Spotify Price Hike Sparks a Search for Music Alternatives in 2025

Spotify’s latest price hike has music lovers scrambling for alternatives — but not all substitutes are created equal.

Spotify raised prices for the third time since 2023, with Premium Individual now $12.99/month. Competitors offer varying trade-offs in cost and features:

Amazon Music Unlimited charges $11.99/month with HD/ULTRA HD audio and family plans at $19.99/month.

Apple Music provides $10.99/month with lossless audio and Apple ecosystem integration, with a $5.99/month student option. Bandcamp operates without subscriptions, paying artists 80-85% of sales while banning AI-generated content.

Tidal emphasizes high-fidelity audio at $10.99/month with 24-bit/192kHz support. Deezer offers $11.99/month Premium with 120M+ tracks and student discounts at $5.99/month.

Pandora’s free tier allows ad-supported song-specific playback, while Premium ($10.99/month) removes ads and enables offline listening.

YouTube Music costs $10.99/month, included in the $13.99 YouTube Premium bundle. SoundCloud Go+ adds offline access and higher audio quality at $10.99/month.