Spotify

Stream music and podcasts

4.7•584 reviews•

6.3K followers

Stream music and podcasts

4.7•584 reviews•

6.3K followers

Visit website

Podcasting Tools

Discover new music, podcasts and listen to your favorite artists, albums, or create a playlist with the latest songs to suit your mood.

The Best Spotify Alternatives

The best Spotify alternatives are YouTube Music, Deezer, SoundCloud, Voxify - Songs & Podcasts, and MUBR.

YouTube Music

4.6 ·

Choose YouTube Music if...

✓you want YouTube-only tracks and uploads
✓you already pay for YouTube Premium
✓you prefer stronger algorithmic discovery sessions

See details ↓

Deezer

4.8 ·

Choose Deezer if...

✓you want Flow-style radio that stays enjoyable
✓you need built-in song identification with SongCatcher
✓you care about strong sound quality and library

See details ↓

SoundCloud

4.7 ·

Choose SoundCloud if...

✓you hunt for emerging artists and unreleased tracks
✓you listen to DJ mixes and remixes often
✓you want a creator-first community vibe

See details ↓

Voxify - Songs & Podcasts

Choose Voxify - Songs & Podcasts if...

✓you want a free, ad-free music app
✓you mainly use Spotify free and hate ads
✓you’re open to trying a newer service

See details ↓

MUBR

4.4 ·

Choose MUBR if...

✓your friends use both Spotify and Apple Music
✓you want real-time friend listening updates
✓you prefer social discovery over algorithms

See details ↓

What to Consider

Spotify remains the default for on-demand streaming thanks to its polished apps, massive licensed catalog, and playlists that fit almost any mood. But the alternatives landscape is less about “more songs” and more about different ways to listen: YouTube Music leans on YouTube’s long-tail library and bundles neatly with YouTube Premium, Deezer differentiates with Flow-style personalization and extras like SongCatcher, and SoundCloud is the go-to for emerging artists, remixes, DJ mixes, and unreleased tracks. On the edges, newer options like Voxify position around a free, ad-free experience, while companion apps like MUBR focus on social discovery across Spotify and Apple Music rather than replacing your streamer outright.

In evaluating Spotify alternatives, we considered how broad and unique the catalog feels (including YouTube-only and creator-uploaded content), the quality of recommendations and “radio/flow” sessions, pricing and bundling value, ad and subscription friction (including regional payment/availability issues), and day-to-day usability factors like performance, bugs, and notification/ads intrusiveness—plus whether the product is best as a full replacement or a complement for discovery and community.

YouTube Music

A music app from YouTube

4.6 · 21 reviews

Learn more →

A bigger “effective” catalog is YouTube Music’s main advantage, because it blends official releases with the long tail of YouTube uploads that often never make it to Spotify. That makes it a strong pick for niche genres, live sessions, edits, and one-off tracks where completeness matters more than purely label-licensed coverage.

It also stands out as a two-for-one subscription when paired with YouTube Premium, combining ad-free YouTube viewing with a full music app. For people who already spend hours on YouTube, this bundling can outperform Spotify on pure value and reduce the need to juggle separate subscriptions.

On the listening side, YouTube Music is built for effortless, algorithm-driven sessions, with recommendations that can feel especially good for long “set it and forget it” stretches. The trade-off is that occasional UI shifts and rough edges can be distracting for users who want a stable, minimal music-first interface.

Best for

Best for listeners who want YouTube-only tracks plus strong algorithmic discovery, especially if they already use YouTube Premium.

Standout features

✓YouTube-native catalog beyond licensed streaming
✓Bundled with YouTube Premium benefits
✓Strong recommendation-driven continuous listening
✓Great for niche, indie, and live content

Deezer

Get the most effortless audio entertainment for you.

4.8 · 5 reviews

Learn more →

Deezer is a compelling Spotify alternative for people who want a familiar streaming setup but with a different take on personalization. Its Flow experience is designed to keep music enjoyable and relevant without constant micromanagement, making it ideal for hands-off listening that still feels tailored.

Beyond recommendations, Deezer adds practical extras that Spotify users may miss, like SongCatcher for identifying music playing around you. That single feature can turn Deezer into a more complete “music companion” app when discovery happens offline, in public, or at events.

Deezer also emphasizes a large catalog and strong sound quality, while keeping core tasks like browsing and playlist sharing straightforward. The main compromise is that performance can occasionally feel slower than the snappiest mainstream apps, but the feature set can be worth it if Flow and SongCatcher fit the routine.

Best for

Ideal for music fans who want strong personalization plus built-in song identification in a Spotify-like service.

Standout features

✓Flow personalized endless listening
✓SongCatcher music identification
✓Large catalog with strong sound quality
✓Easy playlist sharing and usability

SoundCloud

"Connect on SoundCloud".

4.7 · 21 reviews

Learn more →

SoundCloud wins when the priority is what Spotify can’t reliably offer: emerging artists, unreleased tracks, and scenes that live outside major-label distribution. It’s less about a perfectly curated mainstream catalog and more about staying close to what’s new, raw, and experimental.

The platform is especially strong for mixes, remixes, DJ sets, and edits that often disappear from traditional streaming services. If listening habits lean heavily toward long-form sets or genre communities with frequent bootlegs and unofficial releases, SoundCloud can feel essential rather than optional.

SoundCloud also offers a more direct creator-to-listener ecosystem, where feedback and community are part of the product rather than an afterthought. Trade-offs include more variability in audio quality and availability by region, plus a pricing jump if ad interruptions become a deal-breaker.

Best for

Best for listeners and creators who live on remixes, mixes, and emerging-artist discovery beyond mainstream streaming catalogs.

Standout features

✓Unreleased tracks and independent uploads
✓DJ mixes, remixes, and long-form sets
✓Creator community and interaction tools
✓Discovery for niche and early-stage artists

Voxify - Songs & Podcasts

Where Silence Sings and Stories Whisper

Learn more →

Voxify - Songs & Podcasts is positioned around a simple promise that contrasts sharply with Spotify’s free tier: an ad-free experience while staying primarily free. For listeners who mostly want uninterrupted playback without committing to a premium subscription, that value proposition is the headline reason to consider it.

Because it aims to remove ad friction, Voxify can be attractive as a lightweight daily driver for casual listening and podcasts, especially for people who feel priced out of premium plans. It also appeals to users who prefer trying newer, focused apps rather than sticking to the biggest ecosystem by default.

The key trade-off versus Spotify is maturity: the long-term shape of the product, catalog depth, and the durability of its free-first model matter a lot for anyone switching full-time. Still, if ads are the primary pain point, Voxify’s direction targets that problem directly.

Best for

Best for budget-conscious listeners who want an ad-free music and podcast app without subscribing.

Standout features

✓Ad-free listening experience
✓Free-first approach to streaming
✓Music and podcasts in one app
✓Simple alternative to ad-heavy free tiers

MUBR

explore what your friends listen to on Apple Music & Spotify

4.4 · 7 reviews

Learn more →

MUBR takes a different angle from Spotify alternatives by focusing on social discovery rather than replacing your streaming library. It’s built for seeing what friends are listening to in real time, which is especially useful when your circle is split across Spotify and Apple Music.

Instead of relying only on algorithms, MUBR turns “friend activity” into the primary feed, making it easier to find music through real people and shared context. That can be more motivating than playlists when the goal is to stay connected and trade recommendations casually throughout the day.

The upside is lightweight, cross-platform visibility that Spotify alone can’t provide for mixed-platform groups. The downside is that the experience depends heavily on execution—if the app feels sparse, slow, or ad-heavy, it can lose out to more established social scrobbling tools and built-in streamer features.