But is YouTube Music better than Spotify?
Find out in this complete comparison.
Spotify
As of November 2023, Spotify has more than 100 million songs in its catalog.
Many new artists also start by sharing their tracks on Spotify, which helps massively.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music hosts, like Spotify, more than 100 million songs.
The simple reason is because of the integration that YouTube Music has with YouTube.
Image Credit: John Tekeridis/Pexels
Nonetheless, the differences are marginal.
Winner:YouTube Music
2.
Apps and App Design
The Spotify and YouTube Music apps cover computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Nonetheless, the apps are designed differently and will therefore appeal to different users.
Here’s a YouTube Music vs. Spotify comparison for the apps and app design.
The Spotify app features a dark theme with neatly organized sections.
Here, the app will also recommend new podcast episodes and music that you may interest you.
The Search tab sits between Home and Your Library.
This is where you’ve got the option to quickly look for content you want to play.
You’ll also find their bio and upcoming tour dates.
YouTube Music has a well-designed app that features four tabs:
You’ll also find a search bar.
This works similarly to the Spotify Daily Mix feature.
Furthermore, you’ve got the option to discover recommended albums and more.
The Samples section features snippets of songs that might interest you.
Spotify included a feature similar to this in 2023, but YouTube Music’s version is still arguably better.
Spotify is the unquestionable winner here.
The design is more practical and its interface is much more intuitive.
YouTube Music has made numerous improvements, but it still needs some work before it can compete.
Image Credit: John Tekeridis/Pexels
Winner:Spotify
3.
Music Discovery
Is Spotify better than YouTube Music for music discovery?
Many people would say yes, but the differences aren’t as clear-cut as you may think.
Here’s a rundown of what Spotify and YouTube Music both offer in this respect.
For years, Spotify’s biggest strength has been its music discovery features.
Plus, Spotify hosts specific genres for moods and activities.
An automated radio station can be launched from any track or artist you like as well.
That’s not all.
Spotify’s algorithms curate special daily and weekly playlists for you.
Plus, you could check outSpotify sites to find new music and playlists.
you could evenuse Spotify’s AI DJto mix up your music stream with new track suggestions.
Although YouTube Music does have tools for discovery, these can often feel limited compared to Spotify.
YouTube Music is also useful if you want a service that makes decisions for you.
Despite YouTube Music’s benefits, Spotify is the clear winner here.
With Spotify, you have more control over what you’d like to listen to.
Search Functionality
Both YouTube Music and Spotify have a search function.
YouTube Music’s search results work similarly to Google and YouTube search.
You throw in what you want to search for and then can choose from the list of suggestions.
After selecting that, you’ll see a list of the top results.
Spotify, on the other hand, generates search results as you search.
So, you’ve got the option to quickly find what you’re looking for.
And if you’ve searched for a song based on the lyrics, you’ll seeLyrics matchwritten in text.
But from a music listening standpoint, Spotify is again more intuitive.
Podcasts
One area where Spotify easily beats YouTube Music is its ability to stream podcasts.
Spotify has a rich platform for podcasts, with topics galore to explore.
YouTube Music doesn’t boast podcast support yet.
Audio
YouTube Music’s streaming quality differs from Spotify.
But if you aren’t, that number is cut in half to 128 kb/s.
The maximum within the Spotify app is 320 kb/s for Premium users and 160 kb/s for Spotify Free users.
YouTube Music can play content at a bitrate of up to 256kbps AAC.
Moreover, Spotify has better flexibility when choosing either high-quality sound or data preservation.
For those reasons, we have to give Spotify the win here as well.
However, the differences are relatively small and most users won’t notice them.
If you consume a lot of YouTube content, you will likely find that to be pretty helpful.
Spotify has introduced a series of handy features.
you could read the lyrics for your song (if available), along with enabling crossfade between tracks.
Moreover, you might follow your friends and see what they’re listening to.
Pricing
Spotify has a free version, but this features ads that can get quite annoying after a while.
Students can get the service for just $5.99/mo, while a Family plan is $16.99 monthly.
Spotify vs. YouTube Music: Which Should You Choose?
Is Spotify better than YouTube Music?
Well, if you look at our categories assessed, Spotify comes out on top in most of them.
