Select the Best Music Services Apple music vs Spotify vs Tidal vs Google play

"It is said that Apple has challenged the old brand Spotify with streaming music service. Has Apple Music already eclipsed Spotify, then? I know that there are other popular music streaming services as well such as Google play and Tidal. Which music streaming service is the best?"

It might be known to all that there are several big and popular players in music streaming, but you need only one and the one you like best in your daily life. Nowadays, there are 4 music streaming services that are most commonly used, including the latest brand Apple music, the free service supplier Spotify, the music streaming service follower Tidal and Google Play, etc. To know which service is the best, let's make a comparison of Apple music vs Spotify vs Tidal vs Google Play here from different aspects.

Part 1: Brief introduction: Apple music vs Spotify vs Tidal vs Google Play

1. Apple Music

Apple Music is a music and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc, which offers music streaming service and internet radio station beats 1 that broadcasts live to over 100 countries 24 hours a day. Besides, users can also listen to existing, curated playlists with Apple music. New subscribers off Apple music has got a three-month free trial period. After that the service becomes paid-only. It becomes much more popular due to the prevailing of Apple devices especially iPhone and iPad. Apple music you purchased or rented is protected in DRM that restricts you from enjoying it beyond Apple devices unless you remove DRM from Apple music and convert it. After that, you may play apple music on xbox one while gaming as well as transfer it to any devices else.

2. Spotify music

Spotify is a music streaming platform developed by Swedish company Spotify AB. Spotify has been currently available in 78 countries and regions throughout the world as of 2008. Spotify offers free music service as well as paid service with DRM-protected content from record labels and media companies. Besides, with more than 40 million songs offered for Spotify users, it is also available for most modern devices including Windows, macOS, and Linux computers, iOS, Windows Phone and Android smartphones and tablets, and more.

3. Tidal (service)

Tidal, maintained by the Norwegian company Aspiro AB, is a subscription-based music, podcast and video streaming service. Launched in 2014, it combines lossless audio and high-definition music videos with exclusive content and special features on music, and offers two levels of service: Tidal Premium (lossy quality) and Tidal HiFi (lossless CD quality). It is claimed that its impressive high fidelity and lossless audio quality as well as higher subscription fee result in higher royalties to the artists and songwriters.

4. Google Play Music

As a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google, Google play serves as the official app store for the Android operating system, allowing users to browse and download applications. On November 16, 2011, it publicly launched Google Play Music service which is a music and podcast streaming service and online music locker marketed by Google. Google music not only allows music to be listened for free users but also to be stored and listened to offline users.

Part 2: What's the difference: Apple music vs Spotify vs Tidal vs Google Play

After knowing some basic information of Apple music vs Spotify vs Tidal vs Google play, you will be familiar with some differences between them. To know which one is the best, let's make a detailed comparison from the featured aspects of them, including the music catalog, music quality, subscription, subscribers and audiophile.

Music catalog

Comparing music catalog of Apple vs Spotify vs Tidal and Google play music, you will clearly know which one offers the most collection of songs. There are nearly 50 million songs available for Apple music users to stream to their device on demand. The Tidal service has over 60 million tracks and 240,000 music videos, which is available for 53 countries. While Spotify is available for 78 regions and countries around the world, offering more than 40 million songs. Google play music provides its users with 40 million songs and allows its users with standard accounts to upload and listen to up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries without costing a penny. In this round, Tidal might be the winner.

Amount of users/subscriber

When comparing Apple vs Spotify vs Tidal 2018 for its subscribers and users, you know that there are more than 200 million active users and more than 87 million paying subscribers on Spotify as of 2018. And Apple Music rapidly gained popularity so that as of Dec. 2018, it has got 56 million subscribers logging in. Tidal has claimed that there are 3 million subscribers, though the veracity of the number is questioned. It has been one of the most popular music services as well. Surely, as the premier music steaming service, Spotify has gained the most users amongst Tidal vs Spotify vs Apple music as well as Google play.

Music Subscription

To choose one proper music service for enjoyment, you should know the which one would be highly cost-effective amongst Spotify vs Apple music vs Tidal as well as Google play music. As of November 2018, Spotify offers three subscription types with unlimited listening time. Spotify Free, Premium and Family. Spotify Free allows users to listen to all the music tracks with some ads. Apple music offers a 3-month free trial service and paid-only subscription will be needed after that. Google play offers with standard accounts for free and paid premium service at the cost of US$9.99/month along with YouTube music premium. Tidal offers two levels of music service: Tidal Premium and Tidal HiFi.