There are a lot of music streaming services out there so it can be hard to find the best one for you. Here’s what you should keep in mind when trying to decide which one is right for you:
- Cost. This is the big one, and it’s where a lot of services differentiate themselves. The $9.99 price point for music streaming has become the industry standard for ad-free, on-demand listening, but there are also cheaper (and more expensive) options out there. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re willing to put up with ads, you can save a few dollars per month. If you’re willing to limit yourself to specific songs or playlists, you can save even more money. There are also family plans available that let multiple people use the same account for one price.
- Device compatibility. Most services work on both Android and iOS devices, as well as desktops via web browsers. However, not all services support all devices. For example, Apple Music works seamlessly on iPhones and iPads but doesn’t natively work on Android phones or tablets unless they’re running iTunes.
- Selection of music: It’s hard to believe, but there was once a time when all of the music in the world wasn’t at our fingertips. And while today’s music lovers have plenty of choices, each platform has its own quirks when it comes to availability of songs and artists.
- Quality of sound: Audio quality is a big deal for many audiophiles — especially with the rise in popularity of high-resolution audio tracks and lossless audio formats like FLAC and ALAC. While most streaming services stream via AAC at 256 Kbps (the same bitrate as iTunes), some offer higher-quality streams using Ogg Vorbis or FLAC.
