When it comes to streaming music, the options are plentiful. Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music have all become household names, but there are plenty of other options available as well. This guide will help you figure out which service best suits your needs so you can spend more time listening to your favorite artists rather than researching your options.
Apple Music
If you’re an Apple user, Apple Music will probably be your best bet as a streaming service because it integrates seamlessly with all of your other Apple products. It also has more than 30 million songs available on demand and has a radio station called Beats 1 that broadcasts 24/7. But if you’re not an Apple user, it might not be worth paying $10 per month just to use its streaming service—especially when there are free alternatives like Spotify and Deezer that have similar music libraries and mobile apps.
Amazon Prime Music
At $99 per year, Amazon Prime Music’s free two-day shipping and access to Amazon Original shows and movies are what really make it worth subscribing. If you’re not an Amazon customer already, Prime membership may be just as good a deal, but beware of its limited catalog; rival services like Spotify and Apple Music offer more songs.
YouTube Music
Like Deezer, Google's YouTube music streaming service was recently revamped and released in Canada as well as worldwide (except in South Korea). Unfortunately, there's no free option like on Spotify, but you can get a family plan with six accounts for $15/month - which is what Spotify offers its users after they've already paid $9.99/month to listen ad-free with unlimited access to its catalogue of songs.
Deezer (or similar services)
Despite a number of name changes (most recently from Rhapsody) and a host of executive-level shakeups, Deezer has remained a highly effective service over its 15 years of existence. It’s essentially an on-demand streaming service that caters to audiophiles with large libraries, but which offers limited social interaction compared to other options. If you don’t need on-demand access or are looking for something more affordable, Deezer might be best avoided.