In the wake of Amazon recently introducing Music Unlimited, I figured it was time to breakdown the music streaming service and see how it compares to Spotify. What do they cost? What perks does one offer that the other doesn’t? What type of music listener would benefit from each? You get the idea. Hope this comparison helps you make the best decision for you and your family.

Monthly Price

Spotify Premium comes in at $9.99/month.

Prime Music Unlimited is priced at $7.99/month if you’re a Prime member, $9.99/month for non-Prime members.

Amazon also offers an Echo-only plan for $3.99/month.

Winner: At $7.99/month, Prime Music is the cheaper option.

Available Songs

Spotify boosts an astounding 30 million songs.

Prime Unlimited won’t give an exact number, but instead say they have “tens of millions” of songs.

You better believe that if Amazon had more songs than Spotify they’d be yelling it from the roof tops.

But instead they stay very vague with an incredibly rough estimate.

Winner: Spotify.

See Also: Can You Get Spotify Premium Free? Here’s The Real Scoop

Ability to Download for Offline Listening

Both music streaming services allow for offline listening which is a great data saver and handy for when you don’t have reception.

Winner: Tie.

Interfaces Available

Both Spotify and Amazon Music Unlimited allow for listening on desktop, mobile, and web-based players.

Winner: Tie.

Personalized Features

Spotify does a fantastic job personalizing your music experience.

They offer something called Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mix which are personalized playlists that help you find great new music based on what you listen to.

While Prime Music Unlimited does recommend music based on what you listen to, and actually has more stations and genre playlists than Spotify, it feels very computer generated and algorithmic in nature.

In other words, I rarely discover new music that I really like from their generated “personalized” content.

Put simply, it doesn’t go as deep into the archives as Spotify to pull new artists and deeper cuts.

Winner: Spotify is the clear winner here.

Ease of Use

Put simply, both services are easy to use.

But the Spotify app makes you feel like you’re browsing tunes at the cool record store in Berkeley, CA.

Conversely, the Prime Unlimited app, while totally functional, feels more like shopping for CD’s at your local Walmart or Target.

Spotify just feels like your hanging out with your cool musician uncle who’s pulling out his old vinyl to spin for you.

Winner: Spotify.

Family Plans

Spotify Family costs $14.99/month and gives you, and up to 5 family members, full access to Spotify. Each member gets their own account and can listen independently of everyone else.

Prime Music Unlimited also has a family plan that costs $14.99/month. With their Family Plan, you can also listen on 6 devices simultaneously.

Winner: Since Spotify offers more songs overall, I’d go with Spotify here.

Student Plans

Both have discounted plans for students for those enrolled in a degree-granting college or university.

Spotify Student comes in at $4.99/month, which even includes the Hulu Limited Commercials plan.

Amazon also has a Music Unlimited Student program which costs $4.99/month.

Winner: Winner is Spotify simply because they also offer Hulu with your student subscription.

Music Sharing

Both services offer you the ability to share songs, albums, artists, stations and playlists with family and friends.

Keep in mind that the person you’re sharing music with must also be signed up with the streaming service to access the tunes.

Winner: Tie.

Free Trial?

Both music streaming services offer a free trial so you can take them for a test drive.

Amazon offers a 30-day Music Unlimited Trial and Spotify does the same.

Final Analysis:

When choosing a music streaming service it really comes down to personal listening preferences.

If you’re NOT an eclectic music fan, you probably won’t need the huge catalog that Spotify provides, making the Prime Music Unlimited a great deal at $7.99/month.

But if you’re into bands and artists whose music can be hard to find, then Spotify is definitely a better bet.

Also, if you’re WAY into discovering new artists and always looking for your new favorite band, Spotify is the better choice.

Ask the Reader: What music streaming service do you use and why?

By Kyle James

The post Spotify Vs. Amazon Music Unlimited: Which is Better and Why appeared first on Rather-Be-Shopping.com.