Spotify Alternatives

    There is no doubt that Spotify is one of the most popular services among music streaming platforms. It has earned its place over the years thanks to the simplicity of use of its applications and to being available on almost any modern device, from Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile apps (even on discontinued operating systems like windows phone or blackberry), SmartTVs to even video game consoles. Its current library with more than 40 million songs in constant growth and a wide range of cool features such as personalized playlists based on user tastes, artist-based radios, podcasts, social media integration, collaborative playlists and several others, makes the platform a very attractive option for the user who wants to have almost everything without much effort.

    However, there is life beyond Spotify. The limitations of its free version and the growing list of new rivals willing to compete with it by offering better features and prices make more and more users feel attracted by other services that may be less known but better suit their needs. If you want to know how to make the leap, we recommend you take a look at the list of the most popular alternatives to Spotify.

    This page was last updated Jul 7, 2021

    1. Deezer

      • Freemium • Proprietary
      • Windows
      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Java Mobile
      • Blackberry
      • Windows S
      • Android Tablet
      • Windows Phone
      • iPad
      • Kindle Fire
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      Deezer is an excellent option since its user experience is quite similar to Spotify, but it also has approximately 70 million songs available, about 30 million more than its competitor. It also has a feature similar to the Shazam called SongCatcher, which you can use to identify the name of the songs that are playing. Flow is another cool feature missing on Spotify, with recommendations created exclusively for you and songs that you no longer remember so you can enjoy long hours of music. The free version of Deezer works similar to Spotify (although with less advertising between songs), but you can always get the premium version from $10 USD.
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      Deezer vs Spotify opinions
      Most users think Deezer is a great alternative to Spotify.
      You can select tracks from popular artists, just like with Spotify.
      Top positive comment  about 5 years ago

      7
      for a free user, Spotify wins audio quality, Deezer wins everything else
      Top positive comment  over 1 year ago

      5
      More accurate suggestions!
      Positive comment • over 2 years ago

      0
      dikiz A great catalogue, better ethics than Spotify, UI more friendly
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      -4
      It includes synchronized song lyrics for most popular songs.
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      14
      But after a while you have to pay for the premium option
      Positive comment • almost 6 years ago

      7
    2. Soundcloud is known for having an impressive music and audio library. We are talking about more than 200 million files between songs and podcasts. This is mainly because it is the preferred music streaming platform for new indie artists, those that you probably couldn't find on Spotify (shoutouts to electronic music lovers). The main disadvantage with SoundCloud is that you won't find a lot of well-known established artists.

      It also works as a kind of music social network where you can share, like, and comment on entries; highlight parts of songs; create your own lists and podcasts; and follow your favorite artists. All this means that you can find an impressive variety of content compared to Spotify. Soundcloud has a free version with ads, but you can subscribe to one of their premium memberships from as little as $5 USD per month.
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      SoundCloud vs Spotify opinions
      Most users think SoundCloud is a great alternative to Spotify.
      SoundCloud is the platform for EDM Artists. Might not be as big as Spotify, but still a great platform to try out!
      Top positive comment  about 2 years ago

      5
      juliendelattre Great interface and lots of remix
      Top positive comment  over 3 years ago

      -1
      Horizon SoundCloud generally allows small artists to share their music, where as Spotify rarely has small time artists and instead focuses on artists which have full albums or have been signed.
      Top negative comment  over 2 years ago

      11
      isisstelling Doesn't have any advertisement on my country, you can use a VPN to bypass it if you're in one of the countries that do have ads.
      Positive comment • 21 days ago

      0
      thehackerdroid77 No ads on android and on the website
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      -2
      jwassen Free music from free musicians.
      Positive comment • over 2 years ago

      6
      maja_andersson not so many musicians and songs as in Spotify
      Negative comment • over 3 years ago

      -7
    4. YouTube Music has an important advantage over Spotify, in addition to its extensive music catalog, it includes millions of videos and uses the extremely intelligent and powerful YouTube search engine, which means that you just have to type or say some word that identifies a song or part of the lyrics and you will surely find it.

      Its interface is really easy and familiar to navigate, on its main page you will find different playlists according to your mood. Thus, if you need more energy, need to focus, or need to relax or cheer up, you can use them to forget about looking for specific genres or songs.

      But beyond the content, there are two main advantages: you can have your music offline or watch videos without having to be connected to WiFi or mobile data. In addition, you can have YouTube videos in the background and continue using other applications without the music being cut until you decide. You can purchase YouTube Music Premium from $10 USD.
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      YouTube Music vs Spotify opinions
      Almost everyone thinks YouTube Music is a great alternative to Spotify.
      It has music videos, and songs. It also lets you stream what you want for free, which is a premium feature on Spotify.
      Top positive comment  about 1 year ago

      2
      Irina_Cleo Free, included in YouTube premium
      Top positive comment  12 months ago

      0
      YouTube Music does not allow children under 13 years old on their platform despite offering family plan.
      Top negative comment  7 months ago

      0
      this is great and i love the way the sound bellows from the speaker fone.
      Positive comment • 8 months ago

      0
      Good collection and much more user friendly interface on YouTube music than Spotify
      Positive comment • 8 months ago

      -1
    5. Apple Music leads over Spotify with a catalog of just over 50 million songs. If you are within the apple ecosystem, you will find Apple Music really interesting due to its integration with the OS without the need for third party apps. In addition to its well balanced user interface design, you have the option to dive through recommended lists, hits, genres or personalized and updated playlists. It's also possible to follow artists, as well as compare and comment on songs, a significant advantage over Spotify.

      You can use the service not only on devices with MacOS or iOS, but also on Android and Windows, but keep in mind that it doesn't give you the possibility of listening to music with advertising, you can only use the service by paying a $10 USD membership.
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      Apple Music vs Spotify opinions
      Most users think Apple Music is a great alternative to Spotify.
      SecurityChecker It does not have a free version like Spotify.
      Negative comment • about 4 years ago

      4
      Great music library available.
      Positive comment • over 1 year ago

      0
      Apple Music has more quality songs than Spotify.
      Positive comment • 6 months ago

      -1
    6. It is an excellent option for independent musicians that combines many features from a social network where you can display your music, with an ecommerce function that lets you sell your merchandise. Unlike Spotify, Bandcamp allows users to stream your music or buy your discography in physical or digital formats (with a commission of 10 to 15%). 

      If you are a musician, the premium version offers you several extra benefits such as: Sending private messages to your fans, seeing the location of your buyers and how they have reached you, batch uploading audio to the platform, adding videos to your music and related merchandise, sending VIP songs through private links, the ability to configure a custom domain, connecting your profile with Google Analytics, and disable some songs so that cannot be listened for whatever reason.
      No screenshots yet
      Most users think Bandcamp is a great alternative to Spotify.
    8. Funkwhale is one of the most popular options when it comes to Open Source and Self-Hosted alternatives to Spotify. You can have control over your personal music library without worrying about it ever disappearing from the platform for any external reason. Unlike Spotify, Funkwhale consists of several independent websites or "pods" (sometimes called "servers" or "instances") where you can upload your personal library to be streamed to mobile devices or shared with friends. Funkwhale is completely free, giving the user an experience free of tracking and ads.
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      Funkwhale vs Spotify opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Funkwhale is a great alternative to Spotify.
      loziniak It's open and distributed.
      Positive comment • 3 months ago

      0
      It has de API interface and the web frontend and android a IOS apps that you can install.
      Positive comment • over 1 year ago

      0
      This is a player for your own music, not a streaming service
      Negative comment • about 1 year ago

      -5

    9. TIDAL

      • Online
      • Android
      • iPhone
      • Android Tablet
      • iPad
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      Tidal is a great alternative to Spotify if what you are most interested in is audio quality, as it has standard sound options but also HiFi quality ($19 USD/month). It also has support for official videos in a big part of its catalog. In addition, it offers you the option to select your playlists from other platforms and transfer them to Tidal, which is a great advantage if you want to change your usual streaming music app and try Tidal without losing your music. On the other hand, on many occasions you will be able to access exclusive events with artists and buy tickets for their shows before they go on sale to the general public.
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      TIDAL vs Spotify opinions
      Almost everyone thinks TIDAL is a great alternative to Spotify.
      JohnFastman TIDAL is the only serious music streaming service that offers Hi-Fi sound quality (FLAC, 1440 kbps, rather than Spotify's 320 kbps). This makes it a uniques and valuable service, particularly if you're an audiophile who genuinely appreciates the difference. However, TIDAL has: no playlist sharing and no Linux client.
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      10
    10. Discover the world's most powerful podcast player. Pocket Casts has all the podcasts you know & love; over 300k. Find Trending, Most Popular podcasts & more.
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      Pocket Casts vs Spotify opinions
      This alternative is disputed. Pocket Casts is still a legitimate alternative to Spotify, but it might have issues that some users think are important.
      Pocket Casts is a podcast player not a streaming music service.
      Negative comment • about 1 year ago

      8
      It is a podcast player. Not a music streaming service
      Negative comment • 11 months ago

      7
      Pocket Casts is a dedicated podcasting app with podcast specific features and podcast discovery. While you CAN use spotify for podcasts it is a small part of the offerings of Spotify.
      Negative comment • 6 months ago

      0
    11. Jamendo is a community created around "free music," which means that unlike Spotify, artists can upload their music for free and their public can also download it for personal use under multiple Creative Commons licenses, making it free and legal to download.

      For commercial use, you can acquire licenses with supporting documentation through Jamendo Licensing (for use in advertising videos, documentaries, sounds for internet pages or any other multimedia projects). In this way, a certificate issued by the platform is obtained that guarantees the origin of the music and allows dealing with possible claims by third parties. You can stream all their albums either in MP3 format or in OGG Vorbis; it also offers downloads through the BitTorrent and eDonkey networks.
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      Almost everyone thinks Jamendo is a great alternative to Spotify.
    12. While Spotify mainly focuses on music and podcasts, Jango works more like a free custom internet radio and social network. You can create your own radio stations based on artists or bands and customize them through ratings or adding more artists that will determine what is the best type of content for your radio station. You can also browse the recommended catalog or refine other users' stations.
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      Jango vs Spotify opinions
      Most users think Jango is a great alternative to Spotify.
      Jango allows for unlimited skips and it plays the exact song that you enter in the search query, not a similar song or similar artist, and its FREE!!!
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      1
      The mix of the stations is always good and surprising - love it
      Positive comment • about 4 years ago

      3
      kolorafa The same 'radio' feature as Spotify that will play songs based on songs.
      Positive comment • over 3 years ago

      1
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