In the ever-evolving landscape of music streaming services, two giants stand out: Spotify Premium, YouTube Music, and other music service platforms that are video games at their core or are similar to employees who play games during work breaks. Tons of the diversity of the functions such as making music listening more entertaining are available now, but on the other hand, every of them brings its own beneficial and unfavorable traits.
For our part in this review we shall evaluate individual items in these services, talking here about the usability, sound quality, the music library and the price. We bring out these elements, as through this it becomes clearer to the readers what to expect from these and ascertain which of them will be the most suitable option for them.
Interface
Users’ interaction experience should be the most elemental component of interface design. On the one hand, YouTube Music’ mobile app has a quite straightforward interface and on the other hand, doesn’t seem to match up to the level of the advanced version of the app (the webtop version). Code: “On the flip side, Spotify provides a uniform interface across all platforms, making playback functions and navigation smooth both with or without Internet connection.” While both Spotify and Tidal have their strong points, the former is the best option for its simplicity of use and functionality.
Search Bar
The search machine being an important aspect of a music streaming service is a factor in which Spotify performs extremely well with its algorithm since it is very fast. Through the playback of previously saved tunes and listening histories, Spotify offers the spot-on result when entering a vague input from the user. As opposed to YouTube Music’s faulty suggestion feature that might result in a subpar experience, Spotify’s search watches the ones of the YouTube music. Certainly, Spotify’s functionalities concerning search establish it as a leader among companies that help music fans to find their new favorites.
Sound Quality
Audiophiles would always seek the best sound quality in the market and Spotify is clearly one of the best. Bigger bitrate options and more sound quality options are amongst Spotify advancements that yields better audio fidelity than the YouTube Music subscriptions. However, both platforms ensure the best sound quality for a general listener and also, the quality of the audio is what differentiate Spotify from the others which makes it to be a go-to place for those demanding listeners for good quality audio.
Downloads
The offline mode of listening is a high interest functionality offered by the music streaming services, and YouTube Music’s smart downloads feature adds to user satisfaction by providing the maximum utility to the users. Through the inclusion of a feature that enables users to build their offline music library through individualized selections, YouTube Music creates the stimulus for more control and autonomy. On the other hand, it is thought that Spotify will endeavor to refresh the offline capacity feature but it is not that good at the moment. Although this is the case, both platforms such as Spotify and Pandora do have the alternatives for offline listening so to say that people with very limited internet access will not have any media stream at all is not accurate.
Music and Podcast Catalogs
Extensive collections of songs of various years and creators with the participation of fearless seekers are equally important about Spotify and YouTube, and both applications are distinguished by the presence of millions of music tracks. On the contrary, Spotify’s playlists and music discovering functions have offered more convenience than other streaming services in terms of exploring new artists and genres, which make it more entertaining for the public. Apart from that, Spotify’s exclusive podcast sales and original content serve as the evidence of its user’s diverse tastes and multidimensionality to consider it a complete entertainment platform. While YouTube Music provides a variety of special features, such as audiobooks and exclusive podcasts, which are not available in any other popular streaming service, Spotify still remains ahead in the streaming boom with their vast enormous music catalog.
Multi-device Connection
Streaming music from any device, even in between devices, is an important feature for today’s music services, and Spotify’s Connect option does it well. Through giving the users the ability to continue their listening seamlessly across multiple devices including their favorite smart speaker, Spotify is stepping up the user experience and entertainment.
In contrast, on YouTube Music, you cannot create a single list of songs and play from a device to another. Then, the absence of such a feature, results in a less integrated experience across all the devices. Spotify going through it, while both platforms provide adequate options for multi-gadget use, Connect is the outstanding feature which shows that it is the preferred option taken by users who regard connectivity as important.
Libraries
The mixing of YouTube video materials into the music library as the feature which is unique only for YouTube Music is what consolidates the versatility of the app which helps the users to find diverse content that cannot be found only in a traditional music store. At the same time with which Spotify is equipped with a great music library, YouTube Music provides a different gain from YouTube, where the vastness and diversity of the content is integrated. Though there is competition from other platforms, Spotify with its playlist woven by human hand and personalized recommendations remain the ultimate destination for music discovery and exploration.
Playlists
Moreover, playlist organization and management is essential for the music streaming services that Spotify offers very decent features that include windows looking tools as well as folder support. However, YouTube Music refers to the playlist management as an issue since it does not allow a folder support, and this turns to be more confusing than tidy to the users who have wide playlists. Although both services have, what may be, viable platforms for playlist creation and customization, it can be quite clearly seen that it is the rich set of playlist features that Spotify offers that makes it the best choice for those users who prefer to be more organized and would like to enjoy their music seamlessly.
Price
In the beginning, both Spotify and YouTube provide the listener with free plans which can be literally matched with the whole assortment of songs. However, Spotify’s free version doesn’t let you do shuffling, and you only can skip six tracks per hour. Spotify Premium has various subscriptions that take away all these bans, and give you options for the downloads, ads, and to have all the experience you want.
Spotify’s Premium plans include:
- Individual: $11 per month
- Duo: $15 per each person (good for loving partners or two people in the same residence)
- Family: $17 per month,In the Special Offer section, is written, “the price is $17 per month for all 6 accounts simultaneously.
- Student: $6 per month
The version of YouTube Music that is free lets you skip the song on any given time (5 seconds). However, the ad campaigns are worse and boundary breaking than in Spotify. By contrast with this, the YouTube Music app now allows a user to play music in the background if they have the lock screen displayed or an app running, and this was a feature that the app didn’t possess before. Like Spotify, if you want a higher level experience of YouTube Music Premium, you would have to upgrade to remove all the ads break, download and receive full service features.Plans include:
- Individual: $13 per month (which could save you $3 per month if you pay for YouTube Premium).
- Family: $17 per month (or $6 more per month for the other instruments included with the YouTube Premium membership)
- Student: $5.50 (approx. $2,50 more, if you are a Premium YouTube subscriber). a month.
Spotify and YouTube Music are pretty even on this point; their Individual plans that cost less than $10 are offered to customers. On the other hand, both platforms bring something special for the customers who want a premium level but not a full subscription. Spotify offers a music limited time tier for that occasion and YouTube members have the opportunity to purchase a great add-on plan which is something Spotify can’t offer.
Following Artists
The way of tracking artists falls alone in Spotify and YouTube Music, and each of them is unique as it has particular features and functionalities. While spotify is what resembles social media where users essentially follow their favorite artists as well as engage with their uploaded content, youtube music on the other hand requires users to subscribe to youtube channels of those artists if they are to be notified whenever updates are uploaded. Thus, YouTube utilizes its popularity by presenting a great opportunity to convey more about artists in addition to their music tracks through the existence of YouTube. Besides, Spotify’s artist-following features and customized recommendation on the other hand that let listeners to engage and be actively connected with their favorite artists are the main reasons for the larger number of users to prefer it compared to the other platforms.
Account Sharing
Both Spotify and YouTube Music give an opportunity for users to pay for one package which allows for addition of multiple users coming from one subscription. This means that family members and groups can benefit from this as they are able to share one account. Spotify’s family plan supports up to 6 individuals while 6 is also the highest number allowed in the group plan on YouTube Music. However, the group plan on YouTube Music has slightly different account management features than Spotify. In any case, as for whether to use Spotify or YouTube Music, it is all about each person’s own tastes and requirements, with both platforms having pros of account sharing and multi-user access, respectively.
Conclusion
Therefore, both Premium and YouTube Music have their own unique opportunities that are aimed at providing the highest-quality listening of the songs. Spotify, as well, is ahead in this race when it comes to UI development, top-notch audio streaming and playlist organization. Certainly YouTube Music is going to overthrow it with its great YouTube content integration and download options. The end of this decision between Spotify and YouTube Music demonstrates that it is something that a customer can prioritize only on his/her own prosperity. You will choose your sound from the curated lists and unique suggestions, including the possibility to switch on special content and offline mode, with either Spotify and YouTube Music being the best options for both music lovers and entry-level audience.