Spotify and Pandora are two of the most popular music streaming services, but which is better? Here is our comparison of both Spotify and Pandora:
Free Spotify
As a free user on Spotify, you can benefit from the music platform recommendation engine. The app will listen to the songs you listen to daily and recommend new music that suits your taste.
Although, you will be compelled to listen to ads, and the songs are shuffled. You will only have access to lower-quality audio, six-track skips per hour and you won’t be able to listen to music offline.
Both Pandora and Spotify free versions are supported by ads. However, Spotify’s free version lets you listen to songs on demand when using a desktop
Free Pandora
The free version of Pandora lets you create a radio station based on your favorite genre. You can customize the song that plays on your radio station by giving each tune a thumbs up or thumbs down as you listen. Unfortunately, you will have to listen to adverts as you stream, and you only have a limited number of music to pick from. You also won’t be able to create playlists, share them, or listen to music offline.
It’s also not the best for audiophiles, since Pandora’s unrestricted tier offers a lower audio quality than a premium
Spotify Premium
The premium version of Spotify comes with unlimited access to on-demand music listening, track skipping, and ad-free listening. You will also have the ability to download over 3,000 songs on up to three various devices. Spotify premium includes better audio quality. You can try Spotify premium for 30 days before becoming a paying subscriber.
Pandora premium
The premium version of Pandora offers two premium tier levels, but only Pandora highest tier contends with Spotify’s premium membership. The premium version is ad-free, and offers on-demand playback and unlimited track skipping. It also has better audio quality than the unrestricted tier. You can also benefit from limitless offline listening. However, you must remember to connect your phone to Wifi at least once every 30 days for the songs to remain active on your device.
Spotify and Pandora cost
- Pandora plus: $4.99/mo, one account per household.
- Pandora premium: $9.99/mo, one account per household.
- Family: $14.99/mo, six premium accounts for one Household
- Student: $4.99/mo, one premium account per student.
- Military: $7.99/mo, one premium account for active US veterans.
Spotify price plans
- Spotify premium: $9.99/mo, one account per household.
- Duo: $12.99/mo, two premium accounts for one household
- Family: $14.99/mo, six premium accounts for one household.
- Student: $4.99/mo, one premium account per student.
Both platforms offer competitive pricing, but pandora’s lower-priced plus option is more economical if you don’t care about listening offline. And Spotify duo pricing might be an excellent option for households of two.
Pandora Music Collection
Pandora library ranges from one to two million tracks. But the string service does not host song covers, karaoke versions, or user-generated, uploads like Spotify.
Spotify Music Collection
The streaming service has about 60millio tracks available. It is important to note that this includes original content from more amateur creatives including podcast
Pandora Interface
The streaming platform is intuitive and easy to navigate. You will have the option to list your playlist alphabetically or by date. The interface lets you switch between listening to your favourite show and exploring music in other categories. You can access pandora on mobile, web, and desk too app.
Spotify Interface
Spotify interface is visually stimulating and interactive. You are bound to find a playlist that caters to your musical preference. You can access everything you need in the home section or explore radio sections.
Both the Spotify and Pandora streaming services demand artist information and similar discovery features, though Spotify feels like a more well-rounded version of everything you want and need in a streaming service. Nevertheless, they are both easy to navigate and offer attractive interface options.