Finding a technology that is universally considered “best” is difficult because different people have different preferences. In such situations, comparing products helps you find what works best. In the same way, if you are confused between YouTube Music and Spotify, comparing the two is the only way to go. Spotify and YouTube Music do many things the same way. Here are six ways YouTube Music is better than Spotify.
6 Mood filters on the Home page
They are easily accessible from the top of the YouTube Music home page
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The Home pages of Spotify and YouTube Music prioritize different UI elements, making them look different from each other. While Spotify’s Home page might look clean and aesthetically pleasing, YouTube Music’s approach to getting you to what you want to listen to after opening the app is simpler and more effective than Spotify’s. A large part of this is due to the quick mood selectors on YouTube Music.
Unlike Spotify, which only shows Music and Podcasts tabs at the top, YouTube Music offers tabs for podcasts and various mood filters, including sad, feel-good, focus, party, and more. YouTube Music shows you mixes, playlists, and radios based on the filter you selected.
However, on Spotify, you get mood-based playlists instead of a dedicated page, consisting of various music collections reflecting your choice. Still, it’s difficult to find the right one because the Mood and Genre section on Spotify’s Search page is crowded. Another way is to type “Mood” in the search bar to access all those playlists. It shouldn’t have to be this complicated to find the songs based on what you’re feeling right now.
5 Pin to Speed dial
The quickest way to play your favorite music
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When I listen to music on Spotify and fall in love with a particular track, I add it to the Liked songs section. YouTube Music has something similar, as you can pin a song to the Speed dial. Unlike on Spotify, where your favorite music resides on a dedicated Liked Songs page, the Speed dial section on YouTube Music is visible on the home page, allowing you to swipe to the left or right to access and play your favorite song.
However, the Liked Songs page has advantages. For example, you can play your favorite songs in order, shuffle, and download all the tracks for offline listening. Spotify and YouTube Music allow users to add songs to their respective Liked Music sections, but Google does it better because you can pin or unpin the Liked music to the Speed dial.
Related 7 basic features that are MIA on YouTube Music YouTube Music should level up its offerings for a better music experience
4 Incognito mode
YouTube Music is the perfect place to listen to all your guilty pleasure songs
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Unlike in many popular web browsers, you won’t find a setting in Spotify and YouTube Music that mentions Incognito mode, but both have features that serve the same purpose. On Spotify, the Private Session toggle enables incognito browsing for six hours. On YouTube Music, you must enable two toggles, Pause watch History and Pause Search history, to make sure your activity isn’t reflected on the YouTube Music app.
The issue with Spotify is that it imposes a six-hour limit on its Private sessions, and you can’t change that time frame. You don’t have that restriction on YouTube Music. Those two toggles won’t automatically be disabled until you do it manually.
3 Activity feed
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Google introduced the Activity feed in YouTube Music in 2024, allowing users to search for their favorite artists, subscribe to them, and get updates from them. The only issue is that when you subscribe to an artist, it’s automatically reflected on the YouTube app. However, if you get past this drawback, the Activity feed is a useful feature that shows new singles and albums released by the artists you subscribed to in reverse chronological order.
Spotify shows new releases from your favorite artists in your home feed or the New releases section. It’s not an easy task to find them in the vast sea of content on the platform. On YouTube Music, it’s simple. Tap the bell icon at the top of the app and see all the updates from the artists you subscribed to.
2 Better music video experience
Continuous listening and viewing experience on YouTube Music
Source: Spotify
Switching to videos is easy on Spotify and YouTube Music, but Google implemented it better. After switching to the video format, YouTube Music remembers it and plays the next track in the video format if the video for that song is available. It keeps playing songs in the video format if available until you switch to audio.
Spotify does it differently, and it’s inconvenient for a continuous listening and viewing experience. That’s because to enjoy a music video on Spotify, you must switch to the video format for each track separately when it starts playing. YouTube Music can act somewhat like YouTube, but you won’t feel the same about Spotify because of the regular interruption caused by repeated switching to video format.
Related YouTube Music needs to avoid its Play Music mistakes with podcasts Google has to prove it won’t make the same mistakes with podcasts as it did with Google Play Music.
1 YouTube integration
The best thing about this is the choice
YouTube is the most popular streaming platform in the US and other parts of the world. This is why the likelihood of finding a not-so-popular song you recently liked is higher on YouTube than any other music streaming platform. This makes the YouTube integration all the more useful for users who prefer easy access to music videos without leaving the YouTube Music app.
YouTube Music can also suggest music based on your music preferences and viewing history on YouTube. The best thing about this feature is that these recommendations aren’t forced on users. You can turn it off from the settings to keep YouTube Music separate from the YouTube app.
YouTube Music isn’t perfect, but it’s worth a shot
YouTube Music’s algorithm has improved in the past few years to reach parity with Spotify if not beat it. However, YouTube Music is far from perfect. For example, if you’re an audio enthusiast and planning to switch from Spotify to YouTube Music, you’ll miss features like crossfade and 320kbps streaming. Another major downside of YouTube Music is that it can’t control music playback across devices as seamlessly as Spotify.
Moreover, YouTube Music needs time to understand your preferences to suggest songs that you’ll like. During the initial days, you may not find YouTube’s music algorithm as good as Spotify’s. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to accept these caveats and know how to get the most out of YouTube Music, it can replace Spotify as your primary music streaming service.