I’m really frustrated with Spotify right now. The monthly cost of £12 for premium feels way too expensive for what you get. I used to have premium but had to cancel because of the price. Now I’m stuck with the free version and it’s driving me crazy with all the limitations. The ads interrupt my music constantly and I can’t even skip songs properly. Music is super important to me and I listen to it all day long. I work from home and need background music to stay focused. Without being able to control my playlists properly it’s affecting my productivity. Has anyone found good alternatives to Spotify that don’t cost so much? I’ve heard about other streaming services but not sure which ones are worth trying. Really need something affordable that still has decent music selection and features.
Have you considered Apple Music? I made the switch last year when Spotify raised their prices and it’s been working out well. At £10.99 monthly it’s still cheaper than Spotify Premium, and if you’re a student you can get it for like £5.99. The sound quality is noticeably better in my opinion, especially if you have decent headphones or speakers for your home office setup. What really sold me was the three-month free trial they offer - gives you plenty of time to test it properly without commitment. The offline downloads work great and I’ve never had issues with songs suddenly becoming unavailable like I sometimes experienced with Spotify. Their curated playlists are actually quite good too, though it took a few weeks for the recommendations to get properly tuned to my taste. Only downside is the interface takes some getting used to if you’re coming from Spotify, but honestly after a week or two it becomes second nature.
I switched to YouTube Music Premium about eight months ago and honestly wish I’d done it sooner. It’s £9.99 per month which is already cheaper than Spotify, but the real value comes from getting YouTube Premium included in that price. No more ads on regular YouTube videos, which saves me probably another subscription fee I would have considered. The music library is massive since it pulls from both official releases and YouTube uploads, so you get access to remixes, live versions, and rare tracks that aren’t on other platforms. The transition was smoother than expected too - I was able to transfer most of my playlists over using a third-party tool. For your work-from-home situation, the background play feature works perfectly and the algorithm for discovering new music has been surprisingly good. Might be worth the free trial to see if it fits your needs better than dealing with Spotify’s free limitations.