Today, it's easier than ever to listen to music at a low cost. Spotify, one of the pioneers in the music streaming industry, gives you full access to its music library for free or at a monthly charge for an ad-free experience. However, Spotify isn't the only free music streaming app available. SoundCloud is also a popular (and free!) service that allows creators and DJs to upload their music and share it on social networks. Spotify vs SoundCloud: Which is better? Read this comparison to find out!

And when you're ready to switch and want to take your playlists with you, you can transfer all your songs from Spotify to SoundCloud or the other way around with Free Your Music.

Introducing Spotify

Spotify emerged from the concept of creating a music platform that would enable its users to access all the songs in the world. This innovative streaming service completely changed the way people consume music, which also strongly affected the music industry. Spotify is filled to the brim with content, and users can enjoy unlimited access to personalized playlists, podcasts, and videos. Spotify offers a music catalog with over 100 million songs. You can use the free version of the app or subscribe to Premium for an ad-free experience. The service is available on many platforms: iOS, Android, desktop apps, and web browsers. Moreover, Spotify can sync with many devices so you can enjoy the music experience anywhere.

Introducing SoundCloud

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud takes a slightly different approach by focusing on user-generated content. It allows artists, musicians, and creators to upload their own tracks and share them with the world. SoundCloud is often seen as YouTube for audio because it enables you to upload your own music, even if it's home-recorded material. Currently, SoundCloud offers 320 million songs — it’s three times more than other music streaming platforms.

Over the years, SoundCloud has evolved into a vibrant community of established and emerging artists, strongly emphasizing indie and underground music. This has made SoundCloud more of a niche site. Unlike its competitors, it gives broad access to independent rather than commercial songs. On SoundCloud, users can find original tracks and remixes not available anywhere else.

SoundCloud is more than a streaming service – it's also a distribution platform and online community.

Music Catalog

SoundCloud offers around 320 million tracks, while Spotify has approximately 100 million songs. The reason for such a disparity in catalog size is that Spotify focuses mainly on mainstream music, while SoundCloud is dedicated to more independent, user-generated content. SoundCloud allows anyone to upload their music, giving it a much broader (but often less curated) choice of songs.

SoundCloud's focus on independent artists makes it ideal for fans of alternative musical styles and underground culture. You can find music from DJs, remixes, and tracks that may not be available anywhere else. However, if you're into mainstream music and prefer well-known pop albums, you might gravitate toward Spotify. Additionally, Spotify’s catalog is better organized, making it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Music Discovery and Podcasts

When it comes to music discovery, both apps offer systems for suggesting musicians and composers you might like. Spotify excels with its brilliant recommendation engine. The app creates playlists and suggests songs based on your listening habits. It uses an advanced algorithm that tracks your listening history to ensure each recommendation fits your preferences perfectly.

SoundCloud, meanwhile, focuses on indie artists, allowing them to upload tracks of their original music or remixes of existing songs. Some musicians and labels that don’t want to stream to mainstream services like Spotify often turn to SoundCloud. The interface is intuitive, allowing you to explore tracks through tags, related tracks, and artist profiles. Users can also interact directly with artists in the comment sections, which creates a community engagement feel.

SoundCloud also supports fan-powered royalties, meaning your listening habits directly contribute to the revenue of your favorite independent artists. On the other hand, Spotify’s subscription model means you may be paying for artists you don’t listen to, as Spotify's payouts are based on total streams.

SoundCloud does not have as effective an algorithm as Spotify, but it’s great for discovering new, emerging artists.

Podcasts

Spotify offers a massive podcast catalog from popular speakers and content creators. It’s much stronger than SoundCloud in this area, hosting a variety of podcasts from true crime to education and exclusive shows.

SoundCloud, however, is not limited to just music, and it offers a variety of podcasts as well. For instance, you can find podcasts from CNN, The New Yorker, and university lectures. While SoundCloud’s podcast library is smaller, it still offers unique content.

Playlists

Both SoundCloud and Spotify allow you to create public and private playlists, but Spotify has more features. You can follow your friends' listening activity and create collaborative playlists on Spotify. Additionally, if you get bored of the songs in your playlist, you can use Spotify's radio function, which creates a new playlist based on selected songs. The radio function also ensures that similar genres are played, so you won’t randomly hear pop music in a metal playlist.

SoundCloud allows you to repost tracks on your profile, creating a shareable playlist. You can easily create and organize SoundCloud playlists, and the platform has a great sharing tool, allowing you to share tracks via social media and email.

Artist Promotion

Spotify’s algorithmic playlists and personalized recommendations can significantly boost an artist’s visibility. However, getting featured on prominent playlists is often competitive and may favor established artists. Spotify also provides tools like Spotify for Artists to help musicians track their analytics, engage with their fanbase, and promote their music.

SoundCloud offers great opportunities for emerging artists to gain exposure and build a fanbase. The ease of uploading original content directly to the platform makes it a popular choice for creators. However, visibility often depends on self-promotion and community engagement.

Free & Premium Subscriptions

Both Spotify and SoundCloud offer free and premium subscription options. Here's a breakdown:

Spotify Plans

• Spotify Free: Offers shuffle mode, ads, and limited offline features. Users can still access the full catalog and create playlists.
• Spotify Premium: Costs $10.99/month, offering ad-free listening, offline access, and higher sound quality (320 kbps).
• Spotify Family: $16.99/month for six accounts, offering the same features as Premium.
• Spotify Premium Duo: $14.99 for two accounts, including shared playlists.
• Spotify Students: Offers 50% off Premium for students at $5.99/month.

SoundCloud Plans

• SoundCloud Free: Offers limited storage and features, with ads.
• SoundCloud Go+: $9.99/month for offline and ad-free listening, high-quality audio, and a larger music catalog.
• SoundCloud Pro: For creators, offering unlimited track uploads, advanced tools, and analytics, starting at $8.25/month.

Devices & Availability

You can use both Spotify and SoundCloud on a variety of devices, including mobile (iOS, Android), desktop (Windows, Mac), smart TVs, and game consoles. Spotify offers a unique Spotify Connect feature that allows seamless playback on over 2,000 devices from 200 different brands.

SoundCloud is available through web browsers, mobile apps, and devices like Sonos, Chromecast, and Xbox One.

Audio Quality

Spotify offers varying audio quality based on your plan and device. The free version provides 96 kbps on mobile and 160 kbps on desktop, while Premium gives 320 kbps.

SoundCloud offers lower-quality streams, with 64 kbps on the free version and up to 256 kbps on SoundCloud Go+.

Transfer Your Playlists from SoundCloud to Spotify

Want to switch streaming services? Use Free Your Music to easily transfer your playlists from Spotify to SoundCloud or SoundCloud to Spotify. Free Your Music saves you time and hassle, letting you take your music with you to any platform.