YouTube Music vs Spotify: Why I’m Sticking With YouTube
- Gigi Kenneth
- Feb 23, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 8
I’ll admit it upfront: I’m biased. I consume a lot of YouTube videos, so paying for YouTube Premium is a no-brainer for me. It’s a two-in-one deal. I get ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music bundled together, and now that Google Podcasts has merged with YouTube Music, I get my videos, music, and podcasts all in one place.
But is YouTube Music actually better than Spotify? That depends on what you want from a streaming service. Let’s break it down.
📝 2026 update
A lot has changed since I first wrote this post! Spotify launched lossless audio, raised prices significantly, and added several new features.
YouTube Music also introduced collaborative playlists. I've updated all the information below to reflect the current landscape as of January 2026.
Pricing and Plans
Plan | ||
Free | Yes (ads, no background play) | Yes (ads, shuffle only on mobile) |
Individual | $10.99 per month | $12.99/month (raised Jan 2026) |
Family | $16.99 per month (5 members) | $21.99/month (6 members) |
Student | $5.49 per month | $6.99/month |
Duo | N/A | $18.99/month (2 accounts) |
Sources: Variety, NerdWallet
YouTube Premium, which includes YouTube Music + ad-free YouTube, costs $13.99 per month, making it the best deal if you already use YouTube often.
Social Features: Spotify Still Leads, But YouTube Music Is Catching Up
🎉 Big Update:
YouTube Music now supports collaborative playlists! This was a major gap in my original post. As of October 2024, YouTube Music introduced collaborative playlists with voting features, allowing users to create and edit playlists together. (Source)
Spotify is still more social overall, with:
Collaborative playlists: Create and edit playlists with friends
Blend: A feature that combines your music taste with someone else's into a shared playlist
Jam: Real-time collaborative listening sessions that have grown significantly (Source)
Listening Activity & Messages: NEW in 2026! See what friends are listening to in real-time and message them directly in the app (Source)
YouTube Music's collaborative playlists include:
While Spotify remains the more social platform overall, YouTube Music has made significant strides in closing the gap.
Playlists and Music Discovery: YouTube Music Has More Variety
Spotify: Uses AI-driven playlists like Discover Weekly and Daily Mix, which predict what you'll enjoy based on your listening habits.
New in 2026
Spotify introduced Prompted Playlists that let you describe exactly what you want using natural language (e.g., "songs that feel like my early-2000s college years mixed with upbeat tracks"). The AI generates personalized playlists based on your listening history and current trends. (Source)
YouTube Music: Offers personalized radio stations and Supermixes, which blend different moods and genres.
Biggest difference? YouTube Music pulls from YouTube itself, so you get:
Mashups and remixes
Live concerts
Unreleased demos
DJ sets (my favorite - 2-3 hours long, so I don't need to create playlists)
Music videos integrated directly into the app
One of my favorite finds? A mashup of Dua Lipa’s Levitating and Twenty One Pilots’ Levitate. It's something I'd never get on Spotify because user-uploaded remixes don't exist there.
Spotify's playlists are more structured and curated, but YouTube Music gives you access to way more content because it taps into everything on YouTube.
Features: YouTube Music Offers More Control Over Playback
Better queue management: YouTube Music lets you choose whether a song plays next or at the end of your queue (Spotify's queue system is more rigid)
Download music without adding it to your library: You can temporarily download songs without saving them permanently
Offline Mixtape: YouTube Music automatically downloads a mix of songs based on your listening habits
Upload your own music files: If a song isn't available, YouTube Music lets you upload your own collection and stream it across devices. Spotify allows local files but doesn't sync them across devices
Spotify's 2026 Advantages:
Audiobooks: Spotify Premium includes 15 hours of monthly audiobook listening (over 500,000 titles). More than 50% of eligible Premium users tried audiobooks in 2025. (Source)
Music Videos: Rolled out to U.S. and Canada Premium users in late 2025 (Source)
Enhanced queue controls: Updated in 2025 with smarter Hide and Snooze options
If you like podcasts and audiobooks, Spotify is better. But for pure music listening, YouTube Music gives you more flexibility. Plus, YouTube still offers both podcasts and videos!
Sound Quality: Spotify Has the Edge Now
Major Update
After years of promises, Spotify finally launched lossless audio in September 2025. This is a game-changer for audiophiles. (Source)
Quality Setting | YouTube Music | Spotify |
Low | 48 kbps AAC (lower quality, best for slow internet) | 24 kbps Ogg Vorbis (very low quality, uses less data) |
Normal | 128 kbps AAC (standard quality, similar to FM radio) | 96 kbps Ogg Vorbis (slightly worse than YouTube's normal setting) |
High | 256 kbps AAC (good quality, most people won’t notice compression) | 160 kbps Ogg Vorbis (comparable to YouTube's high setting) |
Very High | 256 kbps AAC (almost CD quality) | 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC (lossless) |
Sources: NoteBurner, Spotify Newsroom
AAC (Advanced Audio Codec): Used by YouTube Music, it is widely supported and efficient in preserving sound quality.
Ogg Vorbis: Used by Spotify for compressed audio, better compression but not as widely supported outside of Spotify.
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec): Spotify's new lossless format preserves every detail from the original recording at CD quality.
Spotify now has the clear advantage for sound quality because it streams at 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC (lossless, CD-quality audio) at no additional cost for Premium subscribers. You need to enable it manually on each device through Settings. (Source)
YouTube Music tops out at 256 kbps AAC, which is still high quality but compressed. However, some users report that YouTube Music's audio processing makes it sound louder and more vibrant than competitors, even at lower bitrates. (Source)
That said, most people won't hear a difference unless they use high-end headphones. Some songs even sound fuller on YouTube Music, while others feel slightly lower in quality. Unless you're an audiophile (a person obsessed with sound quality), this won't be a deal breaker.
The Best Part About YouTube Music: The Infinite Library
This is why I switched to YouTube Music and never looked back.
Spotify only has official releases, while YouTube Music has:
Remixes and mashups (like the Levitating + Levitate mix I mentioned)
Live performances and concert recordings
Fan uploaded music and unreleased demos
DJ sets that last 2 to 3 hours, so I don’t need to create playlists
Music videos integrated directly into the app
If a song exists somewhere on the internet, it’s probably on YouTube Music.
Spotify will never catch up in terms of sheer content because it only works with licensed music.
Recommendations: YouTube Music Feels More Personalized (For Me)
YouTube Music:
Pulls recommendations from your YouTube watch history, not just music.
Has personalized Supermixes for different moods.
Offers seasonal recaps that show your top tracks and artists over different periods of time.
Spotify:
AI DJ that takes requests by voice or text (Source)
Prompted Playlists using natural language
Weekly listening stats and enhanced discovery controls
When I switched, YouTube Music already knew my taste because it had my entire YouTube history to work with. Spotify always felt like it needed weeks to "figure me out."I gave up. So I guess that makes sense for people who have spent years on Spotify, not being particularly excited to move to YouTube Music.
Final Thoughts: YouTube Music is the Best Choice for Me
If you:
Love mashups, remixes, and live recordings
Already pay for YouTube Premium
Want full control over your queue and downloads
Like discovering music beyond what algorithms push
Don't need the absolute highest audio quality (lossless)
Value content variety over pristine audio
Then YouTube Music makes more sense.
But if you:
Want better social features and playlist collaboration
Prefer a more structured playlist system
Care about podcasts and audiobooks in the same app
Want significantly better audio quality (24-bit lossless FLAC)
Are an audiophile with high-end headphones
Love AI-powered discovery (DJ, Prompted Playlists)
Don't mind paying $2-5 more per month
Then Spotify is the better choice.
At the end of the day, it comes down to how you listen to music. I'd rather have real people curating my experience than rely on an algorithm, and I love the chaotic, infinite nature of YouTube's music community. The fact that I can find a 3-hour deep house DJ set (I'm obsessed with Martin Garrix sets), or a live acoustic performance of my favourite song (like Caravan Palace - Lone Digger), is invaluable to me.
That’s why I’m sticking with YouTube Music.
However, I have to acknowledge that Spotify made incredible improvements in 2025-2026. The addition of lossless audio is huge for audio quality enthusiasts, and their new AI features are genuinely impressive.
If you're an audiophile or want audiobooks included, Spotify is objectively the better technical choice now.
But for me? The infinite library wins every time. 🎵
I hope you found this updated blog post helpful despite my bias towards one tool already, but I'd love to get more opinions on this. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Last updated: 8th February 2026