The great Spotify escape: What are the alternatives and how do they stack up?

Getting off Spotify is easier than it seems, but there's a few things you need to know before you make the leap.

If you care about artists or ethics, then Spotify is bad news. But getting away from the platform that basically invented music streaming as we know it today has been a task that, for many, myself included, has fallen into the ‘too hard basket’.

But today, following on from this thoughtful piece we published from Maggie Zhou last week, I wanted to properly explore the alternatives to hopefully make the idea of a transition easier to stomach.

Spoiler: nothing is perfect, and given that most platforms are brought to us by big tech, there are plenty with equally questionable (or worse) ethics. But - importantly - there are still a few really great options that are doing better than Spotify on just about every measure.

Let’s jump into it.

Big bad Spotify

In 2025, it’s difficult to defend Spotify as your streamer of choice for any reason other than the fact that it has become something of a default. Not only is the business increasingly ethically dubious - which I’ll get to - but the consensus among music lovers seems to be that their product is objectively worse than most others on the market. The one major spot where they win has been in their AI-powered discovery and personalisation features - but even those have come under critique for flattening and homogenising our music tastes at the expense of independent artists.

Then there’s all the other stuff… So here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the big red marks on Spotify’s corporate scorecard:

• Spotify has one of the worst artist remuneration standards in the industry, paying approximately US$0.003-0.005 per stream (US$3-5 per thousand streams).

• The company famously ripped the concept for Spotify Wrapped from an unpaid intern, without crediting or paying her for the IP.

• AI music has been increasingly slipping into Spotify’s playlists and discovery recommendations with little to no transparency.

• Earlier this year Spotify allowed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment ads to run across its platform (as did Hulu, Max, YouTube and Pandora).

• It also donated US$150,000 (A$227,000) to Trump’s 2025 inauguration + hosted a pre-inauguration brunch celebrating the ‘power of podcasts’ during the 2024 election.

• Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek has been the chairman of AI military startup Helsing since 2021, and this year drew heavy criticism for personally investing €600 million (A$1.07 billion) in the company’s AI drone, aircraft and battlefield intelligence technologies. A number of artists have since withdrawn their music from the platform.

The alternatives

First and foremost, the best alternative to Spotify is to buy physical or digital copies of the music you love. Doing so directs more dollars straight into the pockets of your favourite artists, and takes away from big tech’s already excessive profits. It also goes without saying that supporting local live music is a big and important piece of this puzzle!

If you have the right equipment to listen to records, CDs, or cassettes, that might look like heading into your local music store or even trawling through boxes at the flea markets or thrifts (I have found many excellent records for less than $10 using this method). But not everyone wants to go analogue, and that is okay!! As well as offering physical music products (and merch!) Bandcamp is considered a top tier option for supporting small and indie artists, and allows you to purchase and download digital music files direct from the source. The downside is that it only covers a small number of artists, meaning those with less niche music taste will still have to look elsewhere.

And that’s where we come to the other streamers. I’ve put together the key points you need to know about each, based on the many reviews and recommendations I have trawled through. I’ve also ordered them roughly from best to worst based on how they stack on both ethics and product experience - best at the top, worst at the bottom!

1 - Qobuz

For true music-lovers, Qobuz has to be one of the best Spotify alternatives out there. Reviews consistently laud the platform’s premium sound quality, curation features and growing library. While it rings in as the most expensive option on the market, it is well worth the investment for those who value paying artists fairly - and if you can find six friends to split the family subscription with, it’s only $4.50 a month.

Cost: $19.99/month, $26.99/month for duo, or $29.99/month for family (up to 6) or $7.99/month for students

Artist pay: Average of US$0.01873 per stream in 2024 (US$18.73 per thousand streams)

Parent company: Privately owned by French media and entertainment company Xandrie SA

The Good:

• Industry-leading artist remuneration

• Sets the bar for transparency by publishing average payout reports

• Top-rated audio quality

• Option to purchase and store tracks and albums

• 100 million track library

• Playlists and editorial curated by humans

• Less reliance on algorithms

The Less Good:

• More expensive

• Does not support podcasts

• Some users report bugs with the user interface

• Not compatible with Siri - i.e. can’t use in the car hands-free

• Does not offer a free tier

2 - Tidal

Tidal is another music streaming platform that comes highly recommended as an alternative to Spotify, performing strongly across audio quality, user experience and artist remuneration. Fans of the service speak highly of its personalisation and discovery features, and it is one of the few streaming platforms with a catalogue that is comparable in size to Spotify’s. However, it is worth being mindful of some of the questionable ethics displayed by its parent company.

Cost: $11/month for individual, $17/month for family (up to 6), or $5.49/month for students

Artist pay: Average of US$0.013 per stream (US$13 per thousand streams)

Parent company: Majority owned by Block, which also owns Square, AfterPay, and Cash App and is run by former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey

The Good:

• Superb sound quality

• Clear artist remuneration policy with above-average payouts

• Largest high-res catalogue available

• Exclusive content

• Similar personalised discovery features to Spotify

• The user interface is easy to navigate

• Great value for money

The Less Good:

• Block has rolled out mass redundancies this year, impacting thousands of roles

• The company has faced major fines over customer service and fraud protection failures

• It is also investing significantly in resource-heavy AI and crypto technologies

• The platform does not support podcasts

• Does not offer a free tier

3 - Apple Music

There are many bad things that can be said about Apple, but they do pay artists more than a bunch of their competitors. It’s also an obvious and easy switch for users of Apple tech, especially those might not be after the same level of audio quality offered by Qobuz or Tidal, and prioritise a streamlined and intuitive user experience in-app.

Cost: $12.99/month for individual, $19.99/month for family (up to 6), $6.99/month for students

Artist pay: Average of US$0.01 per stream ($10 per thousand streams)

Parent company: Apple Inc

The Good:

• Better artist remuneration than Spotify

• Similarly huge catalogue

• Excellent sound quality

• Very similar UX to Spotify

• Karaoke feature (Apple Music Sing)

• Does not encompass podcasts - though the Apple Podcast app is free

• Offers live radio

• Good playlists

• Value for money

• Streamlined compatibility with Apple devices

The Less Good:

• Music discovery is not as intuitive as Spotify

• Pay is still below par

• Does not offer a free tier

• Not great for Android or PC users

• Apple has faced significant scrutiny over supply chain practices, environmental impact, tax avoidance, privacy issues, and anti-competitive practices

• Apple CEO Tim Cook is among the cohort of tech CEOs seen to have capitulated to Trump for personal/commercial gain

4 - Deezer

The ethics continue to go downhill from here, with this particular streaming platform majority owned by billionaire oil baron and Netanyahu ally Len Blavatnik. Besides the dubious parent company, Deezer’s artist remuneration is somehow worse than Spotify’s and sound quality is said to be fairly average.

Cost: $13.99/month for individual, $17.99/ month for duo, $21.99/month for family (up to 6)

Artist pay: Typically US$0.0011-0.0064 per stream (US$1.1-6.40 per thousand streams)

Parent company: Majority owned by billionaire oil baron Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, which also has major holdings in A24, Warner Music Group, DAZN, Foxtel, Binge, and Israeli TV network Reshet13.

The Good:

• Better quality sound than Spotify

• Good-sized library

• Includes podcasts

• Offers a free ad-supported option

• Lots of fun and social features like music quizzes

The bad:

• Sound quality still not on par with Tidal, Quboz or Apple

• Recommendation algorithms aren’t as sophisticated

• Somehow pays artists even less than Spotify

• Access Industries’ billionaire owner is a known ally of Israeli PM and accused war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, and has been accused of stepping in to cancel programs to please him.

• Blavatnik is also a Trump supporter, and his sports streaming platform DAZN has welcomed large Saudi investments

5 - YouTube Music

If you’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome for the Google Suite, this might be up your alley from a product standpoint. Of course, there are many ethical caveats that mean this probably isn’t all that much better than sticking with Spotify.

Cost: $10.99/month for individual, $16.99/month for family (up to 6), and $5.49/month for students

Artist pay: Average of US$0.008 per stream (US$8 per 1000 streams)

Parent Company: Google

The Good:

• YouTube Music, as you might guess, has the best video offering

• The catalogue includes live concert recordings and covers

• Decent discovery tools and recommendations

• Interesting playlist features

• Offers a free ad-supported option

The bad:

• Google is one of the largest companies in the world, and has a terrible track record on privacy, sustainability, supply chain, labour conditions, anti-competitive behaviour, tax avoidance, and data collection and surveillance (including a US$1.2 billion deal with Israel’s Ministry of Defence).

• The company is also one of the biggest proponents of global AI development and donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund - among many other issues.

• Google is a priority boycott target of the BDS movement

• Lacks hi-res audio

• Smaller library than some others

6 - Amazon Music

It’s Bezos, baby! Amazon Music is another alternative that exists, but probably not one that I would recommend if you’re switching for ethical reasons.

Cost: $13.99/month for individual, $23.99/month for family (up to 6)

Artist pay: Average of US$0.004 per stream (US$4 per thousand streams)

Parent Company: Amazon, which also owns The Washington Post.

The Good:

• Solid music catalogue

• Offers podcasts

• Better sound quality than Spotify

• Offers a (very limited) free ad-supported option

The bad:

• Amazon is plagued by a string of ethical issues, and besides being a huge driver of overconsumption, has been engaged in exploitative labour and supply chain practices, union-busting, greenwashing, anti-competitive practices, tax avoidance, and partnerships with fossil fuel companies.

• The company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, is one of the world’s wealthiest people, with a net worth of $254 billion and has u-turned from a Trump critic to a staunch supporter in the last year.

• Amazon is a priority boycott target of the BDS movement

• If that wasn’t enough, users have complained of glitchy mobile UX and poor music discovery features.

But what about podcasts?

Unlike Spotify, many of these other music streaming platforms do not encompass podcasts, which is a bummer for convenience. However, there are so many podcast apps to supplement your audio listening, and given that podcasts are typically ad-supported, most of them are free. Plus, you might actually find you enjoy separate your listening experience - I personally spent years avoiding podcast listening on Spotify for the sake of my music queue.

Here are just a few of the most popular ones (many of which you probably know):

• CastBox

• Pocket Casts

• Podcast Addict

• Overcast

• Apple Podcasts

Making the switch

If you’re feeling ready to take the leap, there are plenty of other guides that teach you how to do just that. Here are some that we found easy to follow:

• How to quit Spotify

• How to cancel your Spotify subscription

• 7 Things You Should Do Before Cancelling Your Spotify Account

There are plenty of services that can help you transfer all of your playlists and saves too, if that’s a barrier - just make sure you do it before you delete your account! The advice seems to be that you’ll probably have to pay a small fee if you want to do this properly, as free versions don’t quite cut it. But here are some popular options to look at:

• SongShift

• Soundiiz

• Tune My Music

That is all for now, but if you have any thoughts or tips on switching music streaming platforms, or how to best support artists, please pop them in the comments!

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