Spotify
Free / Premium $12.99 per mo
YouTube Music
Free / Premium $11.99 per mo (or via YouTube Premium $15.99)
Spotify has the best discovery and a polished free tier, at $12.99 for Premium. YouTube Music is $11.99 and adds YouTube's huge catalog of live versions, remixes, and covers, and is included free with YouTube Premium. Spotify wins on experience; YouTube Music wins for heavy YouTube users.
Pick Spotify if you value music discovery, playlists, podcasts, and the most polished apps, and want the option of a strong free tier.
Pick YouTube Music if you watch a lot of YouTube (the bundle is the real win), or if you love live versions, remixes, and covers the studios never released.
Spotify and YouTube Music both stream the major-label catalog, but YouTube Music has a unique edge: it also taps YouTube's enormous library of live performances, remixes, covers, and rare uploads you will not find on Spotify. Spotify counters with the best discovery in the business, the most refined apps, and a genuinely useful free tier.
On price, YouTube Music Premium is $11.99 a month, slightly under Spotify's $12.99. The bigger consideration is bundling: YouTube Music comes included with YouTube Premium ($15.99), so if you already pay to watch YouTube ad-free, you effectively get the music service for nothing extra.
We compare price, catalog, discovery, the YouTube Premium bundle, and offline features.
| Quick facts | Spotify | YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes (ad-supported) | Yes (ad-supported) |
| Premium price | $12.99/mo | $11.99/mo |
| Included with YouTube Premium | No | Yes ($15.99) |
| Unique catalog | Official tracks | Remixes, live, covers |
| Best for | Discovery + experience | YouTube power users |
Each row reflects the feature on each product's current public release.
| Feature | S Spotify | Y YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|
| Free ad-supported tier | Yes | Yes |
| Official studio catalog | Yes | Yes |
| Live versions, remixes, covers | Limited | Huge (via YouTube) |
| Discovery & algorithm | Best-in-class | Good |
| Bundled with ad-free video | No | YouTube Premium |
| Podcasts | Best-in-class | Limited |
| Cross-platform apps | Excellent | Good |
| Offline downloads | Yes | Yes |
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.
YouTube Music is cheaper and unbeatable for live and rare tracks, but its discovery and app polish trail Spotify.
Spotify's experience is the one most people prefer, but it costs $1 more and is not bundled with ad-free video.
If you already pay for YouTube Premium, paying separately for Spotify means buying music twice.
The average person juggles a dozen subscriptions and forgets at least one. Subkept is a privacy-first subscription tracker: add Spotify, YouTube 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