Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music – a great comparison 2025

Streaming is now the main and (practically) only way people, today, listen to music. For many years it was Spotify that led the way when it came to such services. Relatively recently it was (to the delight of users) that other sensible options appeared on the horizon. While we are aware that there are many other streaming services available on the market, it seems that most people are leaning towards Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. So here we have compiled everything you need to know about Spotify vs YouTube Music vs Apple Music. We’ll also focus on which is the best choice in 2025.

Price

Spotify Free

Unlike Apple Music, Spotify allows you to use the service for free – but with a few limitations. Perhaps the most noticeable and most annoying “Afflictions” of the free plan are ads and the inability to play songs in any order. You can find the other differences in the table below:

Spotify Premium – price list

However, for those who want to listen to music “without limits,” Spotify has prepared 4 different plans “tailor-made for everyone.”

1. Individual plan: price is PLN 23.99 per month. Access to the entire music library without ads, listen to music offline – 1 premium account.
2. Duo plan: the price is PLN 30.99 per month. It offers the same benefits as the individual plan, but is designed for two users.
3. Family plan: for $37.99 per month, you get access for up to 6 people. In addition, it includes Spotify Kids, a dedicated app for kids, and parental controls – a nice addition.
4. Student plan: available for £12.99 per month for students. It offers exactly the same benefits as the individual plan, but at a reduced price.

You can read more about the plans available on Spotify Premium here.

Youtube Music – price list

Youtube Music, like Spotify, also comes in a free version however, laced with a fair amount of ads. For sensible music listening, it is best to choose one of the available, three subscription plans. Of course, in addition to YouTube Music without ads, you also get access to YouTube Premium. You can read about whether it’s worth buying it in 2025 here: Is it worth buying YouTube Premium in 2025?

1. Individual Plan: the price is £25.99 per month. You get access to YouTube Premium, YouTube Music without ads, playback with the screen off, and the ability to play songs offline.
2. Plan For Families: for PLN 46.99 per month, you get access for up to 6 people. It offers exactly the same benefits as the individual plan.
3. Student Plan: available for $14.99 per month for students. Offers exactly the same benefits as the individual plan, but at a reduced price. Requires annual verification of student status.

You can read more about the plans available on the YouTube Music service here.

Apple Music – price list

Unfortunately, in the case of Apple Music, things are no longer so colorful when it comes to the free version – for it does not exist. So the only way to enjoy the service is to purchase one of the three available subscriptions.

1. Individual Plan: price is PLN 21.99 per month. Access to 100 million songs in high quality without ads.
2. Family Plan: for $34.99 per month, you get access for up to 6 people. It offers exactly the same benefits as the individual plan.
3. Student plan: available for £11.99 per month for students. Offers exactly the same benefits as the individual plan, but at a reduced price. Requires annual verification of student status.

You can read more about the plans available on the Apple Music service here.

Interface

Spotify

Spotify’s interface is known for its convenience and intuitiveness. The home page presents recommendations based on user preferences, latest releases and playlists. The navigation menu provides quick access to various sections, such as Browse, Library, Radio, etc. In the Library, users can browse their favorite songs, albums, playlists and podcasts. Spotify also offers a radio function and stations based on artists, songs or mood so users can discover new music according to their taste.

Youtube Music

The YouTube Music interface also offers personalized recommendations on its homepage, based on the user’s listening history and preferences. Browsing is done through sections such as Discover, Hotlist, Library, etc. The Library contains saved songs, albums, playlists and radio stations. A unique feature of YouTube Music is the ability to watch official music videos of songs directly from the app, giving an extra dimension to the music.

Apple Music

After logging in, the user is on the home screen, which presents recommendations based on his or her listens, playlists and albums. The top navigation menu provides quick access to various sections such as Library, Search, Radio, etc. In the Library, users can browse their favorite albums, songs, playlists and music videos, as well as manage purchased songs. The search function allows users to quickly find their favorite artists, albums, songs and playlists. Once a song is selected, the player’s screen presents album art and options to play, rewind and share the song.

Sound quality

Here, for the moment, Apple leads the way – when it comes to sound quality. The lossless compression format developed by the Cupertino-based company is called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). The entire Apple Music catalog is now encoded not only with the AAC codec, but also with the ALAC codec, providing quality from 16 bits/44.1 kHz (CD quality) to 24 bits/192 kHz.

Spotify is planning to introduce (maybe someday we’ll finally get it) a new subscription, called Spotify Hi-Fi or Spotify Supremium, which will offer music in 24-bit FLAC format. For now, however, this feature is not available, and the sound quality on Spotify depends on your Internet connection and subscription plan. The free plan offers audio quality of up to 160 kbit/s, while Premium subscribers can enjoy audio up to 320 kbit/s.

It is worth noting that the sound quality on YouTube Music is mainly dependent on the recording quality of the original song. Because of which, unfortunately, the quality of many songs is very limp….

Availability of works and number of users

Spotify has reached an all-time record number of users in 2025, surpassing experts’ predictions. The service is already used by more than 600 million people, 236 million of whom have opted for a paid subscription. The service is available in 187 countries, offering listeners access to more than 100 million songs, 5 million podcasts and 350,000 audiobooks.

In comparison, Apple Music, although available in 167 countries, is projected to have 112 million users worldwide in 2025. Still, it lags behind Spotify in terms of the number of users worldwide. There are more than 100 million songs and 30,000 playlists available on the Apple Music platform.

Also worth mentioning is the YouTube Music service, which has also seen an increase in popularity in 2025. This service is widely available, covering many countries around the world. Although there is no detailed data on the number of users in 2025, it can be assumed that this platform has attracted a significant number of listeners thanks to its unique offerings, including more than 100 million songs, official music videos, live concerts and much other music content.

Spotify – advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of Spotify Premium

• No commercials: There are no annoying commercial breaks, so you can listen to music without interruption.
• Offline music: You can download your favorite songs, albums and playlists to listen to them offline, which is very useful when traveling or in places where you don’t have internet access.
• Probably the most accurate song-matching algorithms: Of the three, Spotify was the one that was best at arranging new playlists and suggesting upcoming songs.
• Access to the entire library: You have full access to Spotify’s entire library, including new albums and songs from artists around the world.
• Ability to skip songs: Unlike the free version, which has a limited number of skips, the premium version allows you to skip unwanted songs when you want.

Disadvantages of Spotify Premium

• Poor sound quality compared to Apple Music: Spotify clearly stands apart from Apple Music in terms of sound quality.
• Significant price increase for available subscriptions: The recent increase has clearly affected the number of Spotify Premium users.

YouTube Music – advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of Youtube Music

• Ad-free: YouTube Music Premium subscribers can access music without annoying commercial interruptions, allowing them to listen to their favorite music without interruption.
• Offline mode: users can download songs and playlists, allowing them to listen to music even without an Internet connection. This is useful, especially when you are in a place without internet access, but still want to enjoy music.
• Access to YouTube Premium: When you subscribe to YouTube Music Premium, you also get access to YouTube Premium, which means no ads on YouTube and access to exclusive content such as YouTube Originals videos and series.
• Access to the entire YouTube library: With a YouTube Music Premium subscription, users have access to the huge library of songs (100 millin) of music available on the YouTube platform, meaning they can find virtually any song they want to listen to.

Disadvantages of Youtube Music

• Worst sound quality in comparison: Unfortunately, YouTube Music clearly lags behind Apple Music and Spotify Premium in terms of sound quality.
• The worst UI of the three: The control buttons are well laid out, but the usability and intuitiveness of most of them is not as ideal as we would like.

Apple Music – advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of Apple Music

• Extensive music library: Apple Music offers a huge library with millions of songs, giving users access to a wide range of music from different genres and artists.
• Integration with the Apple ecosystem: For those using Apple devices, Apple Music offers deeper integration with the Apple ecosystem, making use of the service seamless and convenient.
• Offline mode: Apple Music users can download their favorite songs and playlists to listen to them offline, which is especially useful when traveling or in places where internet access is limited.
• Highest song quality of the three: It is Apple Music that has the best quality of streamed content. Perhaps Spotify Hi-Fi will someday equal Apple in this regard – we’ll live to see.
• Exclusive content: Apple Music offers exclusive content such as live concerts, artist interviews and exclusive song premieres, making the service attractive to music fans.

Disadvantages of Apple Music

• Very poor selection of compilations: Here Apple Music needs to concretely catch up with its competitors in terms of song selection, very often the next in line was a song completely “unglued” from my tastes.
• Limited collaboration: Apple Music works noticeably better on the Cupertino-based company’s products than on, say, Android or Windows.

Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music – which to choose in 2025?

So what to choose in 2025? The answer, unfortunately, will not be clear. If you are interested in high quality streaming audio and, for example, own devices with a bitten apple, then here the choice is simple – Apple Music will be unbeatable. However, if you like good song matching, a huge number of compilations and unbeatable compatibility with many devices, go for Spotify. Such a “golden mean” is undoubtedly Youtube Music – available at a reasonable price, with high compatibility for multiple devices, and with a wide range of music tracks. If you “get over” the mediocre sound quality you get a really nice service, as well as access to Youtube Premium (!).