Spotify, Pandora and Napster are some of the most popular music streaming options available. They allow you to enjoy music on the go and they offer extensive catalogs featuring well-known artists, as well as new acts. These services offer free versions or allow you to try the service for free before paying for a subscription. The paid versions offer more features and allow you to enjoy convenient options like offline playback and better sound. We will go through some of the main features supported to help you decide which of these services is the best option for you.
Pandora
Although there are other options available, Pandora, Spotify and Napster are leading names, particularly in the United States. Pandora is only available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and it is different to the other services since it mainly focuses on offering a custom radio station that suits your personal preferences. In order to enjoy an ad-free experience, you can opt for Pandora One, which allows you to enjoy the curated radio experience on the go. Pandora One costs $36 when you subscribe for one year, which means that the monthly cost is $3.99 per month. Pandora Plus gives you unlimited skips, replays and offline listening. It costs $4.99 per month.
One of the reasons to prefer Pandora over other options is that it is a fantastic way of discovering new music. You can create playlists and once they are set up, you can listen to them at any time. The only downside is that unless you have Pandora Plus, which allows you to skip as many times as you want, creating a playlist that suits your taste can take some time. What you can do is to get around the limited skips is to use multiple devices so that you can skip tracks beyond the 12 per day limit established.
Spotify
Spotify’s convenience, affordability and flexibility have allowed it to become the favorite option for millions of users around the world. This streaming service is the most popular option when it comes to on-demand streaming. The free version features ads but it allows unlimited skips on desktop. The free mobile version has limited skips. When you upgrade to the premium version, you get unlimited skips, high quality sound and access to offline mode. The monthly price for the premium version of Spotify is $9.99. Spotify is also great for discovering new music since it creates a playlist every week, bringing you songs that you may like, based on what you listen to. The on-demand functionality makes Spotify ideal for creating playlists and you can even listen to full albums. The free service is fantastic and you can search for specific songs, or browse through the radio stations and recommended albums available.
Napster
Napster made history in the early 2000s as it became one of the first online options to download music. It faced a lot of opposition from the music industry and it eventually disappeared…At least for a while. Last year, Rhapsody became Napster and it offers millions of songs from independent artists, as well as classic and well-known bands. Creating playlists is simple thanks to the Playlist Maker. As you set up a playlist, Napster shows you suggestions based on your selection and the music that you usually listen to. You can easily add songs to your playlists, include animated GIFS from GIPHY and share your playlists with others. One of the unique features that Napster offers is the Music Match, which looks for users who have a similar music taste and it gives you recommendations. You can access the playlists created by others. You can try Napster for free for 30 days and if you are happy with the service, you can subscribe for $9.99 per month.
Other options
Google Play
Google Play Music offers high audio quality that it supports and it supports free cloud backups. The service works on a variety of platforms and you can stream your music from the cloud, or download it. You can store thousands of songs and once you have added them, they can be played on your computer or using the app on your mobile. Although Google Play Music can be used for free, it is only possible to access radio stations with ads and listen to songs that you have uploaded to the service. To get access to more music and all the features available, you can get the paid service. A single account costs $9.99 per month, and a family account costs $14.99 per month.
Amazon Digital Music/Amazon Unlimited Music
Amazon offers a great collection of music in different genres including Rock, Classical, Blues, Latin and R&B. It is possible to buy music and some albums cost less than $4, while some songs cost less than $1. The catalog is easy to browse and you can get recommendation based on your selections. The Amazon Music Unlimited service is a convenient option that allows you to get access to millions of songs. Amazon Music Unlimited costs $9.99 per month, or $7.99 per month for Amazon Prime members. The paid service allows you to listen to music without ads and you can skip as many times as you want and listen to your favorite songs in offline mode.
