Spotify vs SoundCloud: Which is better Spotify or SoundCloud?

Struggling to decide between Spotify and Soundcloud? If you are unsure about whether you want mainstream hits or discover hidden gems or if the dilemma of a polished interface versus a more community-driven experience leaves you puzzled, you’re not alone. The Soundcloud vs spotify debate is entirely dependent on what you are looking for in a music streaming app.

As a music lover, I have repeatedly switched between music apps to find the best version of songs that I might be interested in. Both Spotify and SoundCloud have been a significant part of my phone’s music app collection for years. But, if I had to decide between the two, I would say, it DEPENDS!! Both these applications, despite their claims of being a music streaming app, have different niches to cater to. However, I will segregate factors on which we can decide which one is better.

Quick Verdict

Spotify and SoundCloud: Who is their Targeted Audience?

Claiming themselves as two music streaming giants, spotify and SoundCloud are not the same. They have a different audience to whom they are catering well.

Spotify

After using Spotify services for a while now, I have concluded that Spotify has been extremely focused on portraying itself as the biggest music streaming app with a vast song and artist library of 10 Million tracks and features like Discover, offline listening, and AI DJ. Its audio quality, song shuffle, and Spotify Connect make the app stand tall as the biggest music streamer app.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud, as I have experienced it for the past few years, is a great platform for emerging talent, live performers, and singing practitioners to create a fan base for themselves using Soundcloud as a platform. Soundcloud is a customizable app for newbie artists to upload their recorded songs. The free version has ad interruptions while the two premium plans Go and Go+ allow offline listening, no ads, and a vast music library.

Spotify vs Soundcloud: Factors you need to consider

As I have mentioned earlier, the spotify vs. SoundCloud debate depends upon the class of audience you belong to. There are two basic factors on which you can decide where you fall 

If you are a true music enthusiast, who loves listening to original tracks and are a true follower of your favourite artists and anticipate new releases from them, then Spotify is your ultimate bestie. Spotify only has the original versions of songs and tracks that will satisfy your music craving. Also, if you are on a quest to discover new music, artists, and genres based on your taste, then the Spotify algorithm is the best for you.

However, if you love listening to newbies, experimental artists, low-profile producers, and upcoming artists and bands who record their version of songs in their voice, then Soundcloud is your go-to app.

Hence, spotify and SoundCloud are two indirect competitors catering to different groups of audiences.

Beginner

Artists who are at the start of their music career may gain popularity using SoundCloud. SoundCloud provides you with the exposure you are looking for to gain an audience for your early singing. Spotify requires a third party to upload music while Soundcloud lets you upload music directly.

Mature

If you are a well-known artist, then spotify is the perfect place for you to showcase your talent with a bigger audience. As a successful music artist, Spotify is the go-to platform for reaching a larger audience worldwide. While SoundCloud is worth considering, 

Spotify offers a social media-like experience, connecting you with most of your listeners instantly. With over 300 million users globally, of which 168 million are subscribers, Spotify provides a significant opportunity for exposure and engagement.

Brand

If you are a brand deciding where to advertise with audio ads, you may face a unique challenge comparing Spotify and SoundCloud. Both platforms play audio ads, making it tricky for brands to choose. 

Spotify has a bigger and more diverse audience, making it more appealing to most businesses. While SoundCloud isn’t useless, many prefer Spotify. Spotify is also taking a risk with interactive ads featuring voice recognition, joining the trend of ads that engage listeners in conversation.

If you have a limited budget and you just need a music catalog with ad-free listening, then Soundcloud is best for you. However, if you are a true music enthusiast, who loves listening and exploring many other features, then you should definitely choose Spotify over SoundCloud. Learn more about Spotify premium pricing plans.

Spotify vs Soundcloud: Which is better?

Spotify

Spotify allows only the brand artists and their music which ensures quality tracks. Spotify also has podcasts in its catalog that add extra benefit to its library. 
If you are open to experimental versions soundcloud is for you and if you admire original artists then spotify is your destiny.

SoundCloud

Apparently, Soundcloud has a 200 Million song catalog as opposed to 80 Million on spotify. This is because SoundCloud lets individual artists upload music. So there are multiple versions of the same song and it becomes quite trickier to find and listen to the original version. 

Spotify

Who doesn’t love to have an app personalized for them? Spotify’s weekly feature creates a personal playlist based on your listening history. The smart algorithms read your interests and moods and curate the playlist tailored to your needs.  Hence, if you are looking for smart algorithms to curate playlists for you, Spotify is your best friend.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud does not work particularly on such smart algorithms. Soundcloud usually recommends songs that others on your following list are listening to. The basic mechanism of Soundcloud is that it lets you follow people and recommends songs based on their playlists. Otherwise, SoundCloud recommends you with the most trending playlist of that time.

Spotify

Spotify, known for its popularity is justified. The leading music streaming app has reached over 180 countries around the world as its most popular music app. This is because the spotify app is not only confined to being Android and iOS compatible, but also the app works perfectly fine with other operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud is currently available to Android and iOS users only which is a major drawback for SoundCloud. Apart from this, SoundCloud has a significant global presence and reach particularly in the U.S. from which it gains 27% of its traffic, followed by the UK, Germany, France, and Canada.

Spotify

With the recent hike in screen time after COVID-19, users are quickly switching between apps.
Spotify’s user interface is one of the top-notch app interfaces around the world. It allows you to access almost all its features from its homepage only, so you get a chance to explore and benefit completely. 

SoundCloud

Soundcloud’s user interface, known for its intuitive design, is also easy and organized. it offers customization options like creating playlists and following favorite artists enhancing the user experience for both listeners and creators.
However, if you compare it with spotify, the Soundcloud app still lags. 

Spotify

Spotify lets you enjoy ad-free music, offline listening, unlimited song skips, AI DJ, connect, and many other features in its premium plan. The pricing plan starts from $5.99/month and goes up to $16.99/month. The pricing plan includes student, individual, duo, and family premium plans.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud has different plans, the lowest one, known as Soundcloud Go, allows only ad-free music and offline listening and costs $5.99.month. The Soundcloud Go+ plan also allows access to a full music catalog, DJ integration tools, and high-quality audio and costs $9.99/month. 

Spotify

When all you need is good music, the audio quality is a key element that you always need to consider. Good quality audio to music is just like the salt is to food, the tastemaker. 
Spotify’s free version streams music at 160 kbps while the premium version offers 320 kbps audio quality.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud, too, provides a music streaming quality of 128 kbps on the free version and 320 kbps on its premium plans. Hence, if you are a music enthusiast, there is none other than Spotify which provides the best audio quality.

Spotify

In terms of popularity, Spotify is far beyond SoundCloud with 400 Mn. monthly listeners and 80 Mn. subscribers. Spotify has positioned itself as a versatile application that meets most of the needs of music lovers. Spotify has gained this popularity with its advanced features like an attractive user interface, content, and audio quality.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is suited for independent artists who want to showcase their talent. So, the basic difference between them is the type of audience they have, hence their popularity. SoundCloud has 76 million registered users and 175 Mn. monthly listeners so have a significant presence too.

If we talk about the features of spotify and SoundCloud, they are not the same, Why? It is because they both are built on two different business models and target two different sets of audiences so they both have different features to attract their users. 

Spotify

Spotify is purely a music streaming service based on providing its user base with the best quality music, the most versatile nature of music albums, podcasts, and features like AI DJ, Connect, and others that make Spotify what it is today.

SoundCloud

Soundcloud, too has similar features but are not optimized and are even less common. Soundcloud has positioned itself to target beginner artists, lo-fi producers, and experimenters to record and gain fame, hence, a tie between the two.

My Personal Opinion

If you talk about my own experience with both the apps, I will prefer spotify over Soundcloud being a true music enthusiast. With its additional features, better pricing, vast music library, reach, popularity, and focus on real music lovers, Spotify has won my heart multiple times.