Spotify streams online music with browsing by genre, playlists, artists, and albums, plus offline listening via Premium. Users praise its playlist creation and catering to different music tastes through discovery and recommendations, though some are frustrated by features being removed over time.
Deezer is the top-ranked Spotify alternative here, offering offline listening, lyrics support, and a large music catalog with synchronized lyrics and a karaoke-style experience. SoundCloud ranks highly and stands out for community discovery and tools that support smaller artists. YouTube Music combines music and video streaming with recommendations based on your listening taste.
For audiophiles, TIDAL focuses on lossless and Hi-Res FLAC playback for listeners who care most about audio fidelity. Bandcamp emphasizes buying music often DRM-free and sending most payments directly to artists. These Spotify alternatives range from mainstream streaming subscriptions to self-hosted servers and creator-first marketplaces that emphasize ownership and artist support.
Open source options like Funkwhale, Spotube, and Ampache offer transparency and privacy-focused playback for users who prefer open-source software. Linux users have native desktop options through Funkwhale, Spotube, and muffon for workflows outside Windows and macOS.
For lossless audio, Apple Music and Qobuz highlight higher-fidelity listening than typical streaming, appealing to audiophiles. Offline listening extends beyond Spotify Premium with TIDAL, Deezer, and Apple Music all supporting downloads for travelers and commuters.
Personalized recommendations remain strong across YouTube Music, Deezer, and Apple Music for listeners who rely on discovery algorithms similar to Spotify. AirPlay support appears in Deezer and Apple Music for easy playback to Apple speakers and receivers, benefiting Apple ecosystem listeners. Dark mode comes standard in Deezer, YouTube Music, and Apple Music, matching a common Spotify preference for night listeners.
Self-hosted audio streaming for owned libraries with support for FLAC, MP3 and more, automatic cataloging, smart playlists, personalized radio, podcast subscriptions, audiobook playback, integration with Lidarr and Audiobookshelf, device sync, and Deezer previews.
iHeart offers freemium access to a wide range of audio content including live radio, podcasts, music playlists, and sports updates. Available across multiple devices, it allows for playlist curation, personalized stations, trending podcasts, and has premium options such as ad-free listening and offline access.
Kasts is a podcast application for mobile Linux devices. It is a part of the Plasma Mobile app collection.
A Spotify client using Qt as a simpler, lighter alternative to the official client, inspired by spotify-tui. Much like spotify-tui, you need an actual Spotify client running, for example spotifyd, which can be configured from within the app.
Explore a world of audio with over 100,000 global stations including AM/FM radio, live sports, breaking news, and diverse podcasts. Enjoy seamless streaming on multiple devices, from mobiles to smart home systems, and access personalized recommendations, all with high-quality audio.
Even though spotify can be radio, it's not the main content. Turn in radio is definitely radio.
Nowhere near as good as Spotify!
This alternative is disputed. TuneIn Radio is a legitimate Spotify alternative, but it might have issues that some users think are important.
Access millions of shows spanning entertainment to news with Apple Podcasts. Enjoy streamlined listening across devices, expert curation, and exclusive content through subscriptions. Save favorites to your library, sync with iCloud, and listen offline or via CarPlay.
Anytime Podcast Player is a free and open-source podcast player that's designed to be simple and easy to use. Anytime is Podcasting 2.0 ready and will support more features as the app is developed.
Stream iconic Nintendo game music from Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokémon, and more. Enjoy extended playback of select tracks, offline downloads, background play, and personalized playlists for a seamless experience. Some tracks may vary by game availability.
Podcatcher offers a free, ad-free podcast experience with a simple user interface. Discover and subscribe to podcasts, add custom URLs, and get notifications for new episodes. Enjoy playback speed control without distortion, chapter support, artwork, and automatic pause skipping.
The frontend app for delivering musical content registered in Spotify by using YouTube's API. It does not require any account to use the app and allows to anonymously listen to music, podcasts, etc.
Castopod is an open-source hosting platform made for podcasters who want to engage and interact with their audience.
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TuneIn Radio is a privacy invader. The app demands permission to read and upload your contacts. Ask why a radio app would need that. (Answer: because like for so many "free" apps, you pay with your privacy - they use your private data to make money.) They're very explicit about this in their "privacy" policy. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.