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It may not seem like it at first glance, but YouTube was always perfectly positioned to take over music streaming. You might already know that Google is the most popular search engine in the world, but not many people know that the second most popular search bar that people type things into is YouTube. Now that Google Play Music (RIP) has officially transformed into YouTube Music, its worth asking how it stacks up against some of the other most popular music streaming services. In this article were going to be comparing it specifically to Spotify to see which one is worth your money.

Editors note: this versus article was updated on September 28, 2021, to make information more timely.

What are the differences between the free version of Spotify and YouTube Music?

While both Spotify and YouTube Music offer premium subscription plans, it isnt required. Both services offer decent tiers that let you access the service for free. Of course, be prepared to be blasted with ads if you go this route. It isnt just ads that get in the way, both services cap streaming quality: the free YouTube Music option tops out at 128kbps and free Spotify maxes out at 160kbps on mobile. Its true that neither of these services are known for their superior sound quality, but Spotify announced Spotify HiFi, an upcoming premium tier of its service which will rival Tidal HiFi and Amazon Music HD.

Spotify and YouTube Music both have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to UI design.

Aside from the streaming quality, there are also limitations on functionality. Free Spotify limits your search ability. You cant select individual songs and must instead choose songs from select playlists. On Spotify, you cant skip more than six times if youre on a mobile, nor can you download music for offline listening. Neither of these limitations exist on YouTube Music.

The free version of YouTube Music also has some annoying limitations.

Before you go dancing off to use YouTube Music though, you should know that its not all sunshine and rainbows. The free version of YouTube Music also has notably annoying limitations. For example, if youre on mobile you cant leave the app andlisten to music simultaneously. When you turn off your phone screen, it cuts off your music. This isnt a problem on desktop (you can just open up a new tab in your browser), but its really annoying if youre using a smartphone.

What content do they offer?

Spotify offers both music and podcasts side by side.

If youre torn between Spotify and YouTube Music, this is the section that will most likely be the deciding factor for most. Both are primarily music streaming services but that isnt all they offer. Lets start with Spotify. The company is one of the most popular music streaming services in the world, and offers tons of music. The music library numbers in the tens of millions.

The company has also been making a huge push to dominate podcasts. It has your popular podcasts and exclusives from people like Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Michelle Obama. True, you might not really care about what any of those people have to say, but you have to admit those are some big names. If Spotify is willing to spend that amount of cash just on a few podcasts, it clearly has big plans for this part of its business down the line.

Spotify is making a huge push into podcasts.

While there are certainly plenty of podcasts that are uploaded to YouTube in video form, its by no means a priority of the service. Meanwhile, Spotify added video support to supplement their podcasts. You can, of course, use a separate app also owned by Google, Google Podcasts, to listen to your favorite shows but it would be nice if they were accessible in the same place. Where Spotify falls short is where YouTube Music excels: songs that are off the beaten track. This includes covers, remixes, and any kind of live jam that a user might upload.

I also found some songs I had never even heard before.

While poking around YouTube Music, I not only found mixtapes from some of my favorite artists that arent available on Spotify (like this one) but I also found some songs I had never even heard before. For example: Blue Room by Chet Baker is one of my favorite jazz pieces, and I had no idea that there was a gorgeous a capella version until coming across it on YouTube Music. The same thing happened with this Frank Sinatra song that I was unable to find on Spotify or Apple Music.

In YouTube Music you can toggle between the full video or just the audio.

These random finds that slip through the cracks of the major publishing deals Spotify signs makes YouTube Music worth it. As long as someone, somewhere uploads it the chances are you can listen to it. And if you cant find a song anywhere on the platform, you can plug the gaps by uploading your own library. If you were a Google Play Music subscriber that already did this, YouTube Music also has a handy tool to transfer it all over automatically so you dont have to go through the entire process again.

YouTube Music also takes advantage of its huge music video library. When you conduct a search for a song you can either let the video play or, if you want to save some data, hit the song toggle up top which will just serve you the audio. If all you really care about is song availability then its hard to beat what YouTube Music has to offer.

Is Spotify or YouTube Music better for music discovery?

Both services do a good job at recommending new music once they get to know your listening habits.

Listening to your own music library is all well and good, but eventually youll run out of things to listen to. Thats why music discovery is very important. Both of these services use a mixture of algorithms and curated playlists to show you new artists and songs you might like. While YouTube Music isnt bad at this, Spotify is the master of algorithm-based music discovery.

Spotify has been putting on a masterclass in algorithm-based music discovery for years.

YouTube Music has its own version of this called You Mix, which is an endless playlist of music that the algorithm thinks youll enjoy and its truly impressive. Once it learned my preferences, I rarely found myself skipping songs. Basically whichever service you choose, you likely wont be disappointed once the algorithm gets to know your listening habits.

Just like regular YouTube, the strength in YouTube Music lies in its user-generated content.

Then there are the editorial playlists offered by both services. In this aspect its safe to say that Spotify has the clear lead here just in terms of how many playlists it offers, organized by moods, genres, and more, but its had more time to make them. Im sure YouTube Music will catch up soon though.

YouTube Music vs. Spotify: Pricing and plans

Depending on how much you pay for data, it might be a good idea to save your favorite tunes for offline listening.

Pricing between the two services is almost identical. A subscription for an individual will run you $9.99 USD/month on both platforms and student plans are also both $4.99 USD/month. Then theres the family plans which are also identically priced at $14.99 USD/month for up to six accounts. This is the point where things start to differ. Spotify has a Duo membership for two people to share thats priced at $12.99 USD/month which works for couples.

Spotify occasionally has random promotions where you can also get Hulu added on for an extra $3 USD so it might be worth checking that out too if you want to bundle your music and video services together. YouTube Music also has its own version of a bundle, and I bet you can guess what video service gets bundled here. If you sign up for YouTube Premium ($12.99 USD/month), which lets you watch YouTube videos ad-free, you get access to YouTube Music thrown in. In that instance, YouTube Premium is a great value.

Which has better sound quality, YouTube Music or Spotify?

The YouTube Music interface is a weird mashup of YouTube and Spotify.

As these are both music streaming services, its only right that we talk about the sound quality. For the best streaming quality, you need to look at Tidal, Amazon Music HD, or Deezer. Thats not to say that either of these services sound bad, theyre fine.

Choosing the highest quality on Spotify will get you a stream of 320kb/s using AAC, while YouTube Music maxes out at 256kb/s and also uses AAC. Technically Spotify wins out here, but the actual number fluctuates depending on your connection. You might be kicked down to a lower streaming rate if you have a poor connection. Plus, unless you have some seriously good equipment to A/B test on you likely wont be able to hear the minute differences here. Once Spotify HiFi is released, it will offer CD-quality lossless audio playback, which is 1411kb/s.

Other features you should pay attention to

There are a few odds and ends to pay attention to that differentiate Spotify from YouTube Music. They might be enough to draw you to one or the other but thats something youre going to have to try out for yourself. Neither service feels intuitive: Spotify rarely shows me what I want without a few extra clicks and while the filters on the YouTube Music search is cool, Im sure there is a better way to display the results than a just a list.

Spotify and YouTube Music both have the option to cast, but theyre not compatible with everything.

Each service also has its own Cast functionality, which is great if you want to play your music on a smart speaker. I prefer Spotify Connect as it doesnt forget that its connected to a speaker halfway through a song like Google Cast constantly does. But again, which one is best for you really depends on your particular setup. Some receivers and speakers might be compatible with just one or the other (or neither). So make sure to check whether the service you choose plays nice with your existing hardware.

So which one is right for you?

Between YouTube Music and Spotify, Spotify is the safer bet for most people.

Both apps are available on desktop and mobile.

Even still, the choice between Spotify and YouTube Music really depends on what youre looking for in a streaming service. If you value podcasts then youre better off with Spotify, but YouTube Music excels at surfacing random music.

Theyre also both priced similarly so youre not missing out on much there, and while Spotify technically has a higher bitrate you likely wont be able to tell the difference unless you find a particularly bad upload of a song on YouTube Music.

Next: Bandcamp review