Motivation
I keep going back and forth between these two, they both have advantages and disadvantages and that's what we'll be taking a look at so we can have a clear understanding of how the two operate. Let's begin.
Spotify
Pros:
- Free
- No matter if you stop paying, you will always have your music list there.
- Automatic radio after your playlist ends.
- You can reorder playlists however you'd like and even upload your own cover photo :)
- Sync across devices. Example: I can start playing on my phone, but left it in the kitchen, and now I'm in the living room with my pc, I can open spotify and control it from here.
- Free Hulu with your subscription.
Cons:
- After trying apple's design in my opinion the Spotify one is ugly, before it didn't bother me. Personal preference.
Apple music
Pros:
- Design. Yes, the design is elegant and very easy to use.
- Lyrics. When you are listening to a song, you can sing along with the lyrics in sync which is very nice.
Cons:
- If you stop paying, your playlists disappear along with the songs, so you can't even see what you had before to transfer your songs... this is a big one.
- No extra content. Other competitors offer Hulu and other services with your subscription, apple doesn't.
- No radio after playlist ends. Alright so when you finish a playlist on Spotify, the music keeps on going based on recommendations matched with your playlist and not with a single song. In order to do this in Apple Music, you have to select a song and click on Radio which is not what I want.
- Grooming. If I want to reorder a playlist up and down I can't because apple forces users to sort by name, recently played, etc.
Some points to consider:
| Spotify | Apple Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 a month ($4.99 for students) | $9.99 a month ($4.99 for students) |
| Family plan | Yes, up to 6 people ($14.99) | Yes, up to 6 people ($14.99) |
| Free tier | Yes, ad-supported | No, only Beats1 radio |
| Free trial | 3 months | 3 months |
| Stream quality | Up to 320kbps Ogg Vorbis, or AAC (see section below) | 256kbps AAC |
| Music library | 50 million songs | 60 million songs |
After all the above we have a clear winner in my opinion, and that is Spotify. I really hope they improve their design and stop spamming cards on the app, besides from that, comparing the two is like comparing a Toyota Corola vs a Mercedes.
Conclusion:
The best Music Streaming Service is Spotify.
With all that being said, both are excellent services, what I wish for Spotify is better design and for Apple, more customization.
Who do you think is the winner? Let me know by leaving a comment below
