The 8 Best Spotify Alternatives in 2024 (2024)

Updated on January 22, 2024

These services are available on numerous platforms, but some may not be available in every country worldwide.

Best for Apple Users: Apple Music

If you own Apple devices, Apple Music is an obvious choice. While there's no free plan, it does offer an extensive trial period to check it out. Over 90 million songs are available with thousands of playlists, including curated options as it learns your music taste. Podcasts are also ably catered for here. Spatial audio features in conjunction with your Apple hardware mean it sounds great, too. It's a well-designed rival to Spotify. Just watch for quirky limitations if you want to listen offline.

Best for Amazon Customers: Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon Music Unlimited lives up to its name with unlimited access to 75 million songs and unlimited skips when listening offline. There are millions of podcast episodes, too, so there's no shortage of options. Searching is easy, with ultra HD quality tracks also available in the results. Amazon Prime members get a discounted subscription, so it's tempting if you're already tied into the ecosystem, especially with excellent integration with Echo devices.

Best for Uploading your Own Collection: YouTube Music

YouTube Music offers a free trial, which is always welcome news. Once in, it offers some intelligent algorithms to ensure your playlist recommendations suitably fit your tastes. It has easy-to-use apps; you can even upload up to 100,000 tracks to keep everything in one place. That includes support for high-fidelity tracks, but it's limited compared to other online options.

Best for Discovering New Artists: Bandcamp

Bandcamp is for the music fan who loves to discover new artists before everyone else. Bandcamp is indie-focused; you won't find big names here, so it's a service best paired with something else. However, it offers some lesser-known names and is entirely free to check out. It's down to you if you want to pay for an album with pre-orders easily arranged and even live concerts available through the service. Its interface is delightful to look at but not exactly as straightforward as others out there.

Best for Remixing Music: SoundCloud

SoundCloud offers the best of many worlds. It has more than 265 million songs and podcasts, including some upcoming indie artists and better-known people who started there. Like Bandcamp, it's best for those seeking the next big thing, but there's a fun twist. Subscribe to the Go+ plan, and you can dub multiple tracks over each other, acting like your very own DJ and creating remixes. It also has more regular features like unlimited downloads, high-quality audio, and intelligent recommendations.

Best for Great Recommendations: Deezer

Deezer has a lot of different options, but it's the service's intelligent algorithm system that makes it most appealing. Sometimes referred to as Deezer Flow, it formulates a mix of favorites and new tracks in a way that you're highly likely to enjoy. It works better than some competitors and has a reasonable price, too. High-fidelity music is available, but it's not as high-end as elsewhere. Still, with 73 million songs, you won't run out of choices fast.

Best for High-Fidelity Music: Tidal

Tidal is the best streaming service for high-fidelity music bar none. It offers over 80 million tracks with its basic HiFi plan offering up to 1,411kbps quality music as standard. Spend a little more, and you get up to 9,216kbps which is sure to delight audiophiles. Elsewhere, it has everything else you could want from a music streaming service, including offline functionality, easy-to-use apps, and tons of choice. The only downside is that its CarPlay app is flawed, and it costs more if you subscribe directly through the App Store.

Best for Podcasts: Pandora

One of the first streaming services, Pandora continues to be a hit thanks to offering a more extensive non-music-based selection. That includes plenty of podcasts and comedy, so there's something for every mood. It has a clever algorithm set up via thumbs up or down with extensive search features backing it up. Some reports say it's not as stable as Spotify, but you'll rarely notice an issue.

FAQ

• What are good alternatives to Spotify?

  As with picking out any new service, there are some great alternatives to what you're used to using. There isn't one streaming service that beats all other streaming services. Each offers different pros and cons, artist options, and other functionality. Much of the decision-making process depends on what you value most from listening to music or podcasts.

• Is there a cheaper alternative to Spotify?

  Some streaming services are cheaper than Spotify, while others may cost more in exchange for better features or higher audio quality. We've highlighted the most affordable options for those on a budget and looked at how some services tie in with other subscriptions you may already use.

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