Music streaming now accounts for over $19 billion in revenue annually, according to IFPI's Global Music Report 2024. Spotify and Apple Music are two of the biggest streamers globally – the former dominates, with a 31 per cent market share, while Apple Music has a still very respectable 15 per cent.
Considering Spotify had almost a 10-year head start (launching in 2006 to Apple Music's 2015), Apple has made up significant ground.
But which of these is right for you?
To help you decide, we'll run you through what they offer, which devices they're compatible with and – crucially – how much they cost.
Let's get listening.
The state of play
Music streaming continues to grow in popularity, which means plenty of services to choose from. They all have slightly different offerings, with different music libraries and features, and some offer CD-quality and hi-res streaming.
Tidal and Qobuz were the pioneers in this regard, but now it's pretty common, with even the likes of Amazon Music Unlimited offering it.
Of our two on test here, Apple Music offers this feature, while Spotify still doesn't. In the case of Spotify, this is particularly galling, considering that it first teased the feature all the way back in 2021.
To see what went wrong, check our page on everything we know so far about Spotify HiFi.
Of course, there's a lot more to a streaming service than just hi-res. As we'll see, both Spotify and Apple Music have plenty to recommend them.
- Best music streaming services: free streams to hi-res audio
Subscription plans
If you don’t have the extra cash to splash on streaming, then Spotify should probably be your go-to service.
Staying true to its “music for everyone” ethos, it is one of the few to offer a free (ad-supported) subscription tier alongside its Premium service.
You very much get what you pay for. The free version has restricted sound quality (128kbps on the web player and approximately 160kbps on its desktop and mobile apps), no downloads for offline listening, and no full playback controls; save for some ‘Pick and Play’ playlists, albums and playlists can only be shuffled.
The free service does offer access to most of Spotify’s premium library, though, including the 'Discover Weekly' playlist, one of the real jewels of Spotify's music discovery algorithms.
And of course, you'll have to put up with those annoying adverts interrupting your listening.
The majority of Spotify users settle for the free tier but there are plenty of reason to shell out for Premium: 320kbps streams, offline listening, Spotify Connect support, search and skip tracks on mobile devices, and no adverts.
Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier, although there is a one-month free trial which is extended to three months if you buy certain Apple devices or plans like iCloud+. You also don't need a subscription to listen to Apple Music 1 radio (formerly Beats 1) – one of the service’s most celebrated features. All you need is an Apple ID and the Apple Music app.
For online and offline streaming and access to more radio stations, the monthly fee is also £10.99 / $10.99 / AU$12.99. Students can get it for £5.99 / $5.99 / AU$6.99, and families (with up to six people accessing it) for £16.99 / $16.99 / AU$19.99.
Spotify has had frequent price increases, and its Individual and Family tiers are now more expensive than Apple's (£11.99 / $11.99 / AU$13.99 and £19.99 / $19.99 / AU$23.99, respectively). Spotify too has a Student plan, and it also has a Duo tier for couples which costs £16.99 / $16.99 / AU$19.99 a month.
Apple's prices have only edged up a fraction since launch, whereas Spotify's have crept ever higher in recent years. This round is Apple's.
** Winner: Apple Music **
- Spotify Connect: what is it? How can you get it?
- 11 of the best Spotify playlists to listen to right now
Catalogues
It’s a pretty even match when it comes to catalogue size and platform support.
Both Apple Music and Spotify claim to have over 100m tracks in their catalogues. The latter has a wider variety of audio content, also offering over 7 million podcasts. Apple Music doesn't host podcasts – they're in Apple's separate Podcasts app.
Perhaps Apple's advantage over Spotify here is that while both services offer playlists that comprise songs based on your listening habits, Apple also has the Apple Music 1 radio station, which features human DJs at the decks.
Both services are available on a number of platforms: there’s desktop support for PC and Mac (Spotify has a web player too), plus Android and iOS apps.
Spotify also has the benefit of its Spotify Connect feature, which lets premium subscribers stream directly to speakers, TVs or systems, while Apple deploys AirPlay 2 here.
Both have become a feature on many hi-fi and AV products – and it's a big pull for those interested in bringing streaming and multi-room listening to their existing system.
** Winner: Draw **
User experience
Both Spotify and Apple Music offer similarly clean, simple and intuitive layouts. That wasn’t always the case, though. When Apple Music first launched, we found its busy interface a bit clunky to use.
But with Apple's 2016 iOS 10 update, the Cupertino giant stripped it back, with cleaner typography and graphics. Features and options are hidden away behind icons and collapsible tabs, and the layout is easier to navigate.
The rule of thumb for using Apple Music is to click everything. Tapping the ellipsis that appears almost everywhere opens options such as: play next, add to library, add to a playlist, share (to any social media), lyrics and download.
Everything is neatly contained within five sections: Home, New, Radio, Library and Search.
Library is where all your music lives. This includes files stored on your smartphone, CD-ripped WAVs, your own playlists and any music you’ve saved and downloaded while streaming or listening to radio in Apple Music.
Thanks to its compatibility with iCloud, you’ll also be able to see all the music stored on your other devices.
Spotify allows you to bring your local files into its interface too, but it’s not as well integrated. If you want all your music in one place, Apple Music does it better.
Spotify’s iconic green-tinted silver-on-grey interface has long been the ideal template with its logical and accessible sidebar menu layout, and its consistent focus on content over the years has made it all the more practical.
The Browse (or ‘home’) page throws up context-based playlists, constantly updated UK and global charts, and new releases for your attention, as well as content sorted by genre and based on tracks you’ve previously listened to.
A new ‘Concert’ tab that flags up gigs based on your music tastes and location, as well as ones that are ‘popular near you’, is a nice addition for music-lovers too.
** Winner: Draw **
Discovery
For those who like to explore new bands, both Spotify and Apple Music encourage the pioneer in you.
When you register for Apple Music, tapping on floating red circles highlighting different genres of music and artists gives an indication of your initial preferences.
Hitting ‘Love’ or ‘Dislike’ on songs updates this and we are certainly impressed by Apple’s curation, and by how on-point the playlists are. On the iOS app, there's a whole row of Top Picks For You, encompassing new releases, a New Music Mix, a Mood playlist for you and a Discovery Station, all based on what you've listened to.
By attributing a great deal of focus on music discovery through personalised algorithmic playlists, Spotify has managed to take this step too.
One of its most popular features is Discover Weekly, which uses Spotify’s ‘deep learning’ system to generate a playlist of 30 songs every Monday that are relevant to your listening habits.
There’s also more concentration on discovering new music. Complementing Discover Weekly is Release Radar, a playlist of brand-new music sent out every Friday, so that you never miss the latest tracks from your favourite artists.
It even includes new remixes of songs from artists you like or have recently listened to, and in case you need even more songs to soundtrack your weekend, there’s a New Music Friday UK playlist that ties in with the official UK chart. Rinsed them by Wednesday? That’s where the Daily Mix, which consists of five genre-specific playlists, comes in. The more you listen the more they evolve…
** Winner: Draw **
Video and radio
Content isn’t limited only to music. Both Spotify and Apple have branched out into music videos.
They won’t be challenging YouTube just yet, but we’re keen to see how – and if – these develop. Apple Music still boasts a more attractive and comprehensive radio offering, however.
Unlike Spotify’s algorithmic radio, which curates songs around a particular artist, Apple Music can shout much louder about its live 24/7 global ‘youth-orientated’ station, Apple Music 1. Fronted by DJs such as Zane Lowe and featuring a host of celebrity guest slots (from the likes of Dr Dre, Pharrell Williams and Elton John), Apple Music 1 is something that no other streaming service has – and ultimately one Spotify has to take on the chin.
** Winner: Apple Music **
Sound quality
Apple Music has a big advantage here: higher-quality listening.
The 24-bit Lossless (24-bit/48kHz) and Hi-Res Lossless (up to 24-bit/192kHz) audio quality are both a cut above Spotify's bog-standard 320kbps streams.
Listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller in Hi-Res Lossless, we can pick out even more detail than the equivalent stream on Tidal.
"As the vocal joins, extra musical guitar passages present themselves in our left ear – additions you’ll struggle to hear better when listening to the equivalent Tidal (Max quality) stream," we wrote in our review.
"The space around the instruments has expanded to the point that the door slam and each of Jackson’s numerous backing vocals have ample room to be impactful."
Even taking a step down in quality, Apple Music still wins out. Its 256kbps AAC files sound more open and involving than Spotify’s 320kbps MP3 streams, and benefit from extra space, subtlety and punch too.
If you listen on Spotify's web player or via Chromecast, it streams in AAC at 128kbps for free users, or 256kbps for Premium. Apple Music streams in at least 256kbps regardless of what device you're using.
Spotify still offers decent detail levels and a tonally balanced presentation that’s refined and easy on the ears – it’s just not quite as engaging at 128kbps, of course.
Apple Music had won this round before it introduced higher-quality streams. Now it's head and shoulders ahead of Spotify in terms of sound quality.
Spotify does have its awesome Connect feature though, which lets you stream straight from the internet to a device, bypassing your phone. Apple Music – or rather, Apple's AirPlay wireless technology – could really do with something similar.
If Spotify HiFi ever launches, it could well close the gap. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it's that that's a very big 'if' indeed...
** Winner: Apple Music **
Verdict
Apple Music is cheaper (apart from Spotify's ad-supported tier, of course) and sounds much better. Which is enough to make it our clear winner.
True, it lacks a comparable Connect feature, which it could really do with. And it's a long way behind in terms of podcasts. But with a very similar catalogue size and broadly comparable discovery tools, plus the superior sound quality and better value proposition, Apple Music gets our vote.
** Overall winner: Apple Music **
MORE:
Spotify tips, tricks and features
Apple Music tips, tricks and features
AirPlay 2: everything you need to know
