Spotify and Apple Music offer different streaming services that have different benefits and drawbacks. The two services are compared in this article to help you decide which one is the best for you.

Spotify

Spotify is a music streaming service with over 40 million songs from more than two million artists. ..

Cost

Spotify is a music streaming service that costs $9.99 per month for the standard plan and $14.99 for the Family Plan, which enables up to six users per account. Students can receive full Spotify service for $4.99. If you’re interested in giving Spotify a spin on PlayStation 4, the cost is $2 for the first two months and then $9.99 per month after that.

Spotify offers a free tier with ads. It’s not a bad option, but ads tucked behind every few songs can really break any musical vibe you’ve got going. If you’re not a customer and want to give Premium a try, you’ve got a 30-day period to try it out. ..

Stream Quality

Spotify offers multiple streaming options, including mobile and desktop. Mobile users can stream in increments up to a max of 320kbps, while desktop users can choose between 160kbps and 320kbps. The web browser has different options based on whether you are a free or a Premium user.

Social Integration

Spotify is a music streaming service that connects with Facebook. This gives users the ability to find out what their friends are listening to. It’s a great way to compare your musical tastes with your friends and make suggestions on new songs they might enjoy.

Privacy

Spotify has been under fire for how it stores and processes user data. Even an “Anonymous” Spotify account isn’t really anonymous. Your activity on Spotify is public unless you take steps to hide it.

If someone figures out it’s you, they can track your every move. The most concerning of these reports is a story that surfaced about a girl whose abusive ex-boyfriend stalked and harassed her over Spotify.

Apple Music

Apple Music is a music streaming service that was announced by Apple on September 12, 2014. It is similar to Spotify, with a library of over 40 million songs.

Cost

Apple Music follows a similar payment plan to Spotify, starting at $9.99 per month for standard plans and $14.99 per month for family plans. Students can get Apple Music for $4.99 per month.

If you want to give Apple Music a try, you can try a three-month trial before the service begins to charge you. Unfortunately, there is not a free option for Apple Music. You can try out Beats 1 and listen to other Apple Music radio stations, but you won’t have access to the full library of songs.

Stream Quality

Apple Music is a streaming service that only offers 256kbps AAC quality. This means that the majority of users will not be able to tell the difference between an Apple Music stream and a Spotify stream. The only way to get the best experience with Apple Music is to be very dedicated to its listening habits.

Social Integration

Apple Music Connect lets friends follow one another, but it also has an interesting social feature: Connect. Connect lets fans follow their artists and see special content that is posted solely for people using the service.

Connect is a music streaming service that allows users to follow their favorite artists. When an artist’s song is added to a user’s library, the user is automatically subscribed to the artist’s channel. However, this can be a downside because users are not able to unsubscribe from the artist’s channel. ..

Privacy

Apple Music has a more robust privacy policy than Spotify, but there are still certain details left visible to everyone: namely, your handle, display name, photo, and who you follow. However, other information like your location is not gathered.

Apple’s “trust score” is a numerical value that is generated when you attempt to make a purchase. This number is only stored for a limited time, and Apple has a solid track record for protecting consumer privacy. Apple Music doesn’t appear to stray from this. ..

Which Option Wins?

Apple Music is better for people who want to listen to music offline, while Spotify is better for people who want to listen to music on the go. ..

Spotify’s multiple streaming choices make it easy to adjust quality based on what’s available to you at the moment. On the other hand, Apple Music has a better privacy policy. As for social integration, Spotify pulls ahead, but only barely—and that’s just because you can follow friends instead of artists you have never met.

Ultimately, the choice comes down to what you value most. Do you care about your privacy or social integration? Do you want more control over your streaming quality? ..

Which factor is most important to you when choosing between Apple Music and Spotify?