9 Best Music Streaming Services of 2026

Apple Music gives you more audio for less money than Spotify, at least on paper. The Individual plan is $11.99 a month after the free first month, and it already includes lossless audio and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, plus free access to the separate Apple Music Classical app. The Family plan at $19.99 covers up to six people through Family Sharing, each with their own library, and verified students pay $6.99. The catalog is over 100 million songs, and features such as real-time lyrics, Apple Music Sing and AutoMix make it feel polished on an iPhone. Apple also publishes apps for Android, Windows, Sonos and smart TVs, so it is not locked to Apple hardware, though some features such as AutoMix require current Apple software. The weaknesses are the lack of any free tier and recommendations that many listeners find less adventurous than Spotify's. For Apple households, Apple One can bundle it with other services.

Spotify is the default choice for a reason: it covers music, podcasts and audiobooks in one app, and its plan lineup fits almost every household. The free ad-supported tier lets anyone start without a card, and Premium Individual costs $12.99 a month after a one-month trial. Couples at one address can share Premium Duo for $18.99, families get up to six accounts with parental controls for $21.99, and verified students pay $6.99 with a Hulu plan included. Premium now streams lossless audio up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz, which closes most of the gap with rivals for everyday listening, though Tidal and Qobuz go further for high-resolution files. Premium also adds 15 hours a month of audiobook listening, but on shared plans only the plan manager gets those hours. The main drawback is price: at $12.99, the single plan sits a dollar above Apple Music and Tidal.

Tidal is the easiest way to get true high-resolution streaming without paying a hi-fi premium. Its Individual plan costs $11.99 a month in USD, the same as Apple Music, and the Max quality setting streams HiRes FLAC up to 24-bit, 192 kHz, with standard lossless FLAC at 16-bit, 44.1 kHz on the High setting. You can set quality separately for Wi-Fi, mobile data and downloads, and turn Dolby Atmos on or off. The Family plan covers up to six members for $19.99, students pay $6.99, and two DJ plans add mixing features for $19.99 or $14.49 for students. Tidal says its catalog passes 180 million songs. The tradeoffs are a shorter country list than the biggest services, no free tier in its published plans, and a smaller social and podcast side than Spotify. To hear the difference at 192 kHz you also need a capable DAC and a wired or strong Wi-Fi connection.

Amazon Music Unlimited is the full on-demand service, separate from the smaller music selection that comes with Prime. It offers 100 million songs ad-free, HD and Spatial Audio, and ad-free top podcasts, and Amazon now includes one Audible audiobook each month in the plan. After a 30-day trial it costs $12.99 a month, or $11.99 if you already pay for Prime, which makes it cheaper than Spotify for Prime households and competitive with Apple Music. It works well with Alexa speakers and Echo devices, which is where many people already use it. The tradeoffs are a less social app than Spotify, fewer collaborative and sharing features, and value that drops for anyone without Prime, since the full price matches Spotify's. Amazon also pushes users to its own devices and apps more than rivals do. If you shop on Amazon and listen through Alexa, it is an easy, sensible choice.

YouTube Music wins on breadth of material rather than audio quality. Alongside official albums, it pulls in the covers, remixes, live sets and music videos that only exist on YouTube, and you can switch a song between audio and video with one tap. Google says the app covers over 100 million songs, videos and live performances. Without paying, you get mixes and curated playlists; Premium removes ads and adds offline downloads and background play with the screen off. The Family plan lets you add up to five members aged 13 or older in your household, and a Student plan requires annual verification. New members get a one-month trial. The weaknesses are a busier interface than Apple Music, fewer published details on audio quality than Tidal or Qobuz, and the fact that our location showed only local currency, so we could not confirm the US price for this update. For heavy YouTube users it is a natural fit.

Qobuz is built for people who listen closely. Every plan streams lossless audio, from CD quality at 16-bit/44.1 kHz up to Hi-Res FLAC at 24-bit/192 kHz, and Qobuz says it works in all its apps with no restrictions. The Studio plan starts at $10.83 a month, which is the price with annual billing, and comes in Solo, Duo, Family and Student versions; the Family plan covers up to six accounts for $17.99 a month. Sublime, from $14.99 a month, adds discounts of up to 60% on Hi-Res album purchases, which suits collectors who still want to own files. The catalog passes 100 million tracks, and weekly editorial articles and expert playlists add context that algorithm-led apps lack. The downsides are a plainer interface, fewer automatic mixes than Spotify, no free tier and a headline price that depends on paying for a year. For a hi-fi system, it is the strongest choice here.

Deezer is a strong, less obvious alternative to Spotify. Its signature feature is Flow, an automatic, endless mix that blends your favorites with new tracks and can be tuned by mood or style. Paying subscribers get High Fidelity lossless sound, and Deezer labels tracks that its detection flags as AI-generated, which matters as more machine-made music appears on streaming platforms. It also lets you import your library and playlists from other services, shares tracks with friends on any platform, and offers lyrics, a song identifier and monthly and yearly listening recaps. Plans include Premium, Student, Duo and Family for six accounts, with a one-month free trial for new subscribers and an annual discount. Deezer says its artist-centric payment system supports every artist who is streamed. The drawbacks are a smaller presence in the US than the big four and the fact that we could only see local prices from our location, so the US price is pending.

Pandora is the simplest service here, and that is its appeal. You start a station from an artist, song or genre, give thumbs up or down, and it learns your taste. The free tier is ad-supported. Pandora Plus, at $5.99 a month or $65.89 a year when bought on its website, removes ads from stations and adds more skips, replays, offline listening and higher quality audio. Pandora Premium, at $11.99 a month, adds full on-demand search, custom playlists and offline access to your music. Premium Family covers up to six accounts for $19.99, and Student and Military plans cost less, with Military at $9.99. The catch is availability: Pandora works only in the US, and Plus is still radio rather than a true on-demand library. It also publishes fewer audio quality details than Tidal or Qobuz. For lean-back listening on a budget, nothing else here costs less.

SoundCloud is less a replacement for Spotify than a different kind of library. Artists upload their own tracks, so it is full of independent releases, remixes, bootlegs and DJ sets that never reach the bigger services. Listening is free with ads. Go removes ads and lets you save unlimited tracks offline with high quality audio, with a seven-day trial. Go+ adds full catalog access and mixing in select DJ apps, comes with a 30-day trial, and directs your subscription into fan-powered royalties for the artists you play. Students can get Go+ at half price. Artist plans for uploads, boosting and distribution sit alongside the fan plans. The downsides are that Go+ is not available everywhere, including at our location, the app is built around discovery rather than tidy album libraries, and we could not confirm US prices for this update. For fans of underground scenes, it fills a gap the others leave.