Spotify was the first music streaming service to offer listeners free music streaming through an ad-supported option. Alhough Spotify may offer users a polished streaming service, reviews have shown that its competitors aren't far behind.
Since music streaming has grown popular, several other brands have improved their features to match up with Spotify. According to Digital Trends, listeners have ranked their top three music streaming providers:
Spotify
Spotify still ranks as the first most popular music streaming service, with millions of paying subscribers. Its user-friendly interface and accessibility on both iOS and Android devices plus desktop makes it attractive to various users. One of the features that enticed users was its ad-based free music streaming option.
Spotify also provides its users with the option to stream music ads free for a monthly subscription that costs $10 for regular premium users, $15 for families (up to 6 users), and $5 for students.
Apple Music
While Spotify is also available in iOS, Apple Music ranks second since it offers diehard Apple users an easy way to integrate data across all their iOS devices. With a single demand, Siri can search for specific songs, artists, playlists, and anything music-related on all iOS devices integrated into the Apple Music service.
One enticing feature is Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio which frequently premiers some of the biggest pop music. Techradar reported that Apple is the first to showcase songs from popular artists such as Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, and Drake.
Pandora
Pandora ranks the third most popular music streaming service, suited for passive listeners who enjoy the ease of press and play. It's Music Genome Project, categorizing music based on countless unique characteristics, makes it one of Spotify's top competitors.
Pandora offers their radio-style music streaming for free ad-based, with an option to upgrade to a subscription of $5 per month ad-free and on-demand music for $10 per month.