Since Spotify launched overseas in 2008, it has been a dominating – and leading force – in the streaming industry. The company was based in Sweden and later spread from Europe to the United States, quickly becoming the most used music streaming service of all time.

Although Spotify wasn’t the first service of its kind, it grew to be so popular because it was one of the best products on the market at the time and can be used on any device. Spotify was also known to be user friendly, and users had the choice to listen for free (with ads, limited skips, and no option to pick a specific song) or pay for a premium subscription (to listen without the aforementioned).

Apple Music got into the streaming game late, launching in 2015 after watching the number of iTunes music purchases decline each year. Since their start less than five years ago, the service’s growth has been very impressive.

Only available on Apple products, Apple Music is nice because it integrates with your iPhone’s music library so all your songs are on the same app. This is helpful if you download other music that’s not available on streaming services. Aside from only being accessible on Apple products, Apple Music doesn’t have an option to listen for free – so naturally they’re going to have less users.

In terms of worldwide users, Spotify is ahead of Apple. Particularly in the U.S. however, Apple and Spotify are in constant competition. In 2019, Apple claimed they had more paid subscribers than Spotify in the U.S.

I use both services, but I pay for Apple Music because it’s convenient. My songs are in one place, it’s easier to download music for offline listening than on Spotify, and their human curated radio stations and playlists have helped me find music I otherwise wouldn’t have. Spotify also has playlists tailored to their user’s music preferences, which many users claim to be better than Apple Music, but I’ve had luck using Apple. Spotify is useful for podcasts, but other than that I could go without it.

When it comes to exclusive content, I think Apple Music definitely has Spotify beat, which is another reason I pay for a subscription. 2016 was a notably big year for exclusive content on the streaming service, as Frank Ocean released a second album in addition to his highly anticipated “Blonde” that was only available on Apple Music. That same year, Drake’s “Views” album was also released on Apple Music a week prior to being available everywhere else.   

Nicki Minaj, Frank Ocean, Elton John, Kendall Jenner, Virgil Abloh, and The Weeknd all have their own shows on the service. Additionally, Apple Music has interviews with artists, and popular hip-hop shows – like the Charlie Sloth Rap Show – which has interviews and freestyles with rappers.

Another feature I like about Apple Music is the ability to follow friends, listen to their playlists, and see what they’ve been listening to. Spotify has this feature, too, but I find it easier and more user-friendly to follow and interact with friends on Apple Music.

At the end of the day, Spotify and Apple Music are basically the same thing. With 50 million songs, high quality streaming, and offline listening available on both services, it really comes down to personal preference when choosing which to pay for.

Perhaps more importantly, both cost the same and offer easy-to-navigate mobile apps – making it hard to dub one as the real “winner.”