The business model is similar users are given a limited number of skips and have to listen to ads unless they sign up for the $9.99/month premium option. Like Pandora, Spotify can be used for free with ads, though it’s run through a desktop app instead of a browser. Its 30 million songs absolutely blow Pandora out of the water, and their exclusives and wide range of celebrity-curated playlists make it a popular choice for listeners both young and old. Spotify has made a huge name for itself very quickly with great branding and a phenomenal music selection. However, Pandora’s connection to the Music Genome Project does make it an intriguing option, as there are thousands of potential traits for each song, meaning the radio stations can be customized to very specific types of music. Pandora’s emphasis on radio-style playing may appeal to many users, but others may prefer the ability to listen through entire albums with the ease that’s offered by other services. Both the free and paid plans include the use of mobile apps on iPhone, Android, and other operating systems.Īlthough Pandora presents the best price for music streaming, it falls short on music selection: with only 1.5 million songs, it’s far beyond Spotify and Apple Music.

Benefits included in the premium plan include ad-free playing and more skips.

Pandora can be used for free through their Flash-based web interface (the inherent insecurities in Flash and its use as a malware transmission vector may dissuade some security-conscious users away from it), or users can choose to sign up for the $4.99 / month Pandora One plan.

Apple music vs spotify comparison chart