Spotify is already pretty damn good, being one of the best music streaming services around. But there are ways to make Spotify even better, as these awesome web apps show. Way back in 2011, Spotify introduced third-party apps to its desktop client. Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services across the globe, with more than 200 million total users across 80 countries- now including India as well. Spotify has finally stepped foot in India after a lengthy hold-up and it brings in tow some of the best discovery and recommendation features to the netizens here.
Did you know there are also at least another 10 best apps like Spotify?
While it may seem like Spotify has it all, the app’s features are limited if you do not pay for a subscription. We have compiled a list of apps that offer other features and benefits, which might best suit your music tastes.
Thankfully, there are lots of great music apps available out there, to ensure you get the best possible experience. Read on for 10 best apps like Spotify that are helping millions of people each day to have access to their favorite the music.
1. Pandora
The popular website Pandora transitioned to an app for both Android and iOS products some time ago. The option of creating your own custom radio station has always been a central feature of Pandora but now you can also use this app on the go.
Spotify only allows users to have 20 custom stations while Pandora let’s you create up to 100, which gives you plenty of space to showcase your diverse musical taste.
Pandora definitely has the tools and interface to compete with Spotify. The only real downsides to using the free version of the Pandora app is that you can not listen in full as many popular on-demand tracks as you wish. Also, the app limits the amount of songs you can skip.
That said, the subscription fee for a premium user account is only $5, which is half the price of Spotify’s paid plan ($10). Currently Pandora is only available in Australia, New Zealand and the United States due to licensing and copyright concerns. If you’re based in any of these areas, this is definitely one of the best and most affordable apps around.
Pandora has also just launched a rebranded new version of its app with iMessage chat allowing you to message your contacts with the standard message features.
2. Deezer
Deezer, the French music service is another app similar to Spotify that let’s you listen to music on demand from their extensive library, including both the ability of a playlist creation and a cool playlist-rating feature.
Listen to radio stations and get access to “hear this”, a create your own tool that shows you new music based on your tastes and to “flow”, another great feature of the app. If you choose the paid subscription of Deezer you’ll be able to listen to your music offline from your mobile without any interruptions from ads or previews.
Popular Spotify Apps Free
For more offline listening options, check out these 4 music apps that don’t need Wi-Fi.
3. Google Play Music
Google Play Music is another music streaming option, where it’s free to store music you already have – up to 50,000 songs. You can use it anytime as long as you have an Internet connection. For full access to the rest of the music streaming features you’ll need to sign up for a $10 a month plan. On the bright side, you are allowed to purchase and download music onto your computer from Google Play Music, something that you can’t do on Spotify.
The main selling points are that you’re able to download and purchase music directly from Google Play Music, thanks to licensing and copyright coverage from the main Google Play store. This is an option many Spotify users wish they were offered too!
4. Tidal
New kid on the block Tidal owned by rapper Jay Z is also shaping to be an app in the same league as Spotify. One of the biggest reasons for it’s creation is to offer a music streaming option that favors artists, as more money are given directly to them, instead of going through more standard record label channels.
With a library of over 25 million songs and boasting more than 75,000 music videos in high-definition and exclusive video content not available anywhere else; Tidal is making quite the impression.
To be able to stay true to it’s word and provide a premium quality streaming facility, Tidal only caters to paid app users with multiple subscription options available ranging from $10-20 a month. While a little more expensive, you can sign-up for a free trial to see if it’s worth to you paying a little extra.
If you don’t want to pay to stream music, here are 5 best free apps to download music instead.
5. iHeartRadio
IHeartRadio offers more than just music streaming features; it’s also a live radio app. The live radio feature is a nice addition to the standard features. Of course you can’t skip show segments or songs when it’s live!
This app is very similar to Pandora as it gives users the ability to create their own radio stations. In terms of listening to the music on the live stations, all songs are played in full and you don’t have to pay extra to get access to the full music library.
Being able to stream radio and music from your phone makes it a popular choice for on-the-go users, with the ability to view all different types of radio and musical artists by genre.
6. Slacker
The proper name for this app is Slacker Radio. It doesn’t offer real radio stations but it has the feel of a real radio station as you can assemble huge playlists and even write comments in between songs.
Once choosing the paid subscription in Slacker you are able to use its music on-demand and listen to all of your favorite songs. While it might not be quite as big as Spotify is, it has a pretty big music library and it is definitely one of the best curated apps at the lower end of the price range, currently standing at $3.99 a month. This is for a Radio Plus plan, which gives you the power to listen offline, ad-free, and with unlimited skips music – something that other music apps haven’t managed to implement yet. The premium $9.99/month deal gives you full access to the radio station creation tools and all the other features.
7. SoundCloud
I’m going to be a little biased and announce that this is my favorite app for streaming music. When Soundcloud got a meaty iOS upgrade back in 2014, more people started to take note of this music-streaming app.
SoundCloud has flourished as a streaming app because it is heavily connected to social media. This means that it is easy to share any listenable track at a click. Free downloads are sometimes available through file sharing or you can directly download music from online stores.
You’ve got the ability to follow other users at Soundcloud- you can find and post new content by hitting the home button up top to get a musical based feed, showing what has been posted and reposted by those you follow. Just click ‘like’ to add songs to your ‘like collection’ and ‘repost’ to get songs on your personal Soundcloud stream page.
Create almost unlimited playlists (it’s advised to keep lists under 250 songs to help the app function better). By being a SoundCloud Go user, for $9.99/month, they make sure that you won’t have to see any paid ads, although these are infrequent compared to other music streaming apps when choosing the app’s free plan. It also gives you access to a lot of popular music charts that are only playable as a preview when you’re a free-user due to copyright and media laws.
8. Songza
Songza is an App that shows you playlists centered on your listening habits. There is also a time of the day it will ask you what you feel like listening to and thus be giving you playlists to match your mood, opposed to just letting you search for individual artists or songs.
The app is totally free with a clean, bright interface that makes it easy to swipe through playlists. There’s no advertisements on the app and if you like a playlist you can save it or go back to see what you’ve been into most recently.
The Songza app moved over to Google Play in January after being bought by Google – read on to find out all the features now available since it’s transition. Things are certainly looking up for Songza even though it isn’t as traditional as other music streaming apps – it offers you something that is unique and if you really want to do the searching yourself you can, by why bother when Songza knows what you like?
Popular Shopify Apps
9. YouMusic
Specific to Windows Phone, this app is integrated into the standard Windows phone music player and allows to stream YouTube videos. That’s right you can finally get YouTube music videos without restrictions if you have Windows 8/8.1 phone!
So while YouMusic doesn’t offer you all the features of the other music streaming apps, you can still access most music from there and add it to the YouTube playlist function. The app also keeps running outside of the app so feel free to get on the move. Download it from the store.
Free Spotify App
10. SoundHound
Spotify App For Android
SoundHound has an audio detection, which allows you to find what song is playing, helps you track songs you’ve already heard or even ones you haven’t heard yet, as it knows what you’re into.
Download Spotify Radio App
Easily stream or download music from a comprehensive library and import music from your phone if you want to add it to a playlist. A simpler interface, but still great to use and you can pick it up for free from the Windows or Google Store. For more awesome free music streaming apps click here.