I Tested Apple Music vs. Spotify, and I Have Thoughts on Which Is *Actually* Better

Asking your loved ones whether they’re Team Apple Music or Team Spotify is tricky territory. It can be just as heated of a debate as politics on family holidays, but both music streaming platforms have their pros and cons. I love curating my monthly playlist as much as the next person, and I’ve been an avid Spotify user since high school. But I will admit that after dating someone who is strictly an Apple Music user, I can see its advantages and why some may “prefer it to an app with a black and green colorway,” as assistant shopping editor Jasmine Hyman would hilariously describe it.

If you’re a music lover on the fence about which streaming platform to pledge allegiance to, I’m here to help. Whether you are thinking about making a switch or want to confirm you’re getting the best for your $$, I’ve laid out everything you need to know about Apple Music vs. Spotify, along with all the pros and cons of each, after personally testing both platforms (and I am 100 percent confident in my choice of which I’ll be keeping downloaded on my phone). Let’s dive in, shall we?

A quick snapshot of Apple Music...

Pros

• Impressive enhanced surround sound quality for a more immersive listening experience
• Large music catalogue with over 100 million songs
• App provides additional exclusive content from artists
• Access to Apple Music Radio—live radio shows with on-demand interviews with industry personalities and artists
• SharePlay car feature allows everyone in the car with an iPhone control the music to play

Cons

• Must use different app to access Apple Podcasts
• Some users think the interface makes it hard to find what they’re looking for
• There is no free version

A quick snapshot of Spotify...

Pros

• Music, podcasts, and audiobooks all accessible in one app
• There is a free version (!!)
• So many new weekly, discover, and curated playlists based on your previous listening, mood, genre, decade, and more
• Spotify Wrapped year-in-review is a highly anticipated event for users
• Can create collaborative playlists with other users
• Real-time Jam feature allows two or more users to control music playback and add to shared playlist

Cons

• Some users think the interface appears too cluttered
• The shuffle algorithm seems repetitive
• Not every song has in-app lyrics available

I went in with the mindset that cost would be a big factor in determining which music platform was better for me. Unfortunately (but also fortunately), both Spotify and Apple Music are pretty similar in price.

Subscribe to Spotify Premium

$12 at spotify.com

Subscribe to Apple Music

$11 at Apple

Unlike Spotify, Apple Music does not offer a free version of its service. Each of its monthly plans offers ad-free listening, Spatial Audio, lossless audio, exclusive artist interviews, access to live concerts, and the ability to listen offline. Apple Music monthly plans start at $5.99/month for students with the added perk of one month free and access to Apple TV+. An individual plan is $10.99/month, while a family plan for up to six accounts is $16.99/month. No matter the plan a user chooses, new subscribers get three months of Apple Music free. Users can also opt for the Apple One Bundle, which gets you Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ all for an individual plan starting at just $19.95/month, which is a better price than if you were to subscribe to all separately.

While Spotify does have a free listening option, Spotify Premium offers ad-free listening, offline listening, and the ability to play songs in any order. Spotify monthly plans start at $5.99/month for students. Spotify Premium for students also includes six months free and access to Hulu. Similarly, the individual Premium plan offers one month free but costs $11.99/month. The other monthly plans include a duo Premium plan consisting of two Spotify accounts at $16.99/month and a family Premium plan for up to six accounts at $19.99/month.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Both music streaming platforms offer monthly plans at similar prices, but Spotify is a great choice for those who want to listen to music for free (even if that means hearing a few ads every few minutes). However, if you’re willing to pay, the Apple One bundle provides a greater value for Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Arcade all in one if you want to go beyond just music streaming.

There’s a long-winded debate about whether Apple Music or Spotify has a better look, and let’s just say it’s all about preference. When it comes to Spotify, users like Cosmo beauty editor Beth Gillette admit, “I love the interface. My mom uses Apple Music, and I find it difficult to navigate in comparison whenever I’m trying to play music.” I found that the Spotify interface shows more options without having to scroll. On the homepage, you have your last listened-to audios and suggested playlists to jump back into. A downside to Spotify’s interface, though, is that it changes more often than users would like. The platform does a lot of A/B testing with its interface, which can lead to different and less cohesive user experiences.

On the other hand, there are people like my fellow Cosmo editor Jasmine Hyman who feels “like Apple Music is so much more organized and clean as an app overall.” I feel that the Apple Music platform prioritizes visuals over everything else, especially on the homepage. Upon opening the app, your screen is mostly taken up by large graphics that cause you to scroll to see more of your listening options. It also proved difficult for me to get the hang of Apple Music’s queuing. If you play an album but choose not to listen to it all the way through, the remaining songs will stay in your queue unless you manually clear them.

THE BOTTOM LINE: It all comes down to personal preference regarding which platform has the best interface. I personally prefer Spotify’s interface where I can have all of my current and most recent listening displayed front and center.

When asking colleagues whether they’re #TeamSpotify or #TeamAppleMusic, one of the major pros to being the latter was the impressive sound quality. Apple Music users can enjoy “Spatial Audio,” which is an improved version of surround sound that places sounds in different locations, so it feels like you’re immersed in the music. No need for any fancy equipment—headphones will do just fine. The platform also boasts lossless audio, which is basically just a fancy way of saying that the music you hear is uncompromised and sounds exactly how it was intended to. It’s a similar experience to listening to a CD.

Spotify doesn’t have “Spatial Audio” or claim to offer lossless audio like Apple Music, but it’s slowly catching up. Premium users can manually set their audio quality to 320kbit/s, which is supposedly similar to lossless audio for an untrained ear. To compete with Apple Music’s sound quality, Spotify plans to introduce “Spotify HiFi,” which will be v similar to Apple's lossless audio format. The timeline for this is unknown though.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Apple Music’s sound quality is much more advanced and appeals more to the music aficionado thanks to enhanced features such as “Spatial Audio” and lossless audio. But, hey, if you are anything like me and just love to blast music regardless of the quality, both platforms will do the trick.

Apple Music claims to have over 100 million songs and says it has the largest collection of streaming music. However, despite a very large music catalog, if you want to switch from your playlist to your favorite podcast, you have to go to a separate Apple Podcasts app. The Apple Music platform grants access strictly to music, radio stations, and exclusive artist interviews.

If you like your music, podcasts, AND audiobooks all in one place, Spotify is your best bet. Unlike Apple Music, the platform allows access to all of these without having to leave the app. Consider it a one-stop shop for all your listening needs. Similarly to Apple Music, as of this year, Spotify reports that it has more than 100 million songs, 6 million podcast titles, and about 350,000 audiobooks available on the platform. Spotify Premium subscribers receive 15 hours of free (!!) audiobook listening per month, which means you don’t have to buy the audiobooks separately.

THE BOTTOM LINE: With a similar-sized music catalog, Spotify reigns supreme solely due to its offering of podcasts and audiobooks all within the same platform. You get more entertainment all in one place without having to switch between different apps.

Spotify is well-known for being able to connect with your friends’ listening. From the ability to follow your friends’ accounts and playlists to being able to blend playlists with other users (and even your favorite fictional characters), Spotify makes it easy to share your music taste with others. “Sorry to Apple Music, but when it comes to making listening fun, Spotify is at the forefront of it all. From Spotify First to Wrapped, they make listening to music an event,” says Cosmo entertainment editor Tamara Fuentes.

Spotify has also excelled at these once-a-year events where users excitingly take to social media to share their yearly music habits. Trust, there’s a v good chance you’ve seen some Spotify Wrapped content on Instagram stories more times than you’d like to count. Heck, even I’m guilty of it!

Apple Music similarly lets you follow your friends to see their listening habits. The Apple platform also rolled out collaborative playlists that let you invite users to add, remove, reorder, and even react to songs. While Spotify Wrapped seems to be more popular, Apple Music has a similar year-in-review feature called Apple Music Replay. It hasn’t really gained as much attraction as Spotify’s Wrapped, but, hey, it still offers a fun way to share your music habits.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Spotify definitely offers more ways to connect and share your music socially. The platform is better at promoting and encouraging users to share and collaborate not only on the app but through social media. If you don’t really care about social features and just want to jam out to your playlists, then Apple Music will do the trick.

One thing that I’ve noticed about my Spotify algorithm is that it truly gets me. The platform’s taste profile is consistent in helping users discover new music and artists through fresh, weekly auto-generated playlists. A new feature that Spotify rolled out to expand its music discovery capabilities is the AI DJ. I’ve found it to be a great feature when I’m in the mood to hear something new but don’t know where to start. Users can also enjoy curated “Time Capsule” playlists that resurface all of your fave songs you forgot you even loved and a very fun “Daylist” feature that gives you new music mixes throughout the day. Spotify also provides music lovers with different decade, genre, and mood mixes based on previous listening.

Similarly to Spotify, Apple Music creates rewind, discover, new music, and mood playlists for users. A strong feature for discovering new music on the platform is Apple Music Radio. It has three main stations, all free even if you aren’t a subscriber, and live broadcast stations if you’re into that. If you are a subscriber, you have access to on-demand stations and shows, such as the popular Zane Lowe Show. Similar to Spotify’s AI DJ, there’s a Beats1 Radio station hosted and curated by actual real-life DJs where you can listen to new music in real time.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I think Spotify’s algorithm is better at predicting what I want to hear while also bringing me back to throwbacks I loved in the past. In my opinion, Spotify’s taste profile is more accurate and great at bringing new music (that I actually like!) to my attention. On the other hand, Apple Music is a great resource for those who prefer radio.

Well, I’ll be a Spotify gal until the end of time, but after taking a trip down Apple Music Lane, I can see the appeal, especially with people who use it for the nostalgia factor like senior commerce editor Heath Owens, “The interface reminds me of iTunes, so it feels like MY music saved to MY library on MY devices. There’s just a subconscious feeling of ownership, especially because I’m an album person! So I don’t really want all of Spotify’s suggestions. I feel like Apple Music makes it easier to curate and maintain my own library vs. being pushed what Spotify wants me to listen to.”

Overall, both platforms have pros and cons. Spotify excels in music discovery and curating an algorithm that’ll have you listening all day with minimal skips. It’s also a great choice for listeners who want to do just that: listen. Having a free version that doesn’t require a subscription (or credit card) is what first drew me to the platform, and even after a free Premium trial, I still don’t care to pay to listen to music.

Apple Music, on the other hand, excels with its music quality. Thanks to spatial audio and lossless listening, music lovers can not just listen but also be immersed in the music. While there’s no free version of the platform, the Apple One Bundle I mentioned earlier is a great deal for iOS users who want to take advantage of other Apple apps for one low price.

Chaise Sanders is an editor with over four years of experience writing and reviewing products. She is an authority in the tech, entertainment, and lifestyle categories but has a special place in her heart for all things music.