Spotify is a market leader and has almost an immeasurable music catalog to meet the whimsical needs of all ages. On the other side of the spectrum, YouTube Music also offers a bigger leeway to free users. If we compare them both based on some strong attributes. Some users gravitate to Spotify, and a few defy YouTube Music but both digital podiums are intriguing alternatives to each other and are substantially distinct from the likes of Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal Music.
As you know that Google’s recognition is massive and people belonging to any age group or profession trust the search engine. And this has led to the acceptance of YouTube Music because Google Play Music (RIP) has officially transformed into YouTube Music. In this article, we’re going to compare Spotify with YouTube Music. How YouTube is unlike the market leader Spotify, here is everything you need to know. We will give you an honest comparison based on some swaying metrics.
An Honest Side-by-Side Comparison Between Spotify vs YouTube
Following are a few solid metrics that seriously matter in accessing both music streaming apps.
- Free Tier
We further spread the prevailing discussion into three sections to make everything vivid and conclusive.
Similarities:
- Both music streaming apps offer cost-free options.
- Both have paid options to enthrall more smart features.
- The free-service route is obstructed by ads, and streaming quality will be affected too (YouTube tops out at 128kbps, and Spotify maxes out at 160kbps).
- Both digital podiums are not exceptional for their superior sound quality.
Differences:
- Spotify is working on launching an upcoming premium tier which is expected to surpass YouTube Music.
- When it comes to making choices, Spotify averts you from making a direct choice for picking up the desired music. On the flip side, YouTube does not bind the user from picking or skipping.
- Spotify caps the sound quality and limits the skipping opportunities. On the other side of the spectrum, YouTube being an ad-supported podium offers unlimited skipping.
- Music on YouTube Music goes off as soon as the screen gets off. It does not happen with Spotify instead.
The ultimate winner:
- Spotify is good for showing off the speed.
- YouTube Music is good for unlimited skipping.
- Spotify does not cut off your music when the screen dies (a problem on mobile).
2-Subscription Fee And Benefits
To understand and access the subscription fee and benefits of Spotify and YouTube Music, you need to know the following details.
Similarities:
- You can download tracks for offline play.
- Background play is an extra benefit you can avail of on YouTube Music now.
- Both offer a family plan to facilitate up to six family members (YouTube Music: $14.99, Spotify: $15.99).
- Both streaming apps offer monthly $9.99 and yearly $99.99, and $4.99-per-month tier for students.
Differences:
- Spotify’s “duo subscription tier” is substantially more appealing than YouTube Music, which is priced at $12.99 per month. Plus, partners can share a compiled playlist of the most played songs by both of them, and it is a romantic feature indeed.
The ultimate Winner:
- Spotify’s “partners plan” pays for two premium accounts.
- YouTube Music offers an exclusive offer to music lovers. You can get YouTube Premium by paying only $2 per month to your plan and can enjoy the destruction free no ad content. Additionally, this offer allows subscribers to enthrall YouTube Originals content by just paying $11.99/$17.99 a month.
3-Music Catalog
Which streaming app offers exclusive vast music libraries, you need to look below.
Similarities:
- Both music streaming apps are ridiculously generous with the amount of music. You can even trace a far-fetched music track on Spotify and YouTube Music. On the flip side, the presence of too many unofficial songs by artists/labels makes finding your song pick a bit frustrating.
Differences:
- The size of music libraries with Spotify is huge, it has likely conceded the 90 million mark by now.
The Ultimate Winner:
- When it comes to the size of the music libraries of YouTube Music then we regret to track it, as it seems impossible to make a guess. It is because of the constant uploading of live recordings, amateur covers, and mixes by fans on a user-generated content site.
4-Sound Eminence
When it comes to sound quality. Spotify has chalked up a win against YouTube Music. However, it loses out against Tidal, Apple Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited. Plus, with Spotify Premium, streaming up to 320kbps quality is a whimsical experience. Additionally, further, improvement will be fetched by the upcoming Spotify HiFi (opens in a new tab) to offer CD-quality lossless audio. However, its release date is still obscure.
However, YouTube Music is a little late but on the same route. It offers a bitrate of 256kbps AAC, and an introduction to lossless streaming is also expected in a few coming years.
5- Connectivity
Connectivity is an important factor to access both music streaming apps.
Differences:
- Spotify has enjoyed market dominance for many years after hitting the market in 2008. It allows compatibility with iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Xbox, PlayStation, and plenty of smart TVs.
- The music streaming giant, Spotify also supports Amazon Echo and Google Nest smart speakers for voice control.
- If you are a Spotify user, you must have enjoyed controlling playback from one device to another.
- Unfortunately, YouTube Music does not show this level of suppleness, only brags a browser version along with apps for iOS and Android.
- However, YouTube Music has one strong trick up its sleeve: it supports Chromecast, which means the user can beam playback from his Chrome browser or app to a supported smart TV. Plus, it functions smoothly with Google Nest Audio smart speakers for voice controls, nevertheless users of Amazon Echo or Apple HomePod cannot avail of the benefit.
The Ultimate Winner:
Spotify is the ultimate winner on the spectrum of connectivity.
Some multifarious points to note
Here are some mixed blessings and frustrations alike with both Spotify and YouTube Music, you need to know.
- If you are a podcast freak, then do not miss Spotify as it is extremely thoughtful about podcasts. It has spent a fortune on buying up the likes of Parcast, The Ringer, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Gimlet Media. On the flip side, if you are not interested, regrettably you cannot opt-out.
- Spotify also offers intuitive listening history and recommendations. However, YouTube’s offerings are almost the same but are not full-grown.
- Underestimating YouTube Music would be a rap because Google’s searching skills are beyond exceptional. You can even trace a song by lyrics, as is its ability to take note of the time of day and weather where you are when signifying playlists to listen to.
- YouTube Music’s ability to upload up to 100,000 tracks to your own personal YouTube Music library (opens in a new tab) is a trump card and gives it a big lead over Spotify. On the contrary, Spotify allows the user to play nearby stored mp3 files in the app, nevertheless, it proves to be erratic, and necessitates a physical copy of the file on every platform you listen on.
VERDICT
The best suggestion is, to try free-of-cost trials to pick the one that senses your needs because expecting sunshine and rainbows can be deceiving. On the one side, Spotify is a slick service that is compatible with any device you could mention. On the other side, YouTube Music offers the largest music library supposable and allows the opportunity to get YouTube Premium to a paid subscription for just $2, which is a bonus treat indeed.
Long story short, between YouTube Music and Spotify, Spotify is the secure bet for most people.
