About Spotify And Apple Music
When it comes to online music services, Spotify and Apple Music are the two names at the top of the list. Both services provide rich music libraries, smart features, and smooth listening experiences to millions of users globally. However, each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, and choosing which service is better depends on the needs and habits of each user.
In this article, we will compare Spotify and Apple Music based on important factors such as music library, sound quality, personalization features, user experience, price and availability to help you make the right decision.
Music Library
Spotify
Spotify currently has more than 100 million songs in its library, covering many genres from international music to local music. In addition, Spotify also offers thousands of podcasts from many different topics, bringing richness to users who love both music and digital content. Spotify also stands out with personalized playlists like “Discover Weekly” or “Release Radar”, helping users discover new music every week.
Apple Music
Apple Music is no less competitive with a library of more than 100 million songs and many exclusive music videos. In addition, Apple Music also has live radio programming **Apple Music 1**, which offers exclusive content from famous artists. Compared to Spotify, Apple Music focuses more on providing exclusive albums and songs before they are released to the public.
Conclude
Both services have extensive music libraries and very little difference in the number of songs. However, if you are a podcast lover, Spotify has the edge with thousands of quality podcasts. If you want to enjoy exclusive albums or songs from artists, Apple Music may be a better choice.
Sound Quality
Spotify
Spotify offers three audio quality levels: low (24 kbps), medium (96 kbps), and high (320 kbps) for paid users. However, free users can only listen to music in low and medium quality. Although Spotify’s audio quality is quite good at 320 kbps, it still does not reach the hi-res standard.
Apple Music
Apple Music introduced **Lossless Audio** and **Dolby Atmos** in 2021, bringing high-quality audio at up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution to all users. This helps Apple Music outperform Spotify in terms of sound quality. Apple Music not only offers hi-res audio, but also doesn’t charge extra for this feature.
Conclude
If you’re someone who listens to music with high-end headphones or high-quality speakers and values hi-res audio, Apple Music is clearly the better choice. Spotify does not yet offer a Lossless feature, although there are plans to launch it in the future.
Personalization Features
Spotify
One of Spotify’s biggest strengths is its ability to personalize music based on the user’s listening habits. With smart algorithms, Spotify provides weekly playlists like **Discover Weekly** or **Release Radar**, helping users easily discover new music based on what they’ve listened to. In addition, Spotify also has a “Spotify Wrapped” feature, which provides detailed reports on users’ music listening behavior at the end of the year.
Apple Music
Apple Music also offers personalized playlists like **Favorites Mix** and **New Music Mix**, based on the user’s listening habits. However, Apple Music’s personalization capabilities are not quite as “responsive” and rich as Spotify’s. Apple Music focuses more on recommending new songs from users’ favorite artists, rather than discovering music from many other artists.
Conclude
If you like discovering new music and want the app to understand your listening habits, Spotify may be a better fit thanks to its better personalization algorithms. Apple Music also has similar features but does not seem to be as responsive and diverse as Spotify.
User Experience
Spotify
Spotify has a friendly, easy-to-use and intuitive interface for both mobile and computer users. All categories such as playlists, albums, and artists are organized and easy to search. In addition, Spotify also offers the **Spotify Connect** feature, allowing you to easily stream music from your phone to other devices such as smart speakers, TVs or computers.
Apple Music
Apple Music has a sophisticated and minimalist design interface, suitable for the Apple ecosystem. This app integrates tightly with Apple devices such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, providing a seamless experience for users in this ecosystem. However, Apple Music isn’t as flexible on non-Apple devices, and the interface on Android isn’t particularly good.
Conclude
If you are using Apple’s ecosystem, Apple Music will definitely bring a better experience thanks to its high compatibility. However, Spotify is still the better choice if you want the flexibility of playing music on many different devices and platforms.
Price
Spotify
Spotify offers two options: free and paid (Premium). The free version allows listening to music with ads and some limited features. Spotify Premium costs $9.99/month, allowing unlimited music listening, downloading music for offline listening, and access to high-quality audio.
Apple Music
Apple Music doesn’t offer a free version, but is priced similarly to Spotify at $9.99/month. Apple Music offers family plans for $14.99/month for up to 6 users. All paid users get access to Lossless and Dolby Atmos audio at no additional cost.
Conclude
In terms of price, both Spotify and Apple Music are comparable. However, if you’re looking for a free service, Spotify has the advantage thanks to its free version with ads, while Apple Music doesn’t offer this option.
Compare applications
Both Spotify and Apple Music are leading music streaming services with their own strengths and weaknesses. If you love high-quality sound and are already in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Music may be a better choice thanks to its Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos features. However, if you’re interested in discovering new music and love podcasts, Spotify has the upper hand with smart personalization and the flexibility to play music across multiple devices.
Both services have free trials, so you can try it out for yourself and decide what suits your music needs.
