One of the great musical news in recent years since its foundation. But it is not the only one that distributes music content online, either for free or under subscription.
We collect the best Spotify alternatives , from the large platforms to the most minority ones.
Back in 1999, Napster was the first major P2P network for sharing and distributing MP3 music files.
This audio encoding format got its name from 1995, but the first MP3 players, with only 32MB of space, didn’t hit the market until 1998.
A year after an Australian student bought the professional license for the MP3 system with a card stolen credit and turned it into freeware.
Napster disappeared due to legal problems of music authorship. However, along with the success of the iPod and later smartphones , it marked the beginning of the system that has revolutionized the way people listen to music, which Spotify joined in 2008.
An online music distribution system divided between free services, Premium, freemium (you have to pay a fee to get added services), regular subscription or pay per song.
With the latest arrival of Amazon and YouTube on the streaming services scene , it ‘s increasingly difficult to choose which service to subscribe to.
What does Spotify offer?
The keys to the success of Spotify in the 65 countries in which it is available are the free reproduction of 40 million songs on both computer and mobile devices.
Although the free version includes ads and does not have total freedom of choice of songs.
The large number of playlists, created by publishers or collaboratively by users, is an inexhaustible source of artist and music discovery for users, at least the most commercial ones.
Through Spotify Connect you can use the mobile app as a remote control to listen to Spotify music on speakers, televisions, game consoles, tablets or other computers.
You just have to have the app installed on these devices, with the latest updated software version , and that they are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
1. Apple Music
Apple Music is on the top of this list of Best Spotify Alternative. It does not have a free version, but it does have a three-month free trial.
It is the most popular Spotify alternative among iOS users because it allows it to be used on all Apple devices, including the Apple Watch and HomePod. Also, access your personal library stored in iCloud in all of them.
In addition, it is compatible with 200 vehicle models through CarPlay, and the Siri voice assistant. There is also a version for Android. But not a computer player, where you have to use it through iTunes.
Its users appreciate being able to create smart playlists and exclusive access to some songs and albums. It also has its own radio station (Beats1), music videos, concerts and shows like Carpool Karaoke, in which host James Corden sings with various artists inside a car.
2. Google Play Music
Like Spotify, the Google Play Music model is freemium. It has a free service with advertising and a paid service with added features for € 9.95 per month or € 14.99 for the family plan for up to six people. The subscription also includes access to YouTube Music.
Although the catalog of available music is smaller than some of its rivals (40 million songs), it differs from the rest in that it allows up to 100,000 songs stored on the user’s computer to be stored in the cloud and listened to on any Android device (including Chromecast , Android Wear and Android Auto), iOS or on the web.
It recommends playlists based on mood, activity, or location, and music can be downloaded and listened to without an internet connection.
3. Youtube music
The YouTube Music app for Android and iOS computers and mobiles has the advantage of integrating live songs into its catalog that cannot be found anywhere else.
It uses Google’s artificial intelligence to find music that suits user tastes and trends in your community, and offers playlist and radio station recommendations for rainy days, listening in the office, or getting your mood back.
The interface is very simple and elegant and integrates perfectly with the Google Home speaker.
Its intelligent search engine stands out to find songs if we do not remember the title or the artist.
The Premium version (€ 9.95) allows you to listen to music or watch videos without ads or connection, and with the device screen locked.
On the other hand, in the free version we cannot listen to music and use other apps at the same time. It is considered as one of the best spotify alternative .
4. Amazon Music Unlimited
Not to be confused with Amazon Prime Music, the free streaming service for Amazon Prime customers that allows you to listen to 40 hours of music per month without advertising to choose from a catalog of two million titles.
Amazon Music Unlimited is Jeff Bezos’ answer to Google, Apple, and Spotify services. Same price (reduced to € 99 per year for Prime users) and similar features: ad-free access to 50 million songs by more commercial artists, playlists, thematic stations, personalized suggestions and downloads in the smartphone version .
The home page summarizes the most popular news and content for information at a glance.
The differences, the integration with Alexa and its Echo smart speakers, which may help popularize it among not-so-young population segments who have enthusiastically embraced these devices.
With the added advantage of a reduced fee of € 3.99 if we only want to use it in the Amazon Echo.
5. Deezer
Deezer was launched in France 2006 as an app to listen to music online, receive recommendations according to the musical tastes that we have specified when registering, in addition to communicating privately with the community.
Available for iOS, Android and computers with MacOS and Windows operating systems. Its library includes 53 million songs.
The Flow functionality combines our favorite songs with selected recommendations based on the songs we have marked as favorites.
They pride themselves on including not just mainstream music , helping emerging artists, and hosting exclusive Deezer Sessions.
The app for Smart TV with Android TV system (version 5.0) is very interesting , which allows you to listen to music and read the lyrics of the songs on the TV to carry out karaoke sessions at home.
6. Tidal
Tidal as a subscription-based streaming music service more beneficial to artist rights. Its shareholders include Beyoncé, Rihanna, Alicia Keys and Madonna.
The elements that differentiate it are a sound quality superior to the rest of the services (Studio Master quality) and the exclusive content that its partners share on the platform.
It integrates 59 million songs, 240,000 music videos, series and podcasts. Offers exclusive concert tickets for members.
The price of the Premium Hi-Fi service is € 19.99 per month or € 29.99 for the family plan.
Vodafone subscribers can benefit from a subscription discount and even two years of free subscription.
7. Last.fm
It works as a social network where users can share their favorite and most listened to songs and meet people with the same musical tastes.
The free version is complemented by a paid version for € 3 per month to avoid ads, access discounts and more complete statistics.
8. Soundcloud
Platform designed so that artists, professionals or amateurs, can upload and share their songs. Soundcloud is the best place to discover new talent outside of the commercial circuit and listen to covers or remixes.
Its loyal community comments and talks with enthusiasm since 2008. The latest, allows you to share topics on Instagram Stories.
The free version is designed more for those who just want to play and save music.
If we want more hours to upload our own songs, schedule publications or highlight tracks, in addition to monetizing our creations, we must subscribe to the unlimited Pro or Pro plans from € 5.25 or € 8.25 per month.
Available for web, iOS, Android, Sonos speakers, Chromecast, and Xbox One.
Conclusion…
Here we finish our list of Best Spotify Alternatives, you can give your opinion which is your favourite spotify alternative on our cooment box.
Best Spotify Alternatives 