10 online music services tested

During the 10 years that Spotify has been active in the Netherlands, the Swedish service has faced a lot of competition. However, superpowers such as Apple, Amazon and Google have not yet managed to beat the Scandinavian pioneers. In fact, Spotify was the first music service to pass the magical barrier of 100 million paying users last year. According to the latest quarterly figures, there are now even 138 million! Despite its great popularity, there are also critical voices. For example, what about the audio quality? In addition to Spotify, we test nine other online music services and tell you which party you are currently best off with as a listener.

Nowadays, as a music lover, it is almost impossible to get around a paid streaming subscription. Many albums by the current generation of artists no longer even appear on a physical sound carrier. Furthermore, modern smart TVs, wireless speakers, soundbars, receivers and network players can easily handle online music playback. For individual listening sessions you only need a smartphone or tablet with (wireless) headphones.

In short, there are no more technical restrictions for streaming music. At a modest monthly rate, millions of songs are up for grabs; no CD or record cabinet can compete with that. It is therefore not surprising that most music lovers opt for streaming music en masse. We discuss the differences between ten well-known providers, so that you can make an informed choice.

Spotify popularity

The enormous popularity of Spotify is easy to explain. The Swedish company was simply the first provider to make an extensive catalog available via the digital highway. Renowned artists such as Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Adele, AC/DC and The Beatles struggled in the early days, but now almost every act realizes that online music services in a highly digitized society can no longer be stopped. It is not without reason that the difference in offer between online music services is now negligible and artists participate in almost every (new) streaming initiative.

Although Spotify hardly distinguishes itself in the field of offer, the Swedish group still manages to maintain itself quite effortlessly as the market leader. An important reason for this is that the service is constantly evolving and has greatly improved the user experience over the years. This happened not only with broad support for audiovisual devices, but also with the introduction of attractive new functions. Think, for example, of offline music storage and personalized playlists. In addition, Spotify also regularly joins forces with various electronics manufacturers and telecom providers to sell additional subscriptions.

Different subscriptions

Users don't necessarily have to pay for online music. For example, there are free versions of Spotify, Deezer and YouTube Music. Logically, this has a downside, because free subscriptions contain (spoken) advertising. That's quite disturbing. The volume of commercials is often also very loud, which makes them extra annoying. Furthermore, free music services lack useful features, such as skipping songs and saving playlists offline.

Spotify asked ten years ago for its Premium version a tenner a month and that has always been the case. Other online music services unquestioningly adopted this rate. With subscriptions for students (4.99 euros) and families (14.99 euros), the Swedish music service managed to attract additional paying members. Recently, there is also a subscription under the name Spotify Duo. This subscription costs 12.99 euros per month.

Compressed Streams

To reduce the network and server load, almost all music services apply compression to their audio streams. The songs have been made smaller, making it easier for services to offer them via the internet. An additional advantage is that users do not overload their home network as much. This leaves sufficient capacity for other network activities, such as video streaming and online gaming.

Compression extracts information from the music files and that always leads to a decline in audio quality. Fortunately, online music services carefully apply compression, so that you will hardly hear any loss of quality on an average headphones or Bluetooth speaker. Do you have a very good audio system at home with high-quality speakers? In that case there is a good chance that the shortcomings of highly compressed audio streams will come to light; for example, they have little dynamics, while some of the sung letters sound too bright.

Lossless Streams

Prefer not to listen to compressed audio streams? Some music services offer a subscription with so-called lossless streams. While this still involves compression to contain the original music file, no audio data is discarded. As a result, there is no audio loss compared to a normal CD. Three years ago there were strong rumors that Spotify would introduce a lossless subscription, but unfortunately that never got off the ground. Deezer, Qobuz, Primephonic and Tidal do offer their users the opportunity to listen to music without audio loss.

Amazon Music Unlimited

Under the name Amazon Music Prime, the American group gives Prime members access to about two million songs. Unfortunately, this catalog is not accessible with a Dutch account. In addition, there is also Amazon Music Free. Amazon claims that this allows users to listen to certain stations and playlists for free, but unfortunately that is not the case. With every item that we click on in the browser, Amazon refers to its Music Unlimited service. Fortunately it works properly.

Interested parties can try this music service for thirty days without obligation, although you must provide credit card details for this. Another payment method is not possible. After activation of the subscription, the service gives new members the opportunity to download an app for a PC, Mac or mobile device. Of course you can also stream songs from the web environment.

A downside is that you cannot use Amazon Music Unlimited in Dutch. The offer is in order with more than sixty million songs, although a number of Dutch artists are missing. Remarkably, the discography does not appear in chronological order. As a result, clicking through is sometimes necessary to request the most recent album of a band or singer(s). You can choose the desired streaming quality via the settings. Amazon also offers lossless streams, but this feature does not work for Dutch subscribers.

Amazon Music Unlimited

From €9.99 per month

Website

//music.amazon.com 4 Score 40

• Pros
• Clear user environment

• Negatives
• Unclear account model
• English
• illogical order discography
• Lossless streams not for Dutch members

Apple Music

After Spotify, Apple Music has the largest membership worldwide. A great achievement, because this service only saw the light five years ago. An important reason for its success is that Apple Music is already available on just about every Apple device by default; the music service is integrated in the Music app. You can also stream songs to Windows PCs (iTunes) and Android devices just as easily. Finally, Apple Music also works from the browser. New members can try the music service for up to 90 days without any obligations.

The light user environment looks clear on every device, where the makers do not immediately tire you with all kinds of options. Still, Apple Music does contain interesting gadgets, such as saving music offline, recommendations, video clips and lyrics. In addition, this streaming provider with Beats 1 has its own radio station, which includes interviews with well-known artists. See also what music people from your contact list listen to.

For the compression, Apple applies the aac codec to audio files. This results in an audio stream with a quality of 256 Kbit/s. For discerning listeners, Apple's music service on paper isn't the best choice, as most competitors use more favorable compression. However, the difference in audio quality is negligible with an average headphone, audio system or Bluetooth speaker.

Apple Music

From € 4.99 per month

Website

www.apple.com/nl/apple-music 8 Score 80

• Pros
• 90 days trial
• Pleasant user environment
• Many features
• Own radio station

• Negatives
• High Compression

Deezer

A year after Spotify, Deezer opened its doors in the Netherlands, making the French provider an old-timer in the streaming world. The internet company pulls out all the stops with various subscriptions to provide music lovers with as much customization as possible. Those who prefer not to spend money can use Deezer Free. This gives you access to the entire catalog of 56 million songs. Keep in mind a lower audio quality of only 128 Kbit/s and commercial breaks. For a tenner per month you can buy these restrictions off, where you can also store numbers offline. Like most other providers, there are adjusted rates for families and students.

In addition to compressed streams, the company also offers music in lossless quality at an additional cost. Deezer recently lowered the price to 14.99 euros per month. Stream songs in 16 bit/44.1 KHz audio quality. That is comparable to the sound quality of a regular CD. These streams therefore sound significantly better compared to highly compressed music.

It is beneficial that Deezer works with quite a few audio brands, so that the flac streams come out well with a HiFi subscription. Deezer HiFi works on audio systems from Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Sonos and Yamaha. You can also use it with a browser or (desktop) app. The slick user interface contains many functions and is excellent in practice. The service bombards subscribers with all kinds of notifications, but you can turn them off.

Deezer

From € 4.99 per month

Website

www.deezer.com 9 Score 90

• Pros
• Many subscription options
• Great audio quality with lossless subscription
• Many features
• Wide range of podcasts
• Slick design

• Negatives
• Lots of notifications with default settings

Napster

Napster was known in the 90s as an illegal platform from which you could download MP3s for free. Today, a Dutch-language online music service is active under the same name. After a trial period of thirty days, this provider charges 9.95 euros per month. There are no other flavors, so don't expect adjusted rates for families and students.

Users can access the web environment or install an app on a Windows, iOS or Android device. A desktop application for macOS is missing. The user environment looks rather messy due to an abundance of options and recommendations; because of this, it takes some time for Napster to feel familiar. A useful option is that listeners can customize the home page according to favorite music genres. Unfortunately, the online music service is sometimes slow to respond.

There is little to complain about the offer, because the catalog contains albums by almost all well-known artists from home and abroad. For music streaming, Napster uses the aac codec with a maximum bit rate of 320 Kbit/s. Unfortunately, this music service does not excel at anything, so look at the other online music services in this test.

Napster

€9.95 per month

Website

//nl.napster.com 5 Score 50

• Pros
• Customize home page with music preferences

• Negatives
• No student or family subscription
• Messy user environment
• No macOS app
• Sometimes slow to respond

Primephonic

Classical music is neglected by most online music services. Primephonic fills this gap by making only compositions from the classical genre available. It concerns about 3.5 million pieces of music. Despite this relatively modest and one-sided offer, the service charges the same standard rate as other providers, namely ten euros per month. This concerns MP3 streams with a bit rate of 320 Kbit/s. Flac streams in lossless quality are also available for 14.99 euros per month. The audio quality of this is a maximum of 24 bit/192 KHz. Primephonic developed apps for iOS and Android. In addition, you can open this online music service in any browser.

Primephonic keeps subscribers informed of current developments within the genre. This is done with podcasts, background information and custom playlists. The makers have optimized the search engine for classical music. For example, if you search for Mozart, you will immediately see pieces of music from various companies that have performed music by this Austrian composer. During the trial period of fourteen days, interested parties do not have to provide payment details.

Primephonic

From €9.99 per month

Website

www.primephonic.com 7 Score 70

• Pros
• Wide range of classical music
• Lossless subscription
• Good search engine
• No payment details during trial period

• Negatives
• Relatively expensive
• No desktop applications
• Smaller range than other services
• English

Idagio

In addition to Primephonic, Idagio is another online music service that focuses solely on offering classical music. There are a number of differences. For example, this German provider has 'only' two million songs in its catalog. Furthermore, the service manages a free version with advertisements. For students and regular subscribers, Idagio asks 4.99 and 9.99 euros respectively. Here you stream the songs in lossless quality.

qobuz

Qobuz was in heavy weather several times, but after a restart, the French company is doing better for the time being. Listeners can choose from two pricey subscriptions. For 19.99 euros per month you have access to about sixty million flac streams in a lossless quality of 16 bit/44.1 KHz. For an additional cost of five euros, you can stream about 185,000 albums in a higher quality, namely a maximum of 24 bit/192 KHz. Interesting for owners of a high-quality audio system. It is not without reason that Qobuz collaborates with well-known audio brands such as Bang & Olufsen, Arcam, Bluesound, Mark Levinson, NAD, Onkyo and Naim. Incidentally, this service is also available via various (desktop) apps and the browser. After an iDEAL payment of one cent, you first try the streaming service for a month.

Compared to other providers, the English-language user environment looks less sparkling. Thanks to the Hi-Res Audio logo it is immediately clear which albums are available in the highest quality. These streams sound phenomenal on good headphones or with a pair of high-quality speakers. The offer is very complete, although Dutch albums are often not available in studio quality.

qobuz

From € 19.99 per month

Website

www.qobuz.com 8 Score 80

• Pros
• Streaming in studio quality
• Available directly on various audio systems

• Negatives
• Duration
• English

SoundCloud

SoundCloud has traditionally been a platform where (starting) musicians and producers can put their material on. For that reason, there is a lot of work by unknown artists available. For example, if you fancy an evening-filling mix from a DJ, you can choose from hundreds of thousands of streams. In addition, podcast makers also know how to find their way to SoundCloud. According to the service, this concerns a total of more than 150 million audio files. Although there are also songs by well-known artists, the range of these is not arranged as clearly as we are used to from Spotify and the like. SoundCloud is therefore more suitable for spotting starting bands, listening to a podcast or setting up a DJ set of a few hours.

A subscription to SoundCloud GO+ with full access without ads costs a tenner. Students pay half. There is also a cheaper subscription of 5.99 euros per month, but listeners do not have access to the full catalog. When using SoundCloud GO+, the maximum bitrate of the aac streams is 256 Kbit/s. To do this, first open the settings, because by default this service uses a lower bit rate.

SoundCloud

From € 5.99 per month

Website

www.soundcloud.com 6 Score 60

• Pros
• Over 150 million audio files
• Lots of podcasts and dj mixes
• Discover new music

• Negatives
• Less suitable for streams from famous artists
• Cumbersome search function
• Standard low bit rate
• No macOS app

Spotify

Spotify is well organized. User-friendly (desktop) apps enable subscribers to effortlessly find their favorite podcasts, albums and playlists. In addition, the service also works on most smart TVs, game consoles, wireless speakers and network receivers. A playlist and album overview with new releases is published every Friday, so that you can easily stay informed within the musical landscape. A nice extra is that you can directly see what music your friends are listening to.

In any case, Spotify is perfectly suited for discovering new music. Based on your listening behavior, the service makes recommendations and compiles an automatic playlist every Monday. Interesting is the Duo Mix function. Do you have a Spotify subscription with your partner? Then put together a joint playlist and surprise each other with special songs. In addition to the Duo subscription, Spotify is also available to individuals, students and families. The free version contains quite a lot of spoken advertising, so avoid that.

When it comes to audio quality, Spotify unfortunately falls short. The service still uses audio streams with a maximum bitrate of 320 Kbit/s. As a streaming pioneer, a lossless subscription with higher-quality audio streams would be in order by now.

Tidal

In addition to Deezer and Qobuz, Tidal is the third well-known streaming provider to offer a lossless subscription. With a so-called HiFi account, members have access to about sixty million flac streams in an audio quality of 16 bit/44.1 KHz. But the American service goes one step further with this HiFi subscription.For example, Tidal uses the fairly recent mqa codec to make tens of thousands of albums available in a higher quality of up to 24 bit/96 KHz. Thanks to this codec, the file size remains relatively small, making it easier to load the streams on mobile devices. Within the streaming service, these MQA streams are visible as Tidal Masters. When using a capable audio system, you benefit from dynamic recordings with remarkably high detail. Advantageously, Tidal support is built into all kinds of audio systems from various well-known brands. Users pay 19.99 euros per month for this subscription.

Those who do not need lossless or high-res streams can also listen to compressed music, which costs 9.99 euros per month. There are also subscriptions for families and students available.

Tidal distinguishes itself from competitors by making videos available in addition to music, such as interviews, clips and concerts. The user environment of (desktop) apps is a feast for the eyes, although the official language is unfortunately English.

Tidal

From €9.99 per month

Website

www.tidal.com 9 Score 90

• Pros
• Streaming in high quality
• Slick design
• Support videos

• Negatives
• English

YouTube Music

Google did not get a foothold under the name Google Play Music, but with YouTube Music, the internet giant is coolly trying again. This is a relatively young service, because the platform has only been active in the Netherlands for two years. You can use the service for free, but Google will bombard you with ads. For a Premium account, the makers ask a tenner per month. Students and families pay 4.99 and 14.99 euros respectively.

The user environment reacts remarkably quickly and looks very calm. You have direct access to favorites, popular playlists and new releases, among other things. All in all, YouTube Music feels familiar after just a few minutes. Indicate which artists you like and be surprised by fresh recommendations.

Before the first listening session, do a little digging into the settings and select the highest audio quality. In that case, YouTube Music uses the aac codec at an acceptable bit rate of 256 Kbit/s. Logically, YouTube Music includes a direct link to its big brother, so you can play relevant videos. This mainly concerns music clips and concerts.

YouTube Music

From € 4.99 per month

Website

//music.youtube.com 8 Score 80

• Pros
• Very user-friendly
• Video clips and concerts

• Negatives
• Set highest streaming quality manually
• No lossless subscription

Conclusion

Spotify has the greatest brand awareness and that clearly works in favor of the Swedish music service. Many subscribers have been there from the very beginning and have remained loyal to the user-friendly platform all these years. But is it also the best choice in the crowded streaming landscape?

When we look purely at the quality of the audio streams, Spotify is behind the times. Deezer recently delivered its entire range in the better flac format for fifteen euros per month. The difference in quality compared to the highly compressed Spotify streams can be clearly heard with good headphones or a pair of high-quality speakers. There are hardly any differences in offer, platform support and functionality, so that you as a music lover are better off with Deezer. The condition is, of course, that you are willing to pay an additional fee of five euros.

Tidal and Qobuz also manage subscriptions with lossless streams, with a select number of albums available in even higher audio quality. Both streaming services are more expensive than Deezer.