Spotify vs. YouTube Music: A Complete Comparison
Music streaming has reached an entirely new level in today’s modern era. When listening to music, well-known names like Spotify and YouTube Music come to mind. If we compare Spotify vs. YouTube, both apps are currently at peak usage and are renowned for their unique features. Selecting one over the other can be challenging, as each offers unique strengths and benefits. However, deciding which one is better is not straightforward.
To understand this, we must closely and carefully examine Spotify vs. YouTube, giving us a better idea of which stands out. Spotify and YouTube have vast music libraries, each with nearly 100 million tracks. Additionally, both offer various subscription plans with slight differences in pricing. They also have free versions that include advertisements.
Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming platform, known for its superior quality compared to YouTube Music. On the other hand, YouTube Music is an extension of Google, making it a better music platform in its own right.
In this, I will compare both of these platforms and after going through this post, you will easily be able to choose which platform suits you.
History
Spotify was introduced in 2008 and has gradually established its credibility. In contrast, YouTube Music was launched ten years later in 2018. During this decade, Spotify introduced many new features and attracted over 456 million users to its platform. YouTube Music, however, has gained popularity due to its extensive content library.
Library and Content
Spotify has added over 100 million songs and nearly 5 million podcasts to its vast library and has extended its content with the addition of audiobooks. Spotify helps users discover songs according to their preferences through its discovery features. It offers playlists like Discover Weekly and New Releases. Spotify consistently refreshes its content to guarantee that users can always listen to the most recent episodes of their preferred podcasts and other media.
Spotify has continuously expanded its content coverage over time, introducing features such as live events, smart shuffle charts, and decades. It strives to serve various interests, catering to music lovers and DJs with a diverse selection of content.
On the other hand, while YouTube’s library is as vast as Spotify’s, it lacks the audiobook feature, which is a significant drawback. However, YouTube Music is gradually adding podcasts, with access available on some screens in the US. Additionally, YouTube Music offers a wide range of content, including live concerts, user-generated content, and original soundtracks. Its Home section is extensive, featuring artists’ albums, Discover Weekly, new releases, playlists, and more. Despite these features, YouTube Music is lagging behind Spotify in competition.
Spotify vs. YouTube: Audio Quality
Audio quality is crucial for people willing to purchase premium subscriptions, highlighting its significance. Spotify has been a leader in sound quality and continues to compete with other music apps. It supports a wide range of audio quality, from 24 kbps to 320 kbps, which is top-notch. Spotify offers low, medium, high, and very high sound quality options, with desktops supporting up to 256 kbps.
While YouTube Music supports a range of audio quality from 48 kbps to 256 kbps and offers settings like low, normal, high, and very high, it may appear to lag behind Spotify in technical specifications. However, it might be challenging to notice a significant difference in audio quality between the two platforms in real-world usage.
| Quality of Audio | YouTube Music | Spotify |
| Low | 48 kbps | 24 kbps |
| Normal | 128 kbps | 96 kbps |
| High | 256 kbps | 160 kbps |
| Always High | 256 kbps | 320 kbps |
Pricing of Both Platforms:
From a cost perspective, the distinction between the two is relatively insignificant. Both apps offer free access to their libraries, but they include ads, which can be somewhat annoying. In Spotify’s free version, songs can only be played in shuffle mode, and there’s a limit of 6 skips per hour. Additionally, offline listening is not available in Spotify’s free version, as songs cannot be downloaded. Spotify plans prices are as follows:
- Individual Plan: 10.99$ one person access
- Duo Plan: 14.99$ Two person access
- Family Plan: 16.99$ Six person access
- Student Plan: 5.99$ One Person Access
On the other hand, YouTube Music allows ad skipping after 5 seconds and offers full library exploration. Additionally, it provides the impressive feature of background play, allowing you to switch between apps while listening to music. Full access to all of these features can only be obtained by purchasing a premium plan. YouTube Music premium plans are as follows:
- Individual Plan: 10.99$ one person access (Or extra 3$ for YT premium subscription)
- Family Plan: 16.99$ one person access (Or extra 6$ for YT premium subscription)
- Student Plan: 5.50$ one person access (Or extra 2.50$ for YT premium subscription)
Spotify vs. Youtube Winner: Tie
| Plans | YouTube Music | Spotify |
| Individual | 10.99$ | 10.99$ |
| Duo | N/A | 14.99$ |
| Family | 16.99$ | 16.99$ |
| Student | 5.50$ | 5.99$ |
Functions and Features
Spotify and YouTube Music offer similar features, with no significant differences between them. Both platforms provide options for playing, pausing, resuming, shuffling, and repeating songs. They both support lyrics display and allow users to create customized playlists by adding their favorite songs. Interactive playlists allow interaction between family members and friends. Social sharing features are widely available on both apps, and users can generate their own content and create artist accounts to share their skills. Therefore, in terms of features, both platforms are quite comparable.
Spotify vs. Youtube Winner: Tie
Interface
To make Spotify’s interface more user-friendly, numerous changes have been made over time, including the introduction of various themes that have positively impacted its growth. Spotify’s interface is considered the best among all music streaming apps. This software can be accessed on a variety of devices and operating systems, spanning smartphones, computers, iOS, Mac, Linux, and Kindle e-readers. The homepage is exceptionally well-designed, featuring a search tab along with recommended options for audiobooks, new releases, and podcasts. As you scroll down, you encounter a vast array of features, making the experience rich and engaging.
On the other hand, YouTube Music’s interface is also similar to Spotify’s and provides a good visual experience. It offers scrolling options, although its coverage is not as extensive as Spotify’s, but still quite substantial. The YouTube Music app can be downloaded on either iOS or Android devices and requires a Google account to log in. It can also be connected to audio devices such as car systems. Additionally, YouTube Music is accessible via browser and smart TV apps. Its homepage is also well-designed, featuring artists, albums, playlists, mixes, and similar features.
Spotify offers an abundance of features and suggestions, so many that it’s nearly impossible for any user to utilize all of them. On the other hand, YouTube Music provides more connectivity options. However, Spotify still dominates in this regard as well.
Final Verdict
Spotify is a massive music platform with an audience of 600 million users, including approximately 240 million active paying subscribers. In contrast, YouTube Music has around 100 million subscribers, which is impressive but not enough to surpass Spotify. Both platforms offer nearly identical services at similar price points, with differences mainly noticeable from a technical perspective. If you are already using a YouTube subscription and are considering switching to Spotify for a change, there is no harm in doing so. You can enjoy a good experience with a few extra features at the same price
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