support.
Join me in this Spotify vs Apple Music comparison, where I analyze various aspects of both platforms to see which is superior.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.
Spotify vs Apple Music: Music catalog
Both services claim to offer over 100 million songs. They provide early access to certain albums from time to time as well. However, during my research, I have found that Apple Music provides a more extensive selection of tracks. You get older albums, compilations, and a large number of exclusives.
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On the other hand, Spotify has more than 2.6 million podcasts and up to 15 hours of audiobooks. Apple has a dedicated Podcasts app.
Spotify vs Apple Music: Sound quality
Both streaming platforms offer top-notch sound quality. However, Apple Music has a slight edge in this regard. Both platforms stream music at up to 320 kbps. However, on Spotify, the quality of audio depends on your subscription tier.
Moreover, Apple Music also supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support. Additionally, its complete music library is available for lossless streaming. This is an uncompressed format that delivers a CD-like listening experience. This ensures you hear the music exactly as the artist intended without any loss in quality.
Spotify also includes a similar feature known as "HiFi," which can deliver a similar sound quality to Apple’s lossless feature. However, it is an add-on.
Spotify vs Apple Music: Features
Besides mobile, both services are also available for Windows and Mac and work super fine on these systems. However, Spotify is also available on gaming consoles like the Xbox and PS.
You can control Apple Music with Siri on Apple's HomePod and Amazon's full line of Echo smart speakers via the Alexa App. On the flip side, Spotify is available on Google smart speakers alongside Amazon Alexa speakers.
You get song lyrics on both platforms. However, there is a huge difference in how they both produce those. Apple asks artists to upload official and time-synced lyrics. Spotify relies on Musixmatch, a crowd-sourced platform, for lyrics.
In terms of UI, the latter is a clear winner in the Spotify vs Apple Music battle. The latter boasts a sleek, refined, and user-friendly interface, while its opponent's UI has fluctuated over the years. This reflects the constant tweaks and shuffling of features it sees.
Both services let you follow your favorite artist so that you get notified whenever they drop a new song. You can even follow your friends on these platforms. On Spotify, you can see what they are listening to in real-time. You can also share tracks, albums, and playlists with them.
Interestingly, it has a feature known as the “real-time Jam feature,” which lets two or more premium users control music playback and collaborate on a shared playlist. Spotify’s content is also shareable over social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
A feature that makes Apple Music stand out is the iCloud Music Library. Users can upload songs to the cloud and can access them across all devices where they use Apple Music.
Besides the auto-recommended ones, both allow you to create your own playlists.
Spotify vs Apple Music: Pricing
Both streaming services are available at different price points. Here are the details.
The cost of a premium subscription is mostly the same across various plans offered by these services. However, Spotify has a free version with limited functionalities and ads. Additionally, it also offers a “Duo” plan for two individuals at $14.99/per month.
However, as I already mentioned in the sound quality section, to get superior quality, you use the "HiFi" feature as an add-on. This will cost you around $5. A similar feature known as “lossless” is available for free on Apple Music.
Spotify vs Apple Music: Final Verdict
If you are looking for a free service, Spotify is the only option among the two. However, if you are ready to get a premium subscription, the decision is quite tricky.
If you prioritize superior sound quality, seamless integration with other devices, and exclusive content, Apple Music would be the best for you. On the other hand, if top-notch personalized recommendations, access to podcasts and audiobooks, and social features matter more to you, Spotify is better.
So, the winner of the Spotify vs Apple Music battle completely depends on your specific needs.
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