Best Music Streaming Service for 2024
The competition between music streaming services is fiercer than ever, especially with the inclusion of audiobooks.
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What to consider
Price
Sound quality
Depending on what devices you're using to listen, the availability of features like Dolby Atmos or spatial audio may determine your streaming service preference. Whether you're listening in your car, phone or home theater speakers, check if lossless and other high-quality features are included and/or supported.
Music purchases
Some music lovers want to buy digital songs or entire albums, but not every service offers that option. Apple Music, Qobuz and Amazon Music are your primary choices for that.
Our Picks
What to consider
Price
Sound quality
Depending on what devices you're using to listen, the availability of features like Dolby Atmos or spatial audio may determine your streaming service preference. Whether you're listening in your car, phone or home theater speakers, check if lossless and other high-quality features are included and/or supported.
Music purchases
Some music lovers want to buy digital songs or entire albums, but not every service offers that option. Apple Music, Qobuz and Amazon Music are your primary choices for that.
Today's music streaming services offer a world of exploration and convenience, giving you access to your favorite artists easily and quickly. Sound quality is even better than ever, as many of the paid subscriptions include spatial Dolby Atmos audio and lossless for free. Yet, it's audiobooks that have become the next must-have feature with both Spotify and now Amazon Music including access as part of their monthly fees. We've tested all the major services and compared all the relevant features, along with a full price breakdown. Let's dive in.
What is the best music streaming service overall?
When choosing a music streaming service, it's a close race between two services in particular: Spotify Premium and Apple Music. Both services boast extensive catalogs and plenty of features, but there is a clear winner. Despite a price increase to $12 a month, Spotify is the best streaming service for most people. It offers the best mix of features, including audiobooks, Spotify Connect streaming and great community offerings such as Spotify Wrapped. Spotify also offers the best free tier: Without paying a dime or providing a credit card number, you can listen to millions of tunes and still stream to Wi-Fi devices.
Today's streaming services Deals*
For Apple device users, the excellent Apple Music is hot on Spotify's tail with potential for even better sound due to the inclusion of lossless and spatial music. And it's a dollar cheaper. Although the company has made strides in recent years, a few bricks of the former walled garden remain, and so it's not as recommendable to Android or PC users. Spotify is still a better choice for users of both iOS and Android. Lastly, if you're an audiophile -- or simply love music -- then both Tidal and Qobuz offer excellent sound quality at realistic prices. Of those two, Tidal has taken pains to remove the proprietary MQA format and offer a cheaper fee, while Qobuz offers a point of difference in its download store.
Read more: Apple Music vs. Spotify: Comparing the Top Music Streaming Services
Best music streaming services of 2024
- Free version is robust
- Spotify Connect simplifies connection to devices
- Great playlist features including live "Jam"
- Artist bios and alerts
- Free service ads can be intrusive
- No lossless option (yet)
- Podcast integration is awkward
Spotify is a pioneer in music streaming and is arguably the best-known service. It offers several curated music discovery services, including its Discover Weekly playlist, and is constantly implementing new ones, such as Stations, an AI DJ, audiobooks and podcasts.
While it may not be lossless (yet), Spotify is great if you're seeking a solid all-around service, especially one that lets you make, browse and share playlists for any occasion.
It's worth noting that Spotify has undergone some price changes of late, and which are related to the addition of audiobooks. The company has now increased prices in the US ($12), the UK (£12) and Australia (AU$14). The company does have a book-free tier for $11, but it's available only to current and "eligible" customers, but this appears to be a very select group. There's also an ad-supported free version of Spotify, and eligible students may save money with a student discount and pay just $6 per month.
Expertly curated ad-free music, Pandora stations, sports play-by-play, celebrity-hosted talk, Howard Stern and more.
Enjoy four months free of the SiriusXM App:
- Ad-free music curated by genre and era, plus artist-inspired channels.
- Live NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL games, as well as NASCAR, college sports and more -- plus sports talk and analysis.
- News coverage from across the spectrum.
- Interviews, podcasts, exclusive comedy and live in-studio moments with A-list hosts and stars.
- Original shows and insider moments.
- Channels hosted by DJs, personalities and tastemakers to serve up what you love and help you discover more.
- Effortless listening on your favorite connected devices and speakers -- take what you love wherever you go.
Four months free of SiriusXM Streaming, then $10 per month, plus tax. New subscribers only. Cancel online anytime. Restrictions may apply.
- Spatial and hi-res music included
- Combines your iTunes library with music you don't own, with a choice of music lockers
- Human music experts and algorithms help find music you'll want to hear based on what you play
- Tight integration with Apple HomePod and iOS devices
- Not as fun for Android or PC users
At the same price as Spotify, Apple Music can still offer a lot for the money, including 100 million tracks and iOS and Android compatibility. The service runs second to Spotify in terms of subscribers but surpasses its rival in one key respect. Apple Music has hi-res lossless, spatial audio albums and a classical music app at no extra charge.
While it makes the most sense if you're an Apple user, Music is an option if you're listening on a PC, or have invested in smart speakers, including those from Google. If you own an Apple HomePod, Mini or Nest device you can summon Apple Music tracks with your voice. There are also a ton of curated playlists, many handcrafted by musicians and tastemakers, although it lacks the robust sharing options (or some of the cool add-ons) available to Spotify.
- High-fidelity music streams including Dolby Atmos surround mixes
- Lots of video content, including concert livestreams
- Profiles and record reviews on every page, plus up-and-coming artist spotlights
- Free tier, while its top tier offers payouts for favorite artists
- The mobile apps and web player aren't as straightforward as some others
- The catalog isn't as exhaustive as Spotify Premium
- Most high-res music uses MQA, which needs a specialized decoder
While Tidal quietly did away with its Free service, it also scrapped its $20 Hi-Fi Plus tier in favor of an all-inclusive $11 instead -- this means hi-res music for everybody. It's worth noting that the service is (still) replacing its proprietary MQA files with hi-res FLAC for better compatibility. If you're an audiophile, a fan of urban music or a mix of both, then Tidal offers a great catalog and a very attractive price.
- The app is really clean and fun to use
- Ability to listen to 24-bit music without needing a specialized decoder
- Download store as well
- No spatial audio
Qobuz's streaming service offers a wealth of music in hi-res, and you don't need a special hardware decoder to listen to it. The service offers two main plans: Studio Premier ($13 monthly or $130 yearly) and the $180 annual Sublime Plus. If you're a student, its new $5-a-month plan is a great value. Uniquely, the streaming service offers its own hi-res download store, and if you sign up for Sublime, you get a discount on purchases.
At 100 million tracks, Qobuz's streaming catalog rivals Tidal's and Spotify's in number, and based on our tests its catalog of more obscure artists is now pretty impressive. Excellent sound quality at a decent price? Qobuz is our favorite service for serious music lovers who also want to be able to purchase tracks.
YouTube Music ($11 a month) is the successor to Google Play Music, and if you sign up for the ad-free YouTube Premium at $14 a month, you get YouTube Music for free. The good news is that YouTube Music is a mostly impressive service (the lower bit rate of 256Kbps is mildly disappointing), but Google has retained the predecessor's music locker system enabling you to upload new tracks. In even better news, YouTube Music offers a clean interface with 100 million tracks to choose from. YouTube Music offers well-curated radio stations that play endlessly and are updated often. The service also has the ability to make playlists out of YouTube music clips, which makes it a worthy option. Lastly, the Apple HomePod has joined Google's Nest devices in enabling users to set YouTube Music as the default.
- Cheaper than the top three if you're an Amazon Prime member
- Lyrics automatically pop up on the "now playing" screen
- Hi-res and spatial audio from Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos at no extra charge
- Offers free music stations for Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap (includes ads)
- Artist profiles don't have biographies
- The service no longer includes a music locker
While Amazon Prime Music comes "free" as part of a Prime membership, users can choose to upgrade to Music Unlimited for audiobooks and higher-quality music streams. At $10 for Prime members, or $11 if you don't have Prime, Unlimited offers an expanded catalog plus Atmos audio mixes which can be played on Dolby Atmos soundbars, Android or iOS devices, and the Amazon Echo Studio. In terms of usability, the Music Unlimited interface is also more powerful than before with playlists, genres and podcasts all accessible from the main page.
Top services compared
Factors to consider
The principal thing you'll need to weigh is your monthly cost. Until recently, prices were stable at around $10 a month, but Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Tidal, YouTube Music and Spotify have all hiked rates to $11 or more.
While your subscription fee can give you access to a number of features -- including classical music, karaoke and podcasts -- what it can also do is unlock higher-quality audio. Sound quality is also an important consideration, and services such as Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited offer lossless and Dolby Atmos music at no extra charge. Meanwhile, Spotify is still stuck at relatively low 320Kbps, and a planned lossless Supremium tier is still MIA.
With the addition of audiobooks by both Amazon Music and Spotify offer a point of difference by both services offer
If you like to buy your own digital music, Apple Music and YouTube Music are the only services to offer a digital locker to store your own library of songs.
How we test streaming services
We've checked out the big names, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music,YouTube Music and Deezer as well as smaller ones such as Tidal, Qobuz, Napster and Pandora Premium, to see how each platform stacks up for your subscription dollar. Most of the services feature music catalogs of around 100 million tracks and are supported by a host of different devices.
Given that all of the services basically have the same libraries, we evaluated each one based on:
- Ease of use
- Cost
- Features
- Sound quality
While YouTube Music and Spotify offer objectively the "worst" quality based on numbers alone, most people won't notice a difference, especially on phones or Bluetooth speakers. The biggest boons for Spotify users, in particular, are that service's ubiquity, community features and ability to easily pair with other devices.
Apple's also gets high marks due to its suitability for iOS and Mac users, as well as the ability to listen to higher-quality streams at no extra cost. If the service was more yielding to PC users and smart home fans, Apple Music would easily become the service we would recommend. In short, Spotify is better for users of almost any phone, smart device or computer.
We also tested
- Deezer: French stalwart Deezer has been operating in the States since 2016, and it has a lot to offer, including a free tier (mobile only) and 90 million tracks. It has more subscribers than some others on this list, thanks in part to its previous affiliation with Cricket Wireless. The main Premium plan is $12 a month, and users are also able to upgrade their audio quality within the app. Deezer also offers a couple of unique features including being the first service enabling users to upload their catalogs from competitors at no extra charge. See at Deezer.
- Napster: Popular music streaming service Rhapsody relaunched as Napster in 2016. It offers 110 million tracks including lossless for $11 a month. The service is fine, although it lacks the killer features of the best here -- e.g. podcasts, simplified streaming and community features. Competition is stiff, and Spotify and Apple are a better value. See at Napster.
- Pandora Premium: Still one of the most popular streaming radio services in the US, Pandora also offers the a la carte Premium ($10 a month) and no-ads Plus ($5 a month). The result is more flexibility than most competitors, and Premium has gained plenty more subscribers in recent years, even if the service is not keeping up in terms of overall catalog size. Sadly, its audio quality is among the lowest available, even on the Premium subscription (192Kbps), and it doesn't offer enough of an incentive for an upgrade from its highly popular free tier. See at Pandora.