12 Best Music Streaming Apps For Android And iOS (Free & Paid)

Are you looking for the best music streaming app for iOS or your Android device? Then, you’re on the right page. It’s fair to say that the music industry is going through a bit of a renaissance. Streaming apps have changed the way we consume music, providing us with access to virtually any song ever recorded at any time. Spotify and Apple Music are currently leading the charge, with both boasting more than 30 million subscribers worldwide. But there’s plenty of competition when it comes to streaming services: Tidal (Jay-Z’s streaming service), YouTube Music, Pandora and SoundCloud are all worth checking.

The market is saturated with music streaming apps. It’s getting increasingly difficult to choose one that fits you best. Here, we’ve rounded up a list of the top music streaming apps for Android and iOS devices, which will allow you to enjoy your favourite tunes wherever and whenever you want.

List Of Best Music Streaming Apps For Android And iOS (2021)

Aside from the excitement that you get from listening to music, scientifically, listening to music helps improve human health in a number of ways. Music can help you reduce stress, reduce depression, sleep better and tons of other health benefits. So, if you want to stream the best quality music of your favourite artiste, our list of the best music streaming apps for Android might just come in handy.

Most of the music streaming apps for Android and iOS comes with a premium subscription, however, some of the streaming services still let users stream for free. Except you need to save music for offline play, get higher sound quality and some other advanced features you won’t find the need to go for a premium version. With that said, below is the list of music streaming services we will be looking at.

1. Amazon Music
2. Deezer
3. Spotify
4. Youtube Music
5. Sound Cloud
6. Apple Music
7. Tidal
8. iHeartRadio
9. Pandora
10. TuneIn
11. Boomplay
12. Audiomack

Just before you start scrolling down if you need help identifying a song you heard playing from afar while walking down the street or maybe from a radio. Check out our article on the best song finder apps.

1. Amazon Music

Amazon Music is one of the best streaming apps for Android and iOS. It comes with a simple and sleek interface and has a music library with over 70 million songs. While you can still enjoy some of the latest songs on Amazon music for free, a premium plan is required to get access to unlimited songs. Amazon Music is currently giving new users a 90-days (3 months) trial which you can cancel anytime.

Sound quality? Great.

The two things I love about the Amazon music app are, it doesn’t display ads on the free version and how it displays the lyrics of a song you’re playing on the screen. Some apps don’t offer these features, some do but you’ll have to swipe or tap on another interface to view song lyrics. Amazon music, however, puts everything right in front of you. The music app also comes with support for Amazon Alexa. With this, you can easily pick up your music from where you left it anytime on the assistant. You can also listen to trending playlists, your favorite podcast, and more interesting features. Discover more when you install the Amazon music app.

2. Deezer

Deezer is another great music streaming app available on the Google Play Store. It’s one of the most popular streaming apps and offers a clean and well-organized interface. It houses over 73 million songs that you can listen to for free. Deezer helps users discover and play music from different categories, plus, you can also listen to radios, audio channels, and podcasts.

Unlike Amazon music, the free version of Deezer contains ads. You can opt for the premium version to enjoy an ad-free experience and access to unlimited tracks. Also, Deezer delivers one of the best sound quality on mobile and HiFi systems.

3. Spotify

I’ve used Spotify for some months and one thing I noticed is that, while I’m on the free version, I don’t get to choose what song I want to play. Instead, the app randomly throws any song from the artist I’ve selected or others at me to listen to which isn’t quite right. I’m not sure if this is a bug or has something to do with the free version because I don’t get the same experience while streaming the free version on my PC.

Aside from that, Spotify has a great uncluttered UI. It is arguably of the best music streaming apps for Android and iOS to stream music online. Spotify gives you free access to tens of millions of songs from different categories, however, it displays ads for free users. It also comes with built-in podcasts.

It is worth mentioning that Spotify used to be exclusive to some top-tier countries, but has now expanded to more regions and serves users a great music experience.

4. Youtube Music

After the demise of Google Play Music, Youtube music became more popular. The app comes with all the best Google Play Music features and houses over 70million official songs. One of the advantages YouTube music has over the other music streaming apps is that it also lets you watch the music video of your favourite songs without leaving the app for the parent app (Youtube) which is the best video streaming platform.

You can discover music based on your moods (Chill, Feel Good, Energy Booster, Sleep, Focus, Romance, Workout, Commute and Party). Youtube Music is available for free and contains ads. The premium version gets you an ad-free experience, background music play, offline download and the ability to switch from audio to video seamlessly. Youtube Music is one of the best free music streaming apps for Android and is also among the top music streaming service.

5. SoundCloud

If you’re looking for a song and you can’t find it on your favourite streaming app, then, you should try SoundCloud. SoundCloud is a great music streaming app available for Android and iOS devices for free. It has the largest song library, housing over 200 million tracks. You can find almost every new music on it.

Apart from streaming and downloading, SoundCloud offers a community feature that let you connect directly with other fans and support artists by liking, commenting and reposting their songs to reach more audience. The feature is particularly useful for emerging artists. SoundCloud contains ads, has a pretty decent interface and you can play choose to play music based on your current mood.

6. Apple Music Best Music Streaming App For iOS

Apple Music is one of the best and most used music streaming app on iOS and also one of the top music apps for Android. If you already own an iOS device, you don’t need to download Apple Music as it comes preinstalled on all iOS devices. Apple Music houses over 75 million songs and you can listen to live radio 24/7.

Apple Music is ad-free, however, you need a premium subscription to enjoy all the goodness of this streaming app. Similar to Soundcloud, you can create a profile and follow friends to see what they’re listening to and their playlist. This music app delivers high-quality sound but one thing to note is that some features are available based on countries or regions. If you’re going to try Apple Music, now is the best time. Apple is offering new users 3 months of free premium access.

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7. Tidal

Tidal is arguably the music streaming app with the best sound quality, its HiFi sound is second to none. It houses over 80 million audio tracks with features like unlimited skips, offline play, radio and intuitive discovery to make the experience seamless.

You can also watch videos and live shows on the app, curate your playlist and play that of others as well. Tidals user interface has been one of its weaknesses, however, it has improved a lot. The developers are listening to fans complaints and constantly bringing changes to improve the app experience.

Tidal is a paid service but you can still enjoy a free 30 days trial if you want to compare it to other services before jumping on the bandwagon.

8. iHeartRadio

I discovered iHeartRadio around mid-2018 although it has been around for quite a long time. iHeartRadio is originally a radio app but it comes with music streaming features that gives users premium-on-demand music services through which you can access millions of music from different categories.

The app also gives you access to top radio stations and get breaking news, sports news, talk and comedy radio shows. It is one of the best music streaming apps for Android and iOS that you install right now, but it is not available to all countries.

9. Pandora

Pandora is another good music app available on the Google Play Store but exclusive to the US. It is a premium music app like Amazon Music that requires a premium plan for you to enjoy endless music. It is one of the most popular music streaming app and it offers millions of tracks.

The music app also comes with radio streaming and podcasts features. The sound quality is very good and it gives you a music experience like no other.

10. TuneIn

If you’re looking for a music app with some added advantages, then, TuneIn is what you need. I like this music app for its all-in-one feature. With TuneIn you don’t only get good music, you’ll also be updated with breaking news and live sports. There’s also built-in Radio and podcasts features which makes it the perfect all-in-one music app for you. But that’s not all, you can also find lots of commercial-free music curated by leading-edge DJs.

You can say TuneIn is one of the best online music streaming services.

11. Boomplay

If you want to stay updated with the latest African music, then you should try Boomplay. Boomplay is Africa’s leading music app and one of the best free music streaming apps for Android and iOS. It offers free access to millions of music both African and international. You’ll also get entertainment news on Boomplay and some freebies while playing the in-app lucky draw daily.

Boomplay also comes with a built-in video player that lets you watch just any video format and several other impressive features. It’s one of the best free music streaming apps you will find on Google’s Play Store.

12. Audiomack

Apart from featuring the best local and international songs, Audiomack offers a simple and easy to navigate interface which is one of the reasons I like the app. While some music streaming apps may present you with many options and feeds on the homepage, Audiomack gives you an uncluttered UI and lets you find music easily.

You can stream and download music to play offline for free on this app and like SoundCloud, Audiomack lets young artist upload their songs and mixtapes on the platform and share them with the world. The little time I spent using Audiomack was interesting, however, I discovered most of my favourite songs were not on the app.

You’re probably wondering what kind of songs I listen to right now that I didn’t find on the music app. Well, I listen to Nasheed songs a lot and it happened to be that Audiomack is not up to date on this genre. Above all, it is one of the best free music streaming app you can have installed on your Android or iOS device but it’s definitely worth the mention.

So, there you have it, our top 12 Music Streaming Apps for Android which you can try. There are several other great online music apps available on Google Play Store but here we’ve saved you the stress of searching and compiled a list of the best music streaming apps for Android and iOS. You can as well access these streaming services online using your web browsers or desktop app.

Final Thoughts

Music streaming apps provides a simple and quick way to find and listen to your favourite music on the go. These apps produce great sound and 100% quality of a song while helping you save more space on your phone’s storage. One of the reasons I love streaming with apps is because it saves me time searching for music on the internet and gives me more free space on my device. With Music streaming apps I don’t necessarily need to download music before I can play them.

Do you have other music apps you feel should be on the list? Please, share your experience with one of these apps or suggest a new app to add to the list. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to comment below!

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