9 Best Music Streaming Services of 2026

Apple Music gives the most sound quality per dollar of the big mainstream services. The $11.99 Individual plan includes the whole catalog of more than 100 million songs in lossless audio, which Apple labels Lossless up to 48kHz and Hi-Res Lossless from 48kHz to 192kHz. Thousands of tracks are also mixed in Dolby Atmos, and Apple says they play on any headphones through the latest Apple Music app. The plan also includes the separate Apple Music Classical app, real-time lyrics and the Apple Music Sing karaoke mode. Students pay $6.99 with Apple TV included, and the Family Plan shares everything with up to five other people for $19.99. The catch is hardware: Hi-Res Lossless needs an external USB DAC, and wireless earbuds will not carry full lossless detail. There is no free on-demand tier, only free radio. Apps exist for Android, Windows, Sonos and smart TVs, but the experience is most complete on iPhone, Mac and Apple TV 4K.

Spotify is the easiest service to live with every day, and it has closed much of its sound quality gap. Premium Individual costs $12.99 a month after a one-month trial and now includes lossless music up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz, which is CD-grade resolution at a higher bit depth, though not the 192 kHz Hi-Res that Apple, Tidal, Qobuz and Amazon offer. Premium also adds ad-free listening, downloads, any-order playback and 15 hours a month of audiobooks from a catalog Spotify puts at over 700,000 titles. Social features are its strongest point: Jam lets friends add to one queue in real time, Blend merges tastes into one playlist, and daylist and the DJ build personal mixes. Spotify says it runs on over 2,000 devices. Pricing is its weak spot. At $12.99 it costs a dollar more than Apple Music or Tidal, and Family is $21.99. The free tier remains a real advantage for casual listeners.

Tidal is the strongest choice for listeners who care mainly about sound and want a familiar app rather than a niche one. Tidal streams at three levels: Max, which is HiRes FLAC up to 24-bit, 192 kHz, High, which is lossless FLAC at CD quality, and Low, which uses AAC up to 320 kbps for saving data. A pill under the progress bar shows which format you are actually hearing, which is handy when checking that a DAC is doing its job. HiRes FLAC streams on iOS, Android, desktop and web, and select partner speakers support it through Tidal Connect. Dolby Atmos is available too. Tidal Individual costs $11.99 a month, matching Apple Music, and the Family plan at $19.99 covers up to 6 members. Tidal says its catalog is over 180 million songs. There is no free tier, and Chromecast playback drops to High on devices that do not support HiRes. Discovery and podcasts are thinner than on Spotify.

Qobuz is built for people who care about recordings as much as songs. Every Studio plan streams lossless and Hi-Res audio in FLAC at up to 24-bit, 192 kHz across a catalog of over 100 million tracks, and Qobuz says all its apps support 24-bit playback with no restrictions. Weekly editorial articles, liner-style features and expert playlists make it a good fit for jazz, classical and album listeners. Studio Solo costs $12.99 a month without commitment, or $10.83 a month when paid as one annual payment, which makes it the cheapest Hi-Res plan on this list for listeners who commit for a year. The Sublime plan, from $14.99, adds discounts of up to 60% on Hi-Res album purchases from the Qobuz download store. Apps cover Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, with Chromecast and AirPlay. There is no free tier, and Qobuz has none of the podcast, audiobook or social extras of Spotify.

Amazon Music Unlimited quietly matches the audiophile services on paper. Amazon's help pages list three quality tiers: SD up to 320 kbps, HD lossless at 16-bit/44.1 kHz up to 850 kbps, and Ultra HD Hi-Res lossless at 24-bit/192 kHz up to 3730 kbps. Both Dolby Atmos and Sony's 360 Reality Audio are supported on compatible devices, which no other service on this list offers together. A badge on the Now Playing screen shows the quality of the stream, the song and your device. The plan now includes one Audible audiobook a month on top of 100 million songs and ad-free podcasts. Price depends on Prime: $11.99 a month for members and $12.99 without, after a 30-day trial. A free ad-supported Amazon Music tier also exists. HD, Ultra HD and spatial audio are not on the cheaper Single Device Plan, and the audiobook perk is limited to one title a month.

Deezer is a solid alternative for listeners who want lossless audio without paying for an audiophile brand. Its HiFi mode uses FLAC and is included with all paid plans, and Deezer's feature page says it reaches high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192 kHz. Below HiFi sits High Quality at 320 kb/s MP3, and you can set different quality levels for mobile data, Wi-Fi and Google Cast. Deezer says HiFi needs a high-speed connection and suggests using it on Wi-Fi. Plans include Premium, Duo for two accounts, Family for six and Student, all with ad-free, on-demand and offline listening. Flow builds an endless personal mix, and a built-in transfer tool imports a library from another service. The free tier is limited to 64 or 128 kb/s. From our location the plans page showed only Polish prices, so the US price is pending. Deezer has fewer exclusives and less US editorial content than Spotify or Apple Music.

YouTube Music wins on breadth rather than fidelity. Because it draws on YouTube, the catalog includes live sets, covers, remixes and fan uploads next to official albums, and you can switch a song between audio and video. Sound quality is where it trails. Google's help page says Premium members can choose the bitrate, with Low up to 48kbps, Normal up to 128kbps and High up to 256kbps in AAC and Opus. Normal is the default, so new users should change it. An Always High setting keeps 256kbps even on a weak connection, downloads have their own quality choice, and a Wi-Fi-only switch protects your data plan. There is no lossless or Hi-Res mode, so owners of good wired headphones will hear more from Apple Music, Tidal or Qobuz. From our location YouTube's Premium page showed only a consent screen, so the US price is pending. It suits households that already pay for YouTube Premium.

Pandora is the budget choice for people who would rather press play than build playlists. The free tier lets you create stations from artists, songs and genres and refine them with thumbs up and down. Pandora Plus, at $5.99 a month or $65.89 a year, removes ads from stations and adds offline listening, more skips and replays, higher quality audio and a longer timeout. Premium, at $11.99 a month or $131.89 a year, adds on-demand search, custom playlists and offline access to as much music as your phone can store. Premium Family covers six accounts for $19.99, Student Premium costs $6.99 and Military Premium $9.99. Those prices apply when buying on the Pandora website. Pandora does not publish lossless or Hi-Res specs, only higher quality audio on paid tiers, so it is not a pick for audiophiles. It is also limited to US residents.

SoundCloud Go+ is less a replacement for Apple Music than a pass to music the big services often miss: independent releases, DJ mixes, remixes and early tracks from new artists. The plan removes ads, opens the full catalog, saves unlimited tracks offline and lets you mix tracks in select DJ apps. SoundCloud's help center says HQ tracks stream at 256kbps AAC, which it calls the equivalent of a 320kbps MP3, against 160kbps AAC for standard streams. HQ is off by default and only applies to tracks uploaded in lossless or high-bitrate formats, so quality varies from track to track. SoundCloud says Go+ subscriptions feed fan-powered royalties, which pay the artists each subscriber actually plays. A student plan is offered at 50% off, and new subscribers get a 30-day trial. From our location the Go+ page said the plan is not available in our country, so the US price is pending. There is no lossless tier.