YouTube Music vs Spotify: Prices and Sound Compared
Spotify Premium is $12.99 with lossless audio. YouTube Music Premium is $11.99 and tops out at 256 kbps. Plans, sound and which one fits, from their own pages.
YouTube Music is cheaper, and Spotify sounds better. In the US, Spotify Premium costs $12.99 a month and YouTube Music Premium costs $11.99. Spotify's Premium plan now includes lossless audio "up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz," its own page says. YouTube Music's best setting is an "Upper bound of 256kbps AAC & OPUS," according to its help page. So it comes down to what you value. Spotify wins on sound and extras like audiobook hours, and YouTube Music wins on price and on music videos, covers and uploads you won't find elsewhere.
We read Spotify's Premium page and support pages, and YouTube Music's help page, through our server on October 23, 2026. YouTube's own price pages come from Google's snippets.
How much do Spotify and YouTube Music cost?
| US plan | Spotify Premium | YouTube Music Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $12.99 | $11.99 |
| Student | $6.99 | $5.99 |
| Family | $21.99 | $18.99 |
| Duo | $18.99 | No Duo plan |
Spotify's Premium page, read October 23, 2026, and YouTube Music's Premium page as Google showed it the same day.
Spotify raised its US prices this year. Its newsroom announced the change on January 15, 2026, and Variety reported that "individual premium plans will increase from $11.99 to $12.99/month." Spotify's Family plan covers "Up to 6 Premium accounts," and YouTube Music's lets you "Add up to 5 family members (ages 13+)." Spotify's student plan also includes Hulu, its page says.
There's one more option. YouTube Premium, at $15.99 a month in the US, includes YouTube Music and ad-free YouTube. ScreenApp's October 2026 guide says it "rose from $13.99 to $15.99/month" in June 2026.
Which sounds better, Spotify or YouTube Music?
| Setting | Spotify Premium | YouTube Music Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Top lossy quality | About 320 kbit/s | 256 kbps AAC and Opus |
| Lossless | Up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC | Not offered |
Spotify Support, "Audio quality," and YouTube Music Help, "Change your audio quality," read October 23, 2026.
Spotify's support page lists "Very high: Equivalent to approximately 320kbit/s" and "Lossless: Equivalent up to 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC" for Premium. Free Spotify stops at "High," about 160 kbit/s. YouTube Music's help page lists Low, Normal and High, with High capped at 256 kbps, plus an "Always High" setting that keeps that quality on weak connections. Free-codecs puts it bluntly: "256kbps AAC is the best YouTube Music offers."
Most people won't hear a big gap on phone speakers. Soundiiz's June 2026 comparison says the lossless level "will be more than sufficient for almost all listeners." You'll notice it more on good headphones.
What else is different?
- Catalog. Soundiiz gives YouTube Music the edge on catalog, since it adds remixes, covers and uploads, and says "statistically, there's no doubt that YouTube Music is ahead."
- Audiobooks. Spotify's Individual plan includes "15 hours/month of listening time from our audiobooks subscriber catalog."
- Discovery. Soundiiz calls Spotify "ideal for playlist-driven music discovery."
- Bundles. YouTube Music comes free with YouTube Premium, and Spotify's student plan comes with Hulu.
Which should you pick?
Pick Spotify if sound quality, playlists and audiobooks matter to you, or if your friends already share playlists there. Pick YouTube Music if you want to save $1 a month, watch music videos, or already pay for YouTube Premium. "Youtube music vs spotify" gets about 18,100 searches a month, so plenty of people are weighing it.
If you make music, Spotify is also where your streams turn into money. Our guides to how much Spotify pays per stream and Spotify monthly listeners cover the numbers. Hclout sells Spotify plays, so weigh that the way you'd weigh any seller, and our free Spotify plays guide covers the free routes.
Frequently asked questions
Is YouTube Music cheaper than Spotify?
Yes. In the US it's $11.99 a month, against $12.99 for Spotify Premium.
Does Spotify have lossless audio?
Yes. Premium includes lossless up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC.
What is YouTube Music's best audio quality?
256 kbps AAC and Opus, on the High setting.
Does YouTube Premium include YouTube Music?
Yes. YouTube Premium, at $15.99 a month in the US, includes YouTube Music Premium.
Which has more songs, Spotify or YouTube Music?
Soundiiz says YouTube Music is ahead, because it includes covers, remixes and uploads.
Sources
- Spotify, Premium page and Support, "Audio quality," read through our server on October 23, 2026; Spotify newsroom, January 15, 2026
- YouTube Music Help, "Change your audio quality," read through our server on October 23, 2026; YouTube Music and YouTube Premium pages as Google showed them that day
- Soundiiz, June 4, 2026, read through our server; Variety, January 15, 2026; ScreenApp, October 13, 2026; and Free-codecs, January 20, 2026, as Google showed them on October 23, 2026
- Google Ads Keyword Planner, worldwide, read October 23, 2026
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