Best Music Streaming · alternatives
Best Apple Music alternatives (2026)
7 alternatives to Apple Music in music streaming, ranked by entry price. Apple Music starts at $6.99/mo. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it.
Key takeaways
- Cheaper than Apple Music: Pandora, Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer.
- Free alternatives: Pandora, Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, Spotify, YouTube Music.
- Closest by price: Pandora ($4.99/mo), Amazon Music Unlimited ($5.99/mo), Deezer ($5.99/mo).
Apple Music alternatives compared
| # | Alternative | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | Best for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pandora STALE · 2026-09-03 | $4.99/mo | Yes | — | US listeners who prefer algorithmic radio over curated playlists | help.pandora.com |
| 2 | Amazon Music Unlimited STALE · 2026-09-05 | $5.99/mo | Yes | — | Amazon Prime members wanting a discounted music add-on | amazon.com |
| 3 | Deezer STALE · 2026-09-05 | $5.99/mo | Yes | — | HiFi FLAC listeners who want lossless at a lower price than Qobuz/TIDAL | deezer.com |
| 4 | Spotify | $6.99/mo | Yes | — | Social listening and playlist sharing | spotify.com |
| 5 | TIDAL | $6.99/mo | No | — | Audiophiles wanting HiRes FLAC at competitive price | support.tidal.com |
| 6 | YouTube Music STALE · 2026-09-05 | $11.99/mo | Yes | — | Users who want music videos alongside audio tracks | music.youtube.com |
| 7 | Qobuz | $12.99/mo | No | — | Audiophiles and hi-fi enthusiasts wanting the highest available streaming resolution | qobuz.com |
Data current through 2026-10-12. STALE marks a row whose price we have not re-checked at its source in over 30 days; a vendor with no published price is marked when any of its plans is. 4 of 7 rows above are marked. Compare any two directly on the Music Streaming index.