I spent weeks A/B testing Apple Music and Spotify across an iPhone and a Pixel, AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, a Sonos home theater, and in the car. After living with both daily, my verdict is clear: Apple Music is the better overall music streaming service for most listeners, even though Spotify still leads in discovery and spoken-word content.
Audio quality, lossless streaming, and Spatial Audio formats
Apple Music’s audio stack is its trump card. Lossless streaming up to 24-bit/192 kHz is included at no extra charge, and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is widely available on hit releases and catalog remasters. On AirPods and my Sonos setup, Atmos mixes delivered a larger soundstage and clearer instrument separation on tracks from Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, and Deutsche Grammophon’s orchestral recordings. Even Apple’s standard AAC streams sounded cleaner than Spotify’s at the same volume in my testing.
- Audio quality, lossless streaming, and Spatial Audio formats
- Catalog depth, curation strengths, and discovery features
- Pricing differences, bundled perks, and plan options
- Apps, ecosystem integrations, and cross-device support
- What the market says about users, subscribers, and scale
- Final verdict after real-world testing across devices
Spotify’s ceiling remains 320 kbps Ogg Vorbis for music. The long-promised lossless tier still hasn’t rolled out broadly. For casual listening, Spotify sounds fine; for critical listening or high-end gear, Apple’s Lossless and Atmos provide a tangible upgrade.
One caveat: Atmos support on Android can be inconsistent depending on device and headphones. On my Pixel, Apple Music occasionally defaulted to stereo on Atmos-labeled tracks, while iPhone and Sonos playback was consistently spatial. That variability matters if you’re not in Apple’s hardware ecosystem.
Catalog depth, curation strengths, and discovery features
Both services claim catalogs of around 100 million tracks, and both have deep archives of live sessions and exclusives. The difference lies in how new music finds you. Spotify’s algorithmic slate—Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daylist, and the AI DJ—remains the industry benchmark. During my test window, Spotify drove roughly 30% more new saves to my library than Apple Music.
Apple Music has improved with Discovery Station, personalized mixes, and strong editorial curation across genres. It excels at surfacing high-quality albums and live recordings rather than just viral singles. For listeners who prefer human-led programming, Apple’s approach feels intentional and less repetitive over time.
Pricing differences, bundled perks, and plan options
In the U.S., Apple Music’s Individual plan is $10.99 per month; Spotify Premium is priced higher in my market at $11.99. Family, Student, and Duo tiers are available on both. Apple’s value improves with Apple One, which bundles Music with TV+, Arcade, and iCloud storage for a discounted monthly rate. Lossless and Spatial Audio remain included at no extra cost on Apple.
Spotify counterpunches with breadth. Premium includes podcasts and, in supported regions, 15 hours of audiobooks each month, with an option to buy additional time. Features like Page Match make bouncing between a printed page and audiobook seamless. Apple separates these experiences: podcasts live in Apple Podcasts; audiobooks in Apple Books, outside the Music subscription.
Apps, ecosystem integrations, and cross-device support
Both apps are fast, stable, and available on iOS, Android, desktop, web, smart TVs, and speakers. Spotify Connect is still the gold standard for hopping playback between devices; it works almost everywhere, including game consoles and a wide range of smart speakers.
Apple Music’s ecosystem benefits are substantial if you own Apple hardware. AirPlay 2, Siri, HomePod handoff, Apple Watch offline playback, and Apple TV integration feel deeply baked in. Apple’s live radio shows, artist interviews, and music videos add a polished media layer that pure music services often lack. On Android, Apple Music is more capable than many expect, with robust features and Chromecast support, though certain spatial features depend on device compatibility.
Socially, Spotify’s Wrapped remains a cultural event, and tools like Blend and collaborative playlists are excellent. Apple has closed the gap with Replay upgrades, collaborative playlists, and emoji reactions, though Spotify still feels more communal day-to-day.
What the market says about users, subscribers, and scale
According to recent company earnings, Spotify now counts over 600 million monthly active users and more than 240 million paying subscribers, underlining its discovery-driven scale and podcast dominance. Apple does not break out Music subscriber numbers, but MIDiA Research continues to rank Apple Music a solid No. 2 globally by share, with a strong presence among iOS users. The IFPI’s Global Music Report notes that streaming accounts for over 60% of global recorded-music revenue, so leadership in this category matters.
Final verdict after real-world testing across devices
If you prioritize audio quality and listen primarily to music, Apple Music wins. The combination of included Lossless, Dolby Atmos, and excellent device integration is hard to beat, and it’s slightly cheaper in many regions. If you live for algorithmic discovery, podcasts, and audiobooks, or you value cross-platform flexibility above all, Spotify remains a superb choice.
For my daily listening, I’m choosing Apple Music. It makes my favorite albums sound better, it fits the gear I already own, and it keeps surprising me with high-quality live sessions and radio content. Spotify still owns discovery, but Apple now owns my ears.
