Forget vinyl, forget CDs and even cassettes. Streaming is the future of music listening. It's cheap -- or even free! -- and is more convenient than any physical format. Sound quality is a lock too: In some cases these services sound indistinguishable from a CD.
While most advertise catalogs of 40 million songs, that's the least interesting thing about them these days. Each has unique pros and cons besides how many songs you won't be listening to. This guide details the top music streaming options -- Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Tidal -- as well as Google Play Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, to help you decide which one is worth your money.
Our top choice: Spotify is the best for most people
Let's cut to the chase. While it's a close race between Spotify and Apple Music, Spotify wins our vote with a fun, easy-to-use interface, extensive catalog and the best device compatibility. Its freemium offering is also the best no-cost option, and is rumored to be getting even better in the near future.
Apple Music is a close second, however, in part because it's the only one of the "big four" with a digital locker to store your own songs. And if you own an Apple HomePod ($399.99 at Walmart), you will need this service if you want to summon music with your voice.
In third place is Tidal, which is also worth a look if you are interested in the best audio quality.
Google Play Music and Amazon Music Unlimited are in the game. While they didn't top our list, they each are worthy options for users with specific needs or requirements. For instance, if having YouTube Red's ad-free service is important to you, Google Play Music is thrown in for free. And Amazon offers a discounted Echo-only version of its service, which may tip the scales if you already have an Alexa-heavy household.
"Free" stalwart Pandora brings up the rear, but its on-demand service is still in its early days.
Before we get into the "why," a quick note on exclusive releases. They may seem like a big deal, but neither record companies nor consumers like them. Unless you're a big fan of, say, Jay-Z or Beyonce there is no real reason to switch to another service because of an exclusive release here or there. Get a Spotify subscription, for example, and buy the album in MP3 or even FLAC when needed.
And remember: These plans all offer free trial periods, and the default sign-ups are "no contract" options. So you're largely free to come and go as you please. Don't be afraid to try the waters of a rival service if you're not completely satisfied.
So here's what we think of the the top six music streaming services, presented in alphabetical order. It's worth noting that all of these services will work on the major platforms: Android, iOS, PC and Mac.
Amazon is a newcomer to the streaming music scene.
Screenshot by Xiomara Blanco/CNETAmazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Music Unlimited is the "grown-up" version of Amazon Prime Music that Prime subscribers get for "free." It offers a greatly expanded catalog for an extra outlay per month. Rather than focusing on the cutting edge of music as some others here do, the service features recommended playlists and radio stations that are grouped around artists you've already listened to.
The Good
- Cheapest per month -- if an Amazon Prime member.
- Lyrics automatically pop up on the "now playing" screen.
- Offers cheaper plans for Amazon Echo, Echo Dot ($49.99 at Amazon.com) and Amazon Tap ($99.99 at Amazon.com) (but restricts listening to those devices).
The Bad
- Artist profiles don't have biographies.
- Officially advertised as "tens of millions" of tracks strong, it's unclear if the catalog is quite as large as its competitors listed here (see chart below).
- Music locker functionality is going away.
Best for: Amazon Prime members who want to save a few bucks on a decent music catalog.
Apple Music
While it suffered from teething problems at the beginning, Apple Music has grown to become one of the most popular streaming services. It offers plenty of features and a wealth of discount options for families and students. There's also ton of playlists, many hand-crafted by musicians and tastemakers, but it still lacks the robust sharing options built into Spotify.
The Good
- It combines your iTunes library with music you don't own, rounding out what you can play.
- A combination of human music experts and algorithms help find music you'll want to hear based on what you play.
- You can control what you hear or search for new music using Siri on iOS devices.
- Has music locker via iTunes Match ($24.95,£21.99, AU$34.99 a year).
- Currently the only choice for Apple HomePod users who want to use voice control.
The Bad
- As you'd expect, the Android app and experience isn't as smooth as the iOS one.
- Doesn't work with old iPods (except iPod Touch ($199.45 at Amazon Marketplace)).
Best for: Those who want to listen to albums and songs they've added to iTunes. Anyone who wants to listen to the newest, hottest music from the world's biggest musicians.
Google Play Music
Google Play Music works as a streaming music service and a music locker. It allows you to store and stream your entire music library (up to 50,000 songs), as well as stream any of the 30 million songs in its catalog. Instead of playlists, well-curated radio stations are the standout feature of Play Music. Unlike playlists, which are finite and contain specific tracks, radio stations play endlessly and are updated often.
The Good
- This hybrid service seamlessly integrates your personal collection with the streaming catalog.
- Monthly fee includes subscription to YouTube Red: commercial-free streaming on YouTube and YouTube Music.
- Offers music locker service for free.
The Bad
- It's not great for discovering new releases because it emphasizes stations and recommended music.
Best for: Google fans who want to blend the music they've purchased with streaming selections.
Pandora Premium
Now a fully-fledged streaming service with the addition of the a la carte Premium and no-ads Plus tiers, Pandora also offers one of the most popular radio services in the US. As a result the company offers more flexibility than most competitors even if it is some ways behind in terms of overall catalog size and the small number of Premium subscribers (1 million users).
The Good
- The service enjoys one of the largest user bases, thanks to its free version.
- Pandora's "Music Genome Project" analyzes each track according to 450 different attributes in order to give better suggestions.
The Bad
- The size of the catalog isn't up the level of its competition's.
- One of the lowest audio quality available, even on the Premium subscription (192Kbps).
- It doesn't really offer enough of an incentive for an upgrade compared to the others.
- Not available outside the US.
Best for: Pandora Premium is of most interest to existing Pandora users who want to be able to pick exactly what they listen to, but almost no one else.
Spotify is all about playlists.
Screenshot/Xiomara BlancoSpotify
Spotify is the pioneer in the music streaming space, and it's arguably the most well-known. It offers a number of different music discovery services including its Discover Weekly playlist and is constantly experimenting with new ones such as the Australia-only Stations. The service's (now optional) Facebook integration makes sharing music easier than competitors with the ability to send a track or album, collaborate on playlists with friends, or peek at what your Facebook friends are listening to.
The Good
- Free version is impressively robust.
- It's easy to build your own playlists and sync them for offline listening.
- User-friendly apps that are updated frequently and have enough features without being overwhelming.
- Allows you to follow artists and to be alerted when they release new music or announce an upcoming show.
- Highly personalized custom playlists.
- Spotify Connect simplifies connecting to wireless speakers and AV receivers.
The Bad
- Advertisements in the free service can be intrusive.
- With the free tier, you can only shuffle songs in the mobile apps.
Best for: People who want a solid all-around service, and especially for people who love to make, browse and share playlists for any scenario.
Love Beyonce? Try Tidal.
Screenshot/Xiomara BlancoTidal
Owned by hip-hop mogul Jay Z, Tidal is the only "major" streaming music service that offers lossless streaming with sound quality that is virtually identical to -- or better than -- CD. Like Apple Music, Tidal also offers exclusive content, though it is usually from one of its superstar co-owners: e.g. Beyonce's album "Lemonade" or Kanye West's "The Life of Pablo." If you're an audiophile, a fan of R&B or hip-hop, or a mix of both then Tidal might appeal to you.
The Good
- High-fidelity music streams.
- Lots of video content, including concert livestreams.
- Exclusive songs and playlists from big names like Beyonce, Kanye West and Jay Z.
- Offers occasional ticket presales.
- Big focus on under-the-radar (predominantly hip-hop) artists.
- Profiles and record reviews on every page.
The Bad
- The mobile apps and Web player not as straightforward as some others.
- Audiophiles attracted by the service's lossless quality tier may be disappointed by gaps in the catalog that are instead covered by Spotify or Apple Music.
Best for: Musically inclined purists who care deeply about sound quality and discovering new, up-and-coming artists.
Music streaming services compared
|
|
Amazon Music Unlimited | Apple Music | Google Play Music | Pandora | Spotify | Tidal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Prime members: $7.99, £7.99, N/A; Non-Prime members: $9.99, £9.99, AU$11.99; Echo-only service: $3.99, £3.99, AU$4.99 | $9.99, £9.99, AU$11.99 | $9.99, £9.99, AU$11.99 | Plus: $4.99; Premium: $9.99 | $9.99, £9.99, AU$11.99, $12.99 with Hulu | Premium: $9.99, £9.99, AU$14.99; HiFi: $19.99, £19.99, AU$23.99 |
| Free option? | No | No | Yes | Yes, with ads | Yes, with ads | No |
| Free trial period | 30 days | 3 months | 4 months | 60 days | 30 days | 30 days |
| Advertised music library size | Tens of millions | 45 million | Over 40 million | Millions | Over 30 million | Over 40 million |
| Maximum bitrate | 256Kbps | 256Kbps | 320Kbps | 192Kbps | 320Kbps | 1,411Kbps |
| Family sharing? | Yes, $14.99, £14.99, AU$17.99 for up to 6 users | Yes, $14.99, £14.99, AU$17.99 for up to 6 users | Yes, $14.99, £14.99, AU$17.99 per month for up to 6 users | No | Yes, $5, £5, AU$6 per month per additional user, up to 5 | Yes, 50% off each additional account, up to 4 |
| Student discount | No | Yes, Price varies by country | No | No | $4.99 (US only) | Premium: $4.99, HiFi: $9.99 (US only) |
| US military discount | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Offline listening | Mobile and desktop | Mobile only | Mobile only | Mobile only | Mobile and desktop | Mobile only |
| Radio stations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Podcasts | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Music videos | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Music locker functionality | No (after April 30, 2018) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
What else do you need to know?
Streaming music services provide a la carte listening, unlike streaming radio.
Sarah Tew/CNETStreaming radio versus on-demand
This guide covers on-demand music streaming services, and for that reason, we've purposefully left out services that only play music in a radio format. Until last year this list excluded Pandora, but now that the company also offers a Premium tier, it's included here. Slacker Radio, TuneIn and iHeartRadio, meanwhile, are services that play music stations based around a theme or artist, without you explicitly picking tracks.
Music lockers: Your MP3s in the cloud
Amazon was one of the first services to offer uploading your MP3 collection into the cloud, but this will officially be discontinued on April 30, 2018. Meanwhile, the Apple and Google services listed above still allow you to combine your personal music collection with the streaming catalog, so if you've invested money in digital music over the years, that money isn't wasted. Those so-called "music lockers" are available independently of the subscription services below, but also work in concert with them for subscribers of both.
Music catalog sizes compared
The number of songs offered by a music service used to be one of the main differentiators, but most now offer 30 million songs or more. However, depending on your favored genre, some of them have a more robust catalog that include many under-the-radar, indie or hip-hop artists. If you're musically inclined, constantly on the hunt for your favorite new band, a streaming service like Spotify or Tidal may be more up your alley. Users who are less ambitious about expanding their musical taste will be satisfied with the smaller catalogs Amazon Music Unlimited and Google Play Music offer. Apple Music is somewhere in the middle, offering a healthy mix of mainstream tunes and underground unknowns.
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