Millions of songs in your pocket. What used to be unthinkable is now commonplace. This is made possible by music apps and streaming services. Not only can you find your favorite songs by your favorite artists, you can also discover new music that suits you thanks to recommendations based on your musical tastes. We present the best music apps for iOS and Android.
The best music apps at a glance
Spotify (iOS/Android)
Of course, we’ll start with the classic – Spotify. Founded in Stockholm in 2006, the streaming service has now attracted almost 170 million users. If you look at the functions and the sheer scope of the best-known music streaming service, its popularity is hardly surprising. You can access over 100 million songs here. Spotify’s business model is based on freedom of choice between different ways of listening to music.
Advantage: Spotify is one of the few music apps in the streaming sector that also offers a free model. However, you do have to accept a few restrictions. In addition to regular advertising interruptions, there is also no option to listen to saved music in offline mode. To avoid these restrictions, you have to opt for the premium subscription. To avoid buying a pig in a poke, you can test Spotify Premium for 30 days free of charge.
In addition to the large selection, Spotify also impresses in terms of compatibility. You can not only use the app for iOS and Android to enjoy music. In addition to the classic desktop version, more and more hi-fi devices also offer integrated Spotify Connect. Smart assistants from Amazon or Google also get on well with the Swedish streaming service.
Costs
- Free subscription available: Yes
- Premium account: 10.99 euros per month
- Premium account (student): 5.99 euros per month
- Premium Duo: 14.99 euros per month (2 Premium accounts)
- Family account (up to six profiles): 17.99 euros per month
Deezer (iOS/Android)
The next music app in our list once again has a familiar name – Deezer. The music streaming service may only have a fraction of Spotify’s community, but when it comes to music selection, the service is second to none. Here you get access to no less than 120 million songs.
Everyone is likely to find what they’re looking for. Apart from the song selection, you can also choose between more than 40,000 different radio stations with Deezer. As with Spotify, the portfolio also includes audio books and podcasts.
Deezer also differentiates between the free and premium versions. As with Spotify, the disadvantages of the free version are advertising and the lack of an offline mode. If you are undecided, you can try out the paid version as part of the 30-day trial.
A special feature of Deezer is “Flow”: Flow plays an automatic mix of your favorites and recommendations that match your taste. It’s the ultimate AI recommendation tool that learns, grows with you and combines your favorites with new discoveries, depending on how adventurous you are.
Cost
- Free subscription available: Yes
- Premium account: 11.99 euros per month
- Premium account (student): 5.99 euros per month
- Premium Duo: 15.99 euros per month (2 Premium accounts)
- Family account (up to six profiles): 19.99 euros per month
YouTube Music (iOS/Android)
While YouTube “only” excelled at streaming videos until some time ago, the company is now also active in the field of music streaming. YouTube is not reinventing the wheel here either. You can choose between a wide variety of songs from a wide range of genres.
What is exciting about YouTube Music, however, is the link to the video portal itself. For example, you can easily play the audio track of a YouTube video here. Accordingly, the app impresses with its enormous scope. The music app is also easy to use. You can tell that Google is in control. You can easily navigate from A to B and find the right song in a flash. YouTube Music also offers you location-specific music – if you allow it. If the location of your smartphone is activated, YouTube Music recognizes whether you are at home or on the freeway. Accordingly, the service plays either relaxing music or music for the perfect road trip.
Where it says YouTube on it, there is of course YouTube inside. So of course you can also watch the right music videos in the app. This is where YouTube Music has a slight advantage over the competition. However, some users will not be satisfied with YouTube Music. This applies to all those who not only like to stream music, but also podcasts or audio books. In this respect, YouTube Music is clearly at a disadvantage compared to the competition. If you still want to listen to audiobooks, you have to access the Google Play Music library. If you want to use the free version of YouTube Music, you won’t enjoy it for too long. After all, you cannot minimize the app in the free version without pausing the music playback. The same applies if you switch off the smartphone display. These disadvantages are eliminated in the premium version and the family account. YouTube Music also gives you the opportunity to use the premium version free of charge for 30 days on a trial basis.
Costs
- Free subscription available: Yes
- Premium account: 10.99 euros per month (12 months with 15 percent discount)
- Premium account (student): 5.49 euros per month
- Premium Duo: not available
- Family account (up to five profiles): 16.99 euros per month
Tidal (iOS/ Android)
Tidal is a streaming service in our list that has set itself the goal of delivering music in the best possible quality. It’s one of the best music apps out there. Here you get music playback in hi-fi or master sound quality in one of the ad-free but paid versions. The service is also impressive when it comes to music selection. It gives you access to more than 110 million songs. Anyone who describes themselves as an audiophile will definitely find what they are looking for here. Like YouTube Music, Tidal also offers over 250,000 videos in addition to the large selection of music.
Anyone who has previously shied away from streaming services due to inferior quality should be able to offer their high-quality sound system a good alternative to records and CDs with Tidal. The reason for this is that Tidal does not rely on standard resolution, but on high-resolution music enjoyment. With the special HiFi subscription, you can get millions of tracks not only in HiFi and MQA, but even surround sound such as Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio. Thanks to My Mix and My Video Mix, Tidal also creates playlists to suit you. The music app is based on your other listening and viewing habits.
Costs
- Free subscription available: Yes
- Premium account: 10.99 euros per month (12 months with 15 percent discount)
- Premium account (student): 5.49 euros per month
- Premium Duo: not available
- Family account (up to six profiles): 16.99 euros per month
Amazon Music Unlimited (iOS/Android)
It is common knowledge that shipping giant Amazon has long since stopped just delivering parcels. The world-famous company now also provides us with entertainment. In addition to the large selection of films and series from Amazon Prime Video, you can now also listen to lots of music thanks to Amazon Music Unlimited. If you have a Prime membership, you can already use Prime Music at no extra cost. However, if that’s not enough for you, you can also get an Amazon Music Unlimited membership.
Amazon doesn’t do things by halves with its music app either. Not only is the music selection growing, but the other audio offerings are also becoming more diverse. You can now not only listen to music. You can also enjoy exclusive podcasts and radio broadcasts of the Bundesliga. Amazon’s well-known AI “Alexa” ensures that Amazon Music can hardly be beaten in terms of simplicity. In combination with an Alexa-compatible device, you can control everything with your voice.
Cost
- Free subscription available: No (Amazon Music Prime free for Prime members)
- Premium account: 10.99 euros per month (9.99 euros for Prime members)
- Premium account (student): 5.99 euros per month
- Premium Duo: not available
- Family account (up to six profiles): 16.99 euros per month
Apple Music (iOS/Android)
As the name suggests, our next one on the list of the best music apps comes from the iPhone inventor. With its release in 2015, the streaming service was quite late to the game compared to Spotify, Deezer and co. Nevertheless, some regular users now rely on the extensive range of Apple Music. This is hardly surprising given the large selection of more than 100 million songs. As with other services from the tech company from Cupertino in California, users also enjoy the uncomplicated linking with other Apple services.
But just because Apple Music was predestined for iPhones and iPads doesn’t mean that Android device owners can’t access it. Apple’s streaming service is also available in the Google Play Store.
We think Apple Music’s search function is great. You don’t just have to search by title alone. Lyrics from the song are enough to find the right song. This will please all those who are often desperately searching for the names of song titles.
Apple Music also offers some exclusive releases – albums and songs that you won’t find in any other music app. There are also personalized playlists such as “Heavy Rotation” and “Apple Music Replay”, curated playlists from editors and digital radio stations that play suitable music 24/7.
Cost
- Free subscription available: No (30-day trial subscription available)
- Premium account: 10.99 euros per month
- Premium account (student): 5.99 euros per month
- Premium Duo: not available
- Family account (up to six profiles): 16.99 euros per month
SoundCloud (iOS/Android)
Last but not least, let’s take a look at another veteran in the field of music apps. SoundCloud was launched in Stockholm in August 2007. It’s not just the place of birth that coincides with Spotify. SoundCloud also has at least as much to offer as Spotify when it comes to selection. After all, the service offers by far the largest selection of music of all the music apps in our list. Why is that? Every artist and all those who want to become one can easily upload their songs here. And many musicians make use of this. After all, it’s not just a way for them to become known and, at best, famous. They also receive immediate feedback on their work.
In this respect, SoundCloud can prove to be a real treasure trove. Here you can discover unknown treasures that could potentially become a real hit in a few years’ time. It is precisely this extremely deep pool of countless artists from a wide variety of genres that makes SoundCloud so unique. Anyone who enjoys searching for unknown music highlights will definitely find what they are looking for here. But there is one downside. Friends of commercial music will not get their money’s worth. After all, many well-known titles are missing.
Costs
- Free subscription available: Yes
- Premium account: 4.99 euros per month (SoundCloud Go); 9.99 euros per month (Go+)
- Premium account (student): not available
- Premium Duo: not available
- Family account (up to six profiles): not available
Conclusion: The best music apps
Choosing the best music apps for you is a very personal and individual decision. There is no longer one streaming service that outshines all others. There are now many options in the world of music streaming, all of which have their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Do you attach great importance to the best possible quality? Or is a huge selection of music more important to you? How important are personalized playlists, recommendations for new artists based on your taste and other functions to you? It’s best to use the free versions or trial subscriptions of the providers (if available) to find your favorite and then decide based on your experience.