There are a lot of aspects to keep in mind when making a decision, and we’ve outlined a comprehensive comparison between what the free and the premium version has to offer. Once you read it, we’re certain you’ll have a good idea of whether to get the Spotify premium subscription. Let’s begin.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Music Library
Spotify boasts of a library of over 80 million tracks, and here’s the good news – you get to access all of them on the free version as well. You also get content curation, playlist recommendations, and daily mixes on both free and premium account. However, Spotify allows a few artists to release exclusive content for premium members, but it isn’t that common. That said, if you are particular about not missing out on any such exclusive releases or listening to new albums on time, it is worth investing in the premium version.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Podcasts
Spotify made headlines when it acquired Joe Rogan’s podcast for over $100m, and it was evident they had huge aspirations in the world of podcasting. Since then, there have been a lot of high-quality Spotify Exclusive podcasts, and we have good news once again – you can listen to all of them on the free version as well. You can also download podcasts on the free version. However, both Spotify Premium and Free versions use a technology called Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI) which allows podcasters to opt for ads in Spotify Exclusives and Original Podcasts. That said, there are no ads that interrupt your podcast listening experience on the free version as well, and you can download podcasts offline on both the Free and Premium versions.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: How Bad Are the Ads
Now that we touched open ads in the previous section, let us address the major issue with Spotify Free version. It has advertisements that you just can’t skip. If you were given DJ duties at the next party and have a free version of Spotify, we’d honestly advise you to pass it on to someone else or buy the premium version. But there’s some way Spotify has to make money by offering you free music, and that is through ads. So it is a fair world indeed. There are ads every 15 minutes in between songs, and you can’t skip and they are over thirty seconds long. The only way to get rid of it is by purchasing a premium version. There are no ads while listening to music on the premium version of Spotify. With Podcasts, you might still hear ads that are read out by the host, and that has got nothing to do with Spotify since it is a decision made by the host. As mentioned earlier, there is a chance that you hear ads through the Streaming Ad Insertion technology on Spotify Exclusive and Originals. So, all-in-all, you should become a Spotify premium user for an uninterrupted listening experience.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Sound Quality
Sound quality is another major differentiating factor between Spotify Free and Spotify Premium. Firstly, let us understand the quality levels of Spotify. As per the official information provided by Spotify, here’s what we know.
Automatic: Dependent on your network connection Low: Equivalent to approximately 24kbit/s Normal: Equivalent to approximately 96kbit/s High: Equivalent to approximately 160kbit/s Very high: Equivalent to approximately 320kbit/s
On the Premium Verison of Spotify, you get to play music at all audio quality levels. However, with the Free version, you get to play music only up to the ‘High’ level on the mobile app. On the desktop app, it is restricted to 128kbit/s only. Having said that, the audio quality of the free version is not entirely bad and still gives a good listening experience. However, there is still a noticeable difference between the ‘High’ and the ‘Very High’ level on the Premium version of Spotify.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Playback Controls
A major disadvantage of using the free version of Spotify is that you don’t get complete control of how you listen to your music. In the free version, you can only shuffle albums, but you won’t be able to pick a song to play. Further, you also can’t search for songs to create a playlist of your own. When you shuffle songs, you can only shuffle or skip up to 6 songs an hour. However, there are a few Spotify-curated mixes without the shuffle symbol that do not come with any restrictions. The Spotify Free plan on your phone will not allow you to play any song on demand, but you can listen to any song on demand on the Desktop version. This is a major reason why we recommend purchasing the premium version, as there are no restrictions whatsoever. You get unlimited skips in the shuffle mode.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Offline Listening
If you plan to listen to Spotify on a long flight without internet access, your only option is to buy a Premium subscription. Except for podcasts, the free version does not allow you to download songs, and therefore, offline listening is not an option at all. On the Spotify Premium version, you can download as many as 10,000 tracks on up to five devices each. However, you will need to go online once every 30 days to keep your downloads intact.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Social Features
Spotify adds a few features that make the experience more fun with your friends. The playlist collaboration feature, where you can create a playlist along with your friend, is available both on the free and paid version. Spotify Blend, which generates a playlist with the most listened songs of you and your friend, is also available on both the free and the paid versions. However, the group session feature, which allows you and your friend to have a music-listening session together is only available on the premium version. Another feature called Spotify Wrapped, which showcases your journey of listening to music at the end of each year, is available for both premium and free users. That said, Spotify has done a decent job in adding a few features to use Spotify with your friends on the free version too.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Plans
Now, let’s get to business. Here’s how the Spotify Premium versions are priced.
Conclusion: Is Spotify Premium Worth It
It all comes down to why or how you want to use Spotify. If you are someone who listens to a lot of music regularly, using the free version simply does not make sense. The lack of playback controls as mentioned in this article is a huge drawback. If you can afford the subscription comfortably, we recommend you purchase this experience – yes, Spotify is indeed an experience and so much more than just a music streaming app.
Who Should Consider the Spotify Free Version
If you are someone who just wants to listen to some tunes as you walk, or work, or don’t care about the music that much – go ahead with the Free version. Besides, if you want to use Spotify exclusively for Podcasts, you can use the Free version. When we were using Apple Music, we used a free version of Spotify just to listen to the podcasts, and moreover, even as a free user you get to listen to all the exclusive ones as well.
Make a Choice Between Spotify Free and Spotify Premium
We hope this article helped you understand the difference between Spotify free and premium, and make an informed decision. Overall, if you love music, Spotify Premium is worth it! Trust us. Besides, if you’re new, take the free trial of Spotify premium to experience ad-free music with high-quality sound. You’ll understand the difference yourself.
