What is the result of Amazon Music vs. Spotify? If you want to know the best streaming service, you might also ask yourself the following.
What is the Amazon Prime Music library size?
Is Amazon Music good for the whole family?
The short answer is the best streaming service depends on your needs and preferences. Some families like Spotify better, while some individuals enjoy Amazon Music more.
I’ll talk about everything you need to know regarding Spotify vs. Amazon Music, including price, library, and which streaming service is best for different types of users.
I’ll also compare Amazon Music Unlimited with other services like Apple Music and Pandora.
Let’s start.
What Is the Difference Between Amazon Music Unlimited vs. Spotify Premium?
Short Answer
Amazon Music Unlimited can work with Alexa products and is within the Amazon ecosystem, while Spotify is a digital music streaming service compatible with most devices.
Long Answer
Spotify and Amazon Music greatly differ in their free tier.
Spotify gives you limited access to its streaming service, and you need to pay for “skips,” sound quality, and music streaming options. Amazon Music gives you more complex options, and you can get the basic features with Amazon Prime.
For premium access to Amazon Music Unlimited, the premium version of the service, you need to pay extra on top of your standard Amazon Prime membership.
Let’s take a look at the two services individually.
What Is Amazon Music?
Amazon Music integrates with Amazon’s Prime and Unlimited services as the audio-focused service of the company. Unlike Spotify, it’s a music service only and doesn’t let you stream videos.
Amazon Music Unlimited has a browser version and mobile and desktop apps for you to stream music online. To store songs for offline use, you need to subscribe to its premium offering.
The service isn’t exclusive to Prime Members, and you can get Amazon Music without subscribing to the whole Amazon Prime ecosystem. The Amazon Music app incorporates Amazon’s music library with tens of millions of songs.
What Is Spotify?
Spotify, unlike Amazon, is a standalone app, service, and company that focuses completely on streaming. Its most popular feature is how it promotes new music to users through their listening habits and great music algorithms.
Spotify also has a browser, mobile, and desktop app you can use to hear new music through the service’s suggestions of random songs or familiar playlists. The service offers HiFi audio with its premium subscription, which gives you more than HD quality music.
Spotify also lets you download songs, letting you access music offline.
Amazon Music HD vs. Spotify Premium: Streaming Quality
Amazon Music HD (the premium version of Amazon Music Unlimited) and Spotify offer premium sound quality and video streaming quality. However, Amazon Music HD gives Ultra HD and HD audio quality settings, while Spotify has HiFi quality.
Spotify offers spatial audio quality, but you need to adjust your preferences. You can listen to ultra HD on Spotify by adjusting the streaming quality to 320 kbps.
This, however, doesn’t replicate the maximum sound quality of Amazon Music Unlimited. Amazon Music Unlimited gives up to 850 kbps, with tens of millions of songs running on 16-bit/44.1kHz quality. You can go up to 3,730 kbps for the Ultra HD setting.
Spotify offers HiFi quality sound, which gives lossless audio at around 1,411 kbps, over quadrupling its premium quality at 320 kbps.
Spotify vs. Amazon Music: Origins of Both Streaming Services
Let’s look at the history of both Spotify and Amazon Music.
Amazon Music’s Origin
Amazon Music is the new version of Amazon MP3, which launched in 2007. Initially, it was the company’s solution to a music streaming service. Previously, the service lets you buy 256 kbps MP3 music files from various artists and labels.
Now, the service has almost 100 million subscribers in the US, the UK, and other of its 50 territories that Amazon Music Unlimited operates.
Spotify’s Origin
Spotify launched as a small start-up in 2006 and has since grown into a worldwide music streaming app with around half a billion active monthly users in almost 200 countries.
Spotify comes in a mobile or desktop app on top of its website browser version. Unlike other streaming services, the service expanded past music streaming into Podcasts, promising a wide range of creators plus good audio quality.
Aside from competing with Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify Premium competes with other video streaming services like YouTube regarding streaming quality.
Amazon Music Family Plan vs Spotify Family Plan
Both Spotify and Amazon Music offer Family plans for multiple users.
Spotify and Amazon Music Unlimited offer Family Plans at $15.99 and give you access to the web browser, mobile, and desktop app for six accounts.
Amazon Music gives you the same features as Individual plans with the addition of Echo plays throughout your household for the Family Plan. Without the Family Plan, you must switch from one device to another to play music.
Spotify gives you music controls like blocking explicit music and Spotify Kids, a separate app for kids.
Spotify vs. Amazon Music: Free Subscription
Amazon Music offers promos for Prime Members, like access to three months free of its full premium service. After that, you must subscribe to its premium plans to play music.
Prime members have access to Apple Music completely free for the first three months. For Spotify you don’t have access to Spotify’s premium expanded music service unless you decide to upgrade.
Spotify gives you unlimited access to new music on Spotify with limitations like ads, no skips, and no downloads.
Here is the difference between Amazon Music and Spotify’s free plans.
Entire Library Access: Amazon doesn’t give you access to its whole library, while Spotify does.
Ad Skips: Not available for both platforms.
Background Play: Available for both platforms.
Song Skips: Limited skips for the free version for both services.
On-Demand Playbacks: Amazon only offers Shuffle Mode, while Spotify gives you on-demand access.
Offline Streaming: Not available for both platforms.
Number of Audio Settings: Amazon gives you three settings, with a 192 kbps maximum, while Spotify gives you four settings, with a 160 kbps maximum.
Number of Web Player Settings: Both platforms only provide one setting option.
Amazon Music HD vs. Spotify Premium: User Interface and Features
Amazon Music’s mobile apps work better than its desktop version.
Although you can still access Amazon Music’s library, Spotify’s desktop app provides a better user experience than its mobile version.
We suggest you use Amazon’s web player instead of downloading the app. There are no additional features you get when you download the Amazon Music app.
Spotify, on the other hand, makes it easier for Spotify users to access offline downloads for offline streaming through the desktop app.
Both services have good mobile apps, but Spotify has a higher rating regarding user experience.
| Spotify features | Amazon Music features |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Concerts: Spotify gives you updates on live and virtual shows near you. | 🔵 Livestreams: You can listen to Twitch live streams through the Amazon Music platform. |
| 🟢 Audiobooks: Spotify has around ten thousand audio tracks for different genres, from Classical to Fictional. | 🔵 Live Performance Videos: Amazon has partnered with major artists like The Smashing Pumpkins, AC/DC, and other legends for iconic live performances. |
| 🟢 Word Playlists: Like Amazon, Spotify has poetry-reading and language-learning playlists. | 🔵 Ambient Music: Amazon has non-music playlists with specific sounds like white noise, rain, thunder, and waves, among others. |
| 🟢 Ambient Playlists: Like Amazon, Spotify users can also access non-music, ambient playlists with rain, white noise, and other similar tracks. | 🔵 Speech: You can access playlists for meditation, historic speeches, poetry, and other speech-focused content. |
| 🟢 Global Charts: You’ll know the hottest songs on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for music from 52 countries. You can get charts for both localized and international playlists. |
Amazon Music vs. Spotify: Subscription Plans
Spotify and Amazon Music have similar prices for their subscriptions. However, Amazon charges more for non-prime members.
| Spotify’s premium plans | Amazon Music’s premium plans |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Individual: $9.99 monthly | 🔵 Non-Prime Individual: $9.99 monthly |
| 🟢 Family: $15.99 monthly | 🔵 Prime Individuals: $8.99 monthly |
| 🟢 Student: $4.99 monthly | 🔵 Family: $15.99 monthly or $159 annually |
| 🟢 Premium Duo $12.99 monthly | 🔵 Non-Prime Student: $4.99 monthly |
| 🔵 Prime Student: $0.99 monthly | |
| 🔵 Single Device: $4.99 monthly |
All paid plans include the following.
Ad-free, on-demand playback
Access to the full content
Offline download options
Local file input options
Amazon Music vs. Spotify: Pros and Cons
Both services come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Here’s an honest review of the pros and cons of each.
Amazon Music
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Wide content rage | ❌ No live radio |
| ✅ Scrollable lyrics | ❌ Smaller catalogue than Spotify |
| ✅ Amazon device family integration | |
| ✅ HD and Ultra HD audio tiers | |
| ✅ Podcasts | |
| ✅ Three-month trial |
Spotify
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ AI-powered DJ | ❌ No hi-res audio |
| ✅ Collaborative playlists | ❌ More expensive than Amazon Music (for Prime members) |
| ✅ Group sessions | |
| ✅ Optimized desktop app | |
| ✅ Pre-release album experience | |
| ✅ Student plans with Hulu and Showtime access | |
| ✅ Scrollable lyrics | |
| ✅ Podcasts |
Amazon Music vs. Spotify: Special Features
Let’s find out the difference between the two services regarding special features.
Spotify “Search” vs. Amazon Music “Home”
| Spotify | Amazon Music |
|---|---|
| 🟢 New Releases | 🔵 New Releases |
| 🟢 Mood | 🔵 “You Might Like” |
| 🟢 Charts | 🔵 Albums For You |
| 🟢 Discover | 🔵 Playlists For You |
| 🟢 RADAR | 🔵 Stations For You |
| 🔵 Songs For You | |
| 🔵 [RE]DISCOVER |
Playlist Recommendations
| Spotify | Amazon Music |
|---|---|
| 🟢 It gives you song recommendations | 🔵 N/A |
Personalized Mixes
| Spotify | Amazon Music |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Release Radar | 🔵 My Soundtrack |
| 🟢 Discover Weekly | |
| 🟢 Tastebreakers | |
| 🟢 Made For Yo (Mixes) |
Recommended Artists
| Spotify | Amazon Music |
|---|---|
| 🟢 “Fans Also Like” | 🔵 Related Artists |
Amazon Music vs. Spotify: Who Has More Artists?
Spotify has more artists than Spotify. This is also because of the service’s support to local/indie artists, making it easier for you to upload your music.
You can view these smaller artists on Spotify’s specific playlists. These include both local and international artists from your country or from other locations.
Amazon Music doesn’t offer organic ways to discover new artists. You need to manually search for new artists through the service to find them.
There is also no guarantee that you can find those new artists on Amazon Music.
What Is the Difference Between Amazon Music vs Spotify vs Apple Music
Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music differ in many areas, most significantly in their best use cases. Each service best serves different types of users.
Spotify is the best for people that love to make, browse, and share playlists. It’s for both personal and especially social listeners that love to share what they listen to and discover new songs.
Apple Music is the best for users that are already heavily integrated with the Apple ecosystem. It’s also the most affordable option, but if you don’t use any Apple devices, this one isn’t for you.
Amazon Music is the best for Prime members that want the most out of their subscription. It costs very less for them to get the service to listen to higher-quality audio.
What Is the Difference Between Spotify vs Pandora vs Amazon Music
You can also compare Spotify and Amazon Music with Pandora.
Pandora is one of the most popular radio streaming services in the US, and with its affordable prices, it’s the best option out there for people that just want the radio feature.
Instead of picking out songs, you can pick stations and listen to similar songs recommended by the station. It also offers customization options for you to tell the app what types of channels you’re looking for.
Unlike the two other services, Pandora works best for casual listeners that don’t always want to pick which songs to listen to.
Additional Info on Amazon Music vs. Spotify
Here are other things you might want to know about Amazon Prime Music vs. Spotify.
What Is the Difference Between Amazon Music Quality vs. Spotify?
The difference between Spotify vs Amazon Music is they offer different types of high-quality audio quality. Amazon has Amazon Music HD, while Spotify has HiFi.
What Is Amazon Music CD Quality Audio Feature?
Amazon Music Unlimited offers CD-quality audio through its HD and Ultra HD features. It offers an 850 kbps bitrate and 44.1 kHz through its 16-bit audio, the minimum for CD quality.
Is Amazon Music Prime Members Free?
No. Prime members still need to pay for premium Amazon Music. However, Amazon offers a discount on Amazon Music for Prime subscribers.
Is Spotify Compatible With Fire TV Device?
Yes. You can use Spotify on your Fire TV device. However, it doesn’t work as well as Amazon Music Unlimited. This is because Amazon developed the Fire TV, which is why it better integrates with its music streaming app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amazon Music Better Than Spotify?
Yes. Amazon Music is more affordable than Spotify. However, the latter has a wider range of content.
Is Spotify Better Than Amazon Music
Yes. Spotify has more music and a better desktop app than Amazon. However, the latter is more affordable for Prime members.
Which Is Better, Spotify or Amazon Music?
It depends on your preference. If you like to make, listen to, and share playlists, Spotify is better. Amazon is better if you already know what you want to listen to.
What Is the Difference Between Spotify and Amazon Music
Amazon Music is best if you already have a Prime account and want to add music streaming to your entertainment. Spotify is best if you like to share or discover new music and check out weekly, monthly, and yearly charts.
The Bottom Line
Spotify and Amazon Music are for different types of users. Amazon Music has a three-month trial period to determine which service you prefer.
Don’t hesitate to try other services, like Apple Music, if you don’t like Spotify or Amazon Music.
If you tried Spotify Premium and didn’t like it, follow our guide on cancelling your subscription.
