Cheaper Alternatives To Spotify Premium

Spotify has become something of a cultural touchstone. When many of us think of apps for streaming music, it's often the first one that comes to mind. Most would agree that Spotify has more than earned its place at the top of the music app streaming podium. While Spotify wasn't the first music streaming platform ever created, it was among the first to popularize the freemium model, where users could listen to music for free as long as they were willing to put up with a few ads. For those who didn't mind paying a few dollars, Spotify Premium let them stream music without any ads and download songs for offline listening for what many considered a reasonable price.

Today, well over 200 million people subscribe to Spotify Premium, and it's the world's most popular music streaming app. Spotify is constantly adding new features like AI playlists to improve the user experience. At the same time, the company has raised prices on its premium service twice since 2023, making it one of the most expensive music streaming services and leaving some customers wondering if it's time to move on from the platform. After a three-month Spotify Premium trial, you'll pay $11.99/month for the individual plan, $16.99/month for Duo (two premium accounts), $19.99/month for the family plan (up to 6 premium accounts), and $5.99/month for the student plan. Fortunately, there's no shortage of Spotify alternatives that offer many of the same features as the music streaming giant, some at a lower cost.

Whether you're enjoying all of the perks of being an Amazon Prime member or just on the lookout for a standalone streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited is an affordable alternative to Spotify. Like Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited has a free three-month trial period for new subscribers that auto-renews if you don't cancel the service. The individual plan is $10.99/month or $9.99/month for Prime members, while the family plan is $16.99/month with no Prime membership discount. The service also has a single-device plan for use with an eligible Echo or Fire TV device and a student plan for $5.99/month.

Amazon's subscription music service includes 100 million songs in HD, millions of songs in Ultra HD, the most ad-free top podcasts, expert-programmed playlists and stations, and the largest catalog of Audible audiobooks. One audiobook per month is included with the subscription. The service also supports spatial audio and features thousands of songs in Dolby Atmos and 360 reality audio. You can download songs and playlists for offline listening. The more you listen to the service, the better it gets to know you, and will make personalized recommendations based on your listening habits.

If you own an iPhone or other Apple device, there's a good chance you already use Apple Music and know about some of the platform's top hidden features. However, you don't have to own an Apple device to use the music streaming service; Android and PC users are equally welcome. Apple offers a free trial of up to three months with the purchase of an eligible device; all other new users get a one-month free trial. After that, users pay $10.99/month for the individual plan, $16.99/month for the family plan (the account can be shared with up to five people), or $5.99/month for the student plan.

Apple Music's catalog includes over 100 million songs plus playlists put together by experts. You can use Siri or Type to Siri to bring up any track or playlist you want to listen to. The platform features exclusive shows, live concerts, and artist-hosted radio stations — both live and on-demand. You can listen to songs in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos audio, giving you the sensation the music is surrounding you. All of the songs in the Apple Music catalog feature lossless audio, meaning they maintain the same quality as the original recordings. When you subscribe to the service, you also get access to the Apple Music Classical app, which is home to the largest collection of classical music in the world. You can download 100,000 songs to your library and access them online and offline across your devices.

When many of us think of YouTube, watching countless videos on autopilot comes to mind. While it's true that YouTube is arguably one of the best platforms for video content, it's also made its presence known in the music space with its premium music service. For those who decide to make the move to YouTube Premium, there's even a free tool that can help them transfer their playlists from Spotify, so they don't have to start over from scratch. A subscription to YouTube Music costs $10.99/month or $109.99 annually (a savings of 15%) for the individual plan, $16.99/month for the family plan (add up to five family members), and $5.49/month for the student plan.

You get access to over 100 million songs, videos, and live performances when you sign up for the service, all without any ads. Like most music streaming platforms, YouTube Music has curated playlists for users to choose from, or you can create your own. Unlike other services, YouTube doesn't spend a lot of time talking about its audio quality, and that's probably because it's lacking when compared to other platforms, topping out at 256 kbps when in High and Always High modes, whereas Spotify streams at up to 320 kbps when set to its Very High mode. Still, YouTube Premium can be an attractive option for those looking for access to official music videos along with audio content.

As one of the best music streaming services for Hi-Fi audio, Tidal is home to over 110 million songs in lossless, HiRes FLAC, and Dolby Atmos audio. Tidal is well known for paying artists higher royalties than other music streaming platforms and has a program called Tidal Collabs that helps artists get their music in front of listeners. When you sign up for the services, you get a 30-day free trial. Once the trial is up, the service costs $10.99/month for the individual plan, $16.99/month for the family plan, and $5.49/month for the student plan. The individual and student plans are eligible for the DJ extension, which costs an additional $9.00/month. 

Like other services, Tidal creates curated playlists based on your listening preferences, and if you're looking for new music to listen to, you can check out Artist Radio for fresh tracks. Users can also join a live session to listen to music with friends, family, and other fans in real time. As you'd expect from a premium service, you can listen to tracks offline.

SoundCloud doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of the other music streaming services, but it does have a large audience of listeners looking for everything from mainstream releases to independent artists and DJ mixes. The platform has a catalog of over 400 million tracks from more than 40 million, with new music being added regularly. SoundCloud has two premium plans: SoundCloud Go and SoundCloud Go+.

SoundCloud Go is $4.99/month after a seven-day trial and includes ad-free listening and the ability to save unlimited tracks to listen to when you're offline. All of that comes with SoundCloud Go+, along with access to the full catalog, the ability to mix tracks within select DJ apps, and high-quality audio. SoundCloud Go+ is $10.99/month after a 30-day trial. If you're a student, you'll pay $5.49 for SoundCloud Go+. As a Go+ subscriber, you're contributing to fan-powered royalties every time you listen to music on the platform.