Spotify vs YouTube Music
Spotify is one of the best music streaming platforms with over 574 million users. But there are some other audio streaming services that compete in the list. YouTube Music is one of them with around 80 million subscribers.
In this article, I am going to compare both streaming giants by looking into their features, user experience, and overall advantages. And explain to you which one is better.
Spotify vs YouTube Music Interface
When you open an app, the first thing you notice is the interface. If the app has a user-friendly interface, the user enjoys the app and spends more time on it. But if it has an unstable and complicated UI, the user will not stay longer on the app and bounce.
Both platforms are mostly used on mobile devices, so let’s compare their Interface on phones after login.
UI’s of both the platforms look quite the same. Every user might have it’s own choice, but the Spotify app looks easier to use than the YouTube Music app which looks a little bit complicated. Plus, the Spotify app gives you suggestions and categorizations in a more user-friendly way.
Pricing
Price is one of the main reasons why a user might want to change from one service to another if it exceeds his spending budget. Spotify and YouTube have almost similar plans. Below are their premium plans and their pricing:
| Platform | Individual Plan | Family Plan | Student Plan | Additional Premium Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | $10.99/month | $16.99/month | $5.99/month | Premium Duo ($14.99/month) Premium Mini (~$0.13/day or ~$0.46/week) |
| YouTube Music | $10.99/month | $16.99/month | $5.99/month | N/A |
Both Spotify and YouTube Music offer similar plans: Individual plan, Family plan, and Student plan which cost $10.99/month, $16.99/month, and $5.99/month respectively. But Spotify offers additional premium plans which YouTube music doesn’t offer.
Tip: You can get Spotify Premium for free by downloading Spotify Premium APK from our website Spotibeats.com.
Audio Quality Comparison
Both platforms are used to listen to music, so the audio quality has to be the best.
Spotify offers Five audio settings while YouTube Music offers only Four. Also, the free version of Spotify gives 160kbps audio quality and YouTube music gives 128kbps. The premium versions offer up to 320kbps higher audio streaming than YouTube music’s 256kbps.
| Audio Quality Setting | Spotify | YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Depends on internet speed | N/A |
| Low | 24 kbps | 48 kbps |
| Normal | 96 kbps | 128 kbps |
| High | 160 kbps | 256 kbps |
| Very High / Always High | 320 kbps | 256 kbps (maintains this quality regardless of internet speed) |
Spotify’s higher bitrate streams better sound and with 60 Mbps connections, tracks load faster than YouTube music which sometimes has a 2-3 second delay.
Content Accessibility
Both Spotify and YouTube Music have hundreds of millions of songs and a variety of music. You will have no difficulty finding your specific song on any of those platforms.
The only main difference is that Spotify offers podcasts while YouTube Music doesn’t have this feature. Instead, YouTube has a feature where you can stream videos of songs.
Winner: Tie
Music Discovery
Music discovery is a great feature that suggests songs based on the user’s interests and his recent music history. And the AI algorithm recommends songs according to your taste. Both apps have many similar discovery features, allowing users to find different categories of music and enjoy different songs.
| Discovery Feature | Spotify | YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|
| (Spotify) Search (YouTube Music) Explore | Mood Charts Discover New Releases | Charts New Releases Moods and Genres |
| Song Recommendations | “Recommended” | “Suggestions” |
| Artist Recommendations | “Fans Also Like” | “Fans Might Also Like” |
| Personalized Mixes | “Made For You” Daily Mix Release Radar Discover Weekly Your Niche Mixes | “Mixed For You” My Mix Discover Mix My Supermix New Release Mix |
To provide new music to the user Spotify uses the “Recommended” button. On the other hand, YouTube Music has a “Suggestions” button.
Spotify has a “Made For You” option for personalized mixes. YouTube Music does the same by giving this feature name “Mixed For You”.
There is an option in Spotify called “AI DJ”, which uses artificial intelligence to introduce you to new songs and artists. It uses AI to suggest you new songs based on your music history and your listening habits.
These features are almost the same in both apps but Spotify has more variety of Discovery tools to help users find new artists and enjoy more music.
Devices Compatibility
A digital platform must be compatible with every device and Operating system. Whichever OS the user chooses, he should be able to run the app. Here’s the list of devices and Operating systems compatible with Spotify and YouTube Music:
| Spotify | YouTube Music |
|---|---|
| Android | Android |
| iOS | iOS |
| Windows | Smartwatches |
| Mac | Network Speakers (i.e. Sonos Speakers) |
| Linux | Cars via (CarPlay and Android Auto) |
| Kindle | Smart TVs (i.e. Apple TV) |
| Smartwatches | Chromecast |
| Network Speakers (i.e. Sonos Speakers) | Web player |
| Cars via (CarPlay and Android Auto) | |
| Gaming Consoles | |
| Smart TVs (i.e. Apple TV) | |
| Streaming Devices (i.e. Roku) |
YouTube music can be run on a vast range of platforms but not as many as Spotify. Spotify is available on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Kindle, Smartwatches, Network Speakers (i.e Sonos), Cars via (CarPlay and Android Auto), Gaming Consoles, Smart TVs (i.e Apple TV), Streaming Devices (i.e Roku) and more.
While YouTube music’s availability is limited to Android, iOS, Smartwatches, Network Speakers (i.e. Sonos Speakers), Cars via (CarPlay and Android Auto), Smart TVs (i.e. Apple TV), Chromecast, and Web player.
Extra Features
As with every other benefit, Spotify and YouTube have some similar extra features like playing and pausing music, shuffling songs, and skipping tracks. When available, You can watch lyrics on both and can pair your speakers or different devices.
There are some features that one offers and the other doesn’t. Spotify offers a collaborative playlist function by which you can create collaborative playlists with friends. YouTube offers a year-end recap which is equal to Spotify Wrapped.
Winner: Tie
Country Availability
The availability of services in every country decides how big a platform is. If a platform wants to get global, it should be available in every country.
If we compare this feature of both Spotify and YouTube Music, Spotify takes the lead by being available in 184 Countries with 515 million monthly active users. On the other hand, YouTube Music is only available in 109 countries with 80 million users using it.
Conclusion
After comparing both apps, we can see Spotify is better than YouTube Music in many categories. While both Spotify and YouTube Music offer almost similar features, Spotify always takes the lead by offering some extra features.