Every Major Music Streaming Service, Ranked

The way we consume music has drastically changed over the past few decades.We've come a long way from vinyl records to CDs, and then from buying music on online platforms to streaming audio at will. Nowadays, audio streaming has become ubiquitous in such a way that pretty much nobody listens to music in any other form. No matter which app or service you use, streaming movies, shows, and audio has become extremely simple and affordable, making it the default option for most people. However, there are a plethora of music streaming apps and services out there with various different perks. Some offer lossless audio, while others offer a massive library with social features that cater to the Gen-Z audience.

Owing to this, you may be confused as to which music streaming service is the most suitable for you. Should you opt for YouTube Music just because someone recommended it to you, or should you go with Tidal to please the audiophile in you? Should you just play it safe and opt for Spotify? We'll try to answer all of these questions by ranking all the popular music streaming services based on multiple factors like music library, ease of use, features, and pricing. By the end, you should be able to decide which one's for you.

Deezer emerged in 2007, primarily for the European market. The service is home to over 120 million music tracks, making it a popular destination for several audio enthusiasts. What also caters to enthusiasts is the fact that Deezer supports music playback in line with the competition at 1411kbps. So, you can expect high-quality audio output from the service. Apart from the high bitrate audio, a standout feature on Deezer is the ability to upload MP3 files. If you're someone who used to purchase music online or have a bunch of MP3 files lying around on your PC, you can upload them to Deezer and enjoy that music offline while you continue to stream newer tracks via the app.

While this is a bonus feature, Deezer isn't too popular for a couple of reasons. First, the free tier has quite a lot of ads, and the app doesn't let you skip many. This may lead to frustration in the long run. Other services like Spotify also have ads, but they aren't as incessant as those on Deezer. Deezer's music discovery and social aspects also fall behind compared to the competition, putting it in the last spot on this list. Not to forget, its unavailability in several countries across the globe doesn't help its cause either. It's also not the cheapest at $11.99 per month.

One of the biggest USPs of SiriusXM is its massive library of channels. Whether it's music, sports, news, comedy, or just plain talking, the sheer amount of content on the platform is immense. If you get bored of streaming music, you can quickly switch to a different channel to get sports updates or listen to debates. It helps that the platform also focuses on the user experience since several channels on SiriusXM are totally ad-free, so there are no unnecessary interruptions. The service even gives you a three-month free trial, during which you can determine whether or not you wish to pay for the service going forward.

When you're not on your phone or computer, SiriusXM can also be accessed via satellite radio, making it a good companion when you're driving. While these are nice perks, it's important to note that SiriusXM isn't an on-demand music streaming service, so you cannot pick what song you want to hear next. You are at the mercy of the channel operator to play music, so you have to listen to what's currently being played. Some users may also dislike that the free, ad-supported tier on SiriusXM is limited to a few channels only. Once the trial concludes, you will compulsorily have to pay a rather steep $23.99 per month for the service if you wish to continue accessing all channels on the platform.

If you've been on the internet for over two decades, you may be aware of Napster. The service began in 1999 and was originally a peer-to-peer file transfer service. However, it didn't last long as was soon taken down due to copyright infringement. Fast forward to a few years later, developers breathed new life into Napster, but this time with a different moniker — Rhapsody. Rhapsody began as a music-streaming service and still continues to be a solid option with over 110 million tracks across various genres. The app was renamed back to Napster in 2016 and has grown in popularity ever since — primarily because the platform claims that it pays its artists higher than most other streaming services.

While this is definitely beneficial to artists (especially those who aren't part of a music label), the app lacks some basic features that keep users hooked on to it. For instance, it doesn't have any social integrations or offer hi-res audio like a few of its competitors. Lossless audio is present, but not for all tracks. Just like Deezer, Napster also doesn't have a large library of music from certain regions, making it less appealing in some parts of the world. The music discovery is said to be good, but that's not sufficient in today's world to make consumers switch from a popular app, especially at $10.99 per month.

One of the major reasons Amazon Music is so popular is because a subscription to the service is included when you pay for Amazon Prime. So whether you purchased Prime to watch your favorite shows on Amazon Prime Video or for next-day delivery of your Amazon parcels, you're going to get a free subscription to the company's music streaming platform too. That's definitely a bonus since Amazon Music has a large catalog of music from all over the world, putting it right up there with Apple Music and Spotify. If you don't happen to have a subscription, Amazon Music also has a free tier that's supported by ads.

Since it's developed by Amazon, the service syncs seamlessly with Alexa so if you have an Echo smart display or speaker, you can use your voice to play any song of your choice. If you subscribe to the Unlimited tier, you also get access to Audible's audiobooks along with the ability to stream HD-quality audio. While these are all excellent perks, there are two issues with Amazon Music that put it in the sixth spot. First, the UI on the smartphone app looks extremely clunky and dated. It badly needs a refresh to match the competition. Then, there's the issue of discoverability and recommendations. Services like YouTube Music and Spotify offer much better recommendations based on your listening patterns. As a result, most users — even with an Amazon Prime subscription — end up paying for an alternate music streaming service.

YouTube Music undeniably has the largest collection of music on any streaming platform due to one main reason — it fetches music from YouTube too, so you not only get access to official versions of tracks but also to covers, remixes, karaoke versions, instrumentals, and whatnot. This is a massive benefit in its favor since it's unique to the platform. YouTube Music's discovery algorithms are also excellent since the app tends to recommend music based on your taste after it learns your listening patterns. Then, there's the ability to watch music videos while you listen to songs since the platform can fetch them directly from YouTube. Finally, the smart search feature is extremely handy, and you can look for a song with the help of its lyrics in case you don't know the name.

With so many upsides, you may be wondering why the platform ended up at the fifth position. Well, it loses out on a better ranking primarily due to its sub-par UI and the lack of lossless audio quality options. While the UI elements are certainly better than those on Amazon Music, the interface still feels dated and lacks polish. Despite being priced at $11.99 per month (which is higher than the following option — Tidal), YouTube Music doesn't have a lossless tier like some other services, making it less value for money compared to the competition. Notably, if you have a subscription to YouTube Premium, you also get a subscription to YouTube Music's ad-free tier.

There was a close fight between YouTube Music and Apple Music for the fourth and fifth spots, with the latter eventually ranking better thanks to a much better UI and a lossless tier. Not to forget, Apple Music also has support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos when using AirPods or a few other pairs of headphones, making the audio experience all the more immersive. Given Apple's dominance in the smartphone market in North America, it also makes sense to use Apple Music by default since it's the brand's first-party app that comes pre-installed on all iPhone models. If you're a part of the Apple ecosystem, the app is also natively installed on a Mac and Apple Watch, making it seamless for the user to switch between devices.

While the catalog isn't as extensive as YouTube Music, the polished interface and immensely better audio quality make up for it. Then, there's the ability to view the lyrics of songs in real time, so if you're singing along with your friends, this is a useful feature. Notably, the family plan has a surprisingly low subscription fee of $16.99/month and can be shared with up to six members — making it an extremely value-for-money offering. It's one of the very few Apple products you can say this about. Despite these upsides, Apple Music's recommendation engine needs a few updates since it's certainly not among the best in the industry.

Tidal is well-known for its high-quality music streaming experience thanks to Hi-Res FLAC support. You're essentially looking at 24-bit/192kHz audio tracks, which provide excellent fidelity. The app also supports playing Dolby Atmos content for extra immersion. Apart from the sheer quality of tracks, there are a few other perks of using Tidal as your music streaming platform. For example, you can also view music videos on the platform and listen to the audio itself. Then, there are some exclusive tracks or albums from certain artists that are only available to listen to on Tidal. If you're a hardcore music enthusiast, these advantages will certainly appeal to you. Tidal also supports artists by paying them more per stream compared to most other platforms, while there's also a dedicated section for music from up-and-coming artists.

Most aspects of Tidal are excellent, barring the price. Since you get top-class audio quality, the subscription cost is quite high compared to the competition — at $19.99 per month for the lossless tier. This can deter many, especially in countries where services like YouTube Music and Apple Music are available for a fraction of the price. It's also worth noting that Tidal's library — while large — is not as vast as some other options, so you may not find tracks from foreign languages or other regions. 

Qobuz's claim to fame is its CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz audio streaming option alongside the 24-bit/192kHz FLAC tier offered by Tidal. While the audio quality is unmatched, it's worth noting that the library predominantly consists of classical, jazz, and world music. Owing to this, you may not find a few of your favorite tracks on the app, so you'll have to default to using an alternate service for those. While it may seem like a hassle, the sheer lead that the platform has in terms of streaming quality trumps any minor inconvenience. Apart from streaming music, Qobuz also offers a store to purchase music, a community to discuss all things music with like-minded individuals, and content like artist interviews, music reviews, and curated playlists for its subscribers.

Surprisingly, a subscription to Qobuz can be had for $12.99 per month (even lower if you opt for the annual plan) which is more affordable than Tidal. However, the app isn't available in many regions, so if you're not based in Europe or North America, you may not be able to use the service, or you'll have to resort to using a VPN, which creates friction for the end consumer. But, if you love going into the depths of music, Qobuz is an excellent service that delivers what it promises — high-quality music. 

Unsurprisingly, Spotify ranks as the top streaming service on this list. Several factors contribute to this. For starters, Spotify has a massive album, regardless of the type of music you listen to or wherever you're based in the world. Apart from music, Spotify also has podcasts, so users can experience a variety of content when they're on the app. Not to forget, the app's UI is fantastic and easily among the best on this list. It's slick, modern, and consistent across platforms. Finally, Spotify's recommendation algorithm and discovery make it stand out, along with social features like the ability to follow your friends, share playlists with them, etc. Not to forget, features like Spotify wrapped at the end of each year make it a flaunt-worthy service on social media.

While all of this is fantastic, Spotify doesn't offer a lossless tier as of yet, but that's expected to change in the near future. This can be a bummer for enthusiasts, but it shouldn't really matter to the masses. There is a free version of the app available, which is nice, but it's filled with ads, so we recommend getting a subscription since the base tier is quite affordable at $10.99, or there's a family plan for $16.99 per month, which can be shared among six users. Overall, Spotify should be the first choice of music streaming app for most people due to its simple UI and wide library.

As you can tell from the description of each streaming service, each platform has certain pros and cons, leading to the fact that no service is perfect. Unfortunately, there's no one-stop solution for everyone's needs. This is why we considered multiple parameters to rank the music streaming services and guide our readers to pick the one that's best for them. The primary considerations were obviously music quality, catalog, and pricing. Once these were out of the way, smaller nuances like the ability to read lyrics, watch music videos, listen to covers or remixes, and others came into the picture. Undeniably, the UI of an app or service also plays a big factor in determining if it can be used regularly.

After testing all of the services mentioned above based on these metrics, we decided to rank them to make the decision simpler for consumers who are considering subscribing to a music streaming service or are planning to jump ship from one provider to another.