In 2024, music streaming services have become an integral part of our daily lives. With many options available, choosing the right platform can be daunting, especially when subscription prices keep rising. This guide will evaluate the best music streaming services, analyzing features, pricing, audio quality, and user experience.
1. Apple Music
As one of the most popular services, Apple Music continues to be a top-tier player in the music streaming industry. With over 100 million songs, exclusive releases, and personalized playlists, it caters to a diverse audience. Apple Music skyrocketed when they made their entire library hi-res almost immediately after Spotify’s initial HiFi announcement. Since then, Apple Music has only evolved and Spotify is still without hi-res as this article is being written.
Aside from having lossless and hi-res audio quality, Apple Music is also home to a lot of exclusive content. This includes artist interviews, music videos, and concerts. While you can expect more common things like personalized playlists, Apple Music has the most extensive library of spatial audio playlists in Dolby Atmos.
Pricing
- Individual Plan: $10.99/month
- Family Plan: $16.99/month (up to 6 users)
- Student Plan: $5.99/month
2. Tidal
Tidal is known for its high-fidelity sound quality and artist-centric approach. It is a favorite amongst audiophiles and music enthusiasts. You can expect over 80 million songs with its own exclusive content such as early releases, documentaries, and artist interviews. For a while, it was hotly contested whether or not Tidal offered true hi-res audio. This was due to their inclusion of MQA tracks, but Tidal dropped the format in favor of hi-res FLAC back in June of this year. This made Tidal even more favorable amongst the audiophile community. If you’re conscious about supporting artists, Tidal is very transparent about the percentage of revenue that goes directly to them.
Pricing
- Premium Plan: $9.99/month
- HiFi Plan: $19.99/month
3. Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Music Unlimited offers a comprehensive music library with 100 million songs, competitive pricing, and integration with Amazon Alexa and Echo devices, making it accessible for Amazon Prime members. In terms of audio quality, Amazon offers the same hi-res quality up to 24-bit 192kHz, but you don’t get as much supplementary content. Having this service as a plus to being a Prime member still makes Amazon Unlimited an attractive choice.
Pricing
- Individual Plan: $10.99/month
- Family Plan: $16.99/month (up to 6 users)
- Prime Members: $8.99/month
4. Qobuz
Qobuz is known to be one of the more niche music streaming services. Audiophiles who value high-resolution audio and extensive album notes, make it a respected option in the streaming space. What sets Qobuz apart from other hi-res services is the fact that it’s also a marketplace for purchasing music. This is great for people who want the best of both worlds of streaming and owning your music. You also get extensive reviews and editorial articles that are very detailed.
Pricing
- Studio Plan: $14.99/month
- Sublime Plan: $249.99/year (includes discounts on downloads)
5. Deezer
Deezer offers a varied music catalog with unique features like Flow, which creates a personalized soundtrack for users. In addition to its catalog of 90 million songs you also get an extensive range of radio and Podcasts.
Pricing
- Individual Plan: $9.99
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