Spotify
Free / Premium $12.99 per mo
Apple Music
From $10.99 per mo (no free tier)
Spotify has the best discovery, playlists, and a free ad-supported tier, but raised its individual price to $12.99 a month. Apple Music is $10.99, includes lossless and spatial audio, and integrates tightly with Apple devices. Spotify wins on experience and free access; Apple Music wins on price and sound quality.
Pick Spotify if you value music discovery, playlists, and podcasts, want to use it free, or listen across many non-Apple devices. The experience is still the one most people prefer.
Pick Apple Music if you are in the Apple ecosystem, want lossless and spatial audio included, and would rather pay $10.99 than $12.99 with no ads ever.
Spotify and Apple Music are the two giants of music streaming, and they have nearly identical catalogs of around 100 million songs. The decision rarely comes down to which songs are available. It comes down to discovery, sound quality, price, and which ecosystem you already live in.
The price gap is now the headline. After a January 2026 increase, Spotify's individual Premium plan is $12.99 a month, while Apple Music has held at $10.99 since 2022. That makes Apple Music at least $2 a month cheaper for individuals, and it includes lossless and spatial audio at no extra cost. Spotify, however, is the only one of the two with a genuinely useful free, ad-supported tier.
We compare price, sound quality, music discovery, podcasts, and how each fits your existing devices.
| Quick facts | Spotify | Apple Music |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes (ad-supported) | No (trial only) |
| Individual price | $12.99 per mo | $10.99 per mo |
| Lossless audio | Rolling out to Premium | Yes, included |
| Music discovery | Best-in-class | Good |
| Best for | Discovery + free access | Apple users + sound quality |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | S Spotify | A Apple Music |
|---|---|---|
| Free ad-supported tier | Yes | No |
| Lossless / hi-res audio | Rolling out | Yes, included |
| Spatial / Dolby Atmos | Limited | Yes |
| Podcasts built in | Best-in-class | Separate app |
| Discovery & algorithm | Best-in-class | Good |
| Cross-platform (Win, Android, web, car) | Excellent | Good |
| Family plan | ~$21.99/mo (6) | ~$16.99/mo (6) |
| Tight Apple device integration | Limited | Excellent |
Pricing and features change often. Always verify the current details on each product's official site. Last reviewed 2026-06-21.
Things neither product's marketing page leads with.
Apple Music is cheaper and includes lossless audio, but has no free tier — it is paid from day one.
Spotify's free tier is genuinely useful, but its individual Premium plan is now the more expensive of the two.
Sound-quality differences are real on good headphones but inaudible to most people on phone speakers or cheap earbuds.
The average person juggles a dozen subscriptions and forgets at least one. Subkept is a privacy-first subscription tracker: add Spotify, Apple Music, and everything else, then get renewal reminders, price-hike alerts, and a clear monthly total, with no bank connection, ever. Free for up to 5 subscriptions, no time limit.
See how the price has moved