Streaming services have transformed the way we listen to music, and two services in particular have taken the world by storm: Spotify and Apple Music. These services allow people to curate playlists, share them with the public, and discover new music and artists. When deciding which streaming service to purchase, many people have recently gotten into a heated debate on whether Spotify or Apple Music is the better app. There are many factors to consider when making this decision; including price, sound quality, accessibility, and more. Depending on which of these factors you prioritize, your opinion will vary on which app is best.

The first factor to consider is the price of the two services. Spotify offers both a free and a premium version of the app, which has different prices as well as features. Spotify premium costs $10.99 a month, with an additional month-long free trial. On the other hand, regular Spotify is free but comes with some disadvantages. On free Spotify, your listening experience will sometimes be interrupted by ads, whereas premium does not include ads. Another disadvantage to the free version is that you are only allowed to skip six songs per hour, whereas the premium version offers an unlimited amount of skips. Though the free version does come with some disadvantages compared to the premium, it is nice to have the option to spend nothing on a streaming service app.

This is not the case with Apple Music. Apple Music offers one version of the app which costs $10.99 a month, just like Spotify Premium. When it comes to pricing, Spotify is the better app as it has options on spending, giving its users room to decide whether or not they want to spend money on the app.

“Even though I have the premium version now, when I first got Spotify, I used the free version. Spotify is much better because even if you use premium, you have the option to use a free plan unlike Apple Music,” said sophomore Gabriella Nunes.

Another factor to take into account is the layout and styling of the two apps. Spotify’s background is black with green lettering in the logo, whereas Apple Music has a white background with red lettering. To many, Spotify is more appealing to look at due to the app’s layout in comparison to Apple Music.

“When I’m in the mood to listen to music, I don’t want to look at a stark white background. Aesthetically, Spotify is so much prettier than Apple Music with its black background and white lettering,” said junior Hailey Won.

Spotify and Apple Music also provide a feature that gives an overview of the user’s year of music, with specific statistics describing each user’s music taste. Spotify’s version of this is called Spotify Wrapped, while Apple Music’s version is called Apple Music Rewind. Spotify Wrapped’s fun colors, exciting format, and detailed statistics beat Apple Music’s rewind in the eyes of many.

“I have both apps and Spotify Wrapped is better than Apple Music Rewind because Spotify’s stats are more detailed,” said sophomore Charles Sheehan.

On the contrary, there are people who feel that the controversy between the two apps is unnecessary as they both achieve similar goals: allowing people to listen to music. Many people are in favor of Spotify, as they feel it is much better than Apple Music. Meanwhile, many Apple Music listeners feel that the idea that Spotify is better is untrue, as they feel that Apple Music is just as good.

“I don’t really get the controversy, because both apps do the same thing,” said senior Phoebe Abrahms, an Apple Music user.

Both Spotify and Apple Music offer interesting features that attract many different users, but many people feel that Spotify comes out on top due to the app’s connectivity, aesthetic, and price point.