Entertainment
Spotify Vs Pandora: Which is the Better Music App?
For a long time, Apple and Spotify have dominated the music streaming business… From the look of things though, this new service is going to give Apple and Spotify a run for their money
At our site, you’ll only find unbiased reviews. However, we do earn profit from our affiliate links.
For a long time, Apple and Spotify have dominated the music streaming business. Spotify, the Swedish-born app that has spread throughout Europe and North America, was started in 2008. Pandora has been in the industry for longer and is set to hit a decade in 2020. This year the radio company launched a special service music streaming service called Pandora Premium. From the look of things though, this new service is going to give Apple and Spotify a run for their money. Before comparing Pandora Premium and Spotify, let us look at them from individual standpoints, to get a feel for both of them.
Spotify
Here are some of the things that users like about Spotify
PROS
- For a price of only $9.99 per month, Spotify offers unlimited access to a wide range of songs
- It is compatible with almost every device, including PCs and excluding Apple devices
- You can download songs to listen to when you are offline, and that saves a lot of broadband costs
- You not only get the best of original songs from the artistes, but also a selected number of karaoke and cover tracks you might be interested in
- Users get 30-day free trial period with the service before they subscribe
- The quality of music on this service is excellent and the database is extremely expansive. Popular and obscure music can be found easily
- You can save songs to your cloud and listen to them the next time you’re online
CONS
- The trial period for Spotify is shorter than for other services, including that of Pandora Premium which lasts for up to 60 days for some users, and six months for others
- If you’re not into karaoke and covers, then you might find the tracks annoying
- Spotify does not have an auto generate option for your favorite playlists. If you want to create a playlist, you have to add the songs that you want manually. The saving grace is that the site offers you related songs that you can then add to your playlist
- You will have to sign up for a subscription to remove ads
Pandora Premium
This year’s newly launched Pandora service is a good option for a lot of listeners and here is why.
PROS
- It has a wide variety of songs, maybe not as much as Spotify, but definitely enough for users to enjoy the listening experience
- Its outline is minimalist, easy to navigate and appealing to those who use it
- Pandora Premium offers a 30 to 60 day free trial period for anyone who has not used Pandora services in the past. If you have, then there’s more good news. You can enjoy a 6-month trial package at no cost
- This service is more personalized. This is by far the most appealing feature of the Pandora Premium. Unlike Spotify which needs you to have used it for long to generate lists for you, Pandora Premium generates your favorite playlist for you the minute you like your first song. Also, if you’ve been a long-time user of Pandora, all the songs you’ve said thumbs up to will now be available to you as a “My Thumb ups” playlist.
- In the past, Pandora only allowed you to choose which signal to tune it to, but this new model will allow you to choose your own songs
- You can use Pandora Premium to download songs to listen to offline
CONS
- Pandora Premium only allows you to listen to your favorite songs; for the videos, you’ll have to stick to sites like YouTube
- It works on your smartphone and most devices that a smartphone can connect to, but not PCs
- At the moment, Pandora Premium only offers individual subscription unlike Spotify which a has family and other group subscription offers
- Like with Spotify, ads can only be removed with a subscription
Spotify vs. Pandora Premium
When it comes to personalization, Pandora Premium takes the crown. This differentiated service takes it a few steps ahead of Spotify in the streaming services bracket. However, not offering videos and no PC playing options make Pandora Premium a less attractive option than Spotify. The former has a lot to catch up on regarding the breadth of the services they offer, but when it comes to listening to music you like with no hassle, Pandora Premium wins.
