# Alternatives to Pandora US radio-style streaming. Pandora ranks #6 of 10 in Music streaming, with an Alt Score of 64. It is proprietary, freemium from $4.99/month and available on Web, iOS and Android. 7 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pandora/ Category: Music streaming ## Overview - **Who it's for**: US listeners who want easy, personalized music discovery without curating playlists themselves, from casual free listeners to those who want an ad-free or on-demand experience. - **What you get**: Personalized radio stations built on the Music Genome Project, which analyzes songs by hundreds of musical attributes to recommend tracks based on artists, songs, or genres you like. Includes curated and algorithmic playlists, podcasts, and thumbs-up/thumbs-down feedback that refines your stations over time. Free tier is ad-supported with limited skips; Plus removes ads and adds unlimited skips and offline listening; Premium adds on-demand song and album playback and full search. - **How it works**: Start a station from an artist, song, or genre, or pick a curated playlist or podcast, and Pandora queues up related tracks automatically. Thumbs up/down feedback and skips continuously tune future recommendations, while paid tiers unlock more control such as offline downloads or searching and playing specific songs on demand. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11) - **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-11) - **Starts at**: $4.99/month (verified 2026-07-11) - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Deezer](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/deezer.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 2 | [Spotify](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/spotify.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 3 | [YouTube Music](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/youtube-music.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 4 | [Amazon Music](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/amazon-music.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 5 | [Apple Music](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apple-music.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 6 | [SoundCloud](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/soundcloud.md) | 64 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 7 | [Qobuz](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/qobuz.md) | 60 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 8 | [Bandcamp](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bandcamp.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 9 | [Tidal](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tidal.md) | 37 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Music streaming checklist | Pandora | Deezer | Spotify | YouTube Music | Amazon Music | Apple Music | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Subscription | | Starts at | $4.99/month | $11.99/month | $12.99/month | ? | $13.99/month | $10.99/month | | License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | | Lossless / hi-res tier | No | Yes | Partial | No | Yes | Yes | | Free tier with ads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Offline downloads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Family plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Artist payout reputation | ? | Partial | ? | ? | ? | ? | | Podcasts included | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Music videos | ? | Partial | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | | Lyrics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | | Import playlists from competitors | ? | Partial | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Web player | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Sources Sources for Pandora. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Plus: $4.99/month or $54.89/year” - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “iOS and Android devices” - **Pricing model**: Freemium — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Free Pandora accounts are primarily supported by advertising, including audio and visual advertisements.” - **Starts at**: $4.99/month — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Plus: $4.99/month or $54.89/year” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Pandora's website” - **Lossless / hi-res tier**: No — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “192kbps for Plus and Premium subscribers” - **Free tier with ads**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Free Pandora accounts are primarily supported by advertising, including audio and visual advertisements.” - **Offline downloads**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “This feature is only available to our current Pandora Plus, Premium, or Premium Family subscribers, and only for iOS or Android mobile devices, and Apple Watches.” - **Family plan**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “all of the features of Pandora Premium to up to six unique Pandora accounts” - **Podcasts included**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “our full podcast collection is only available if you're listening through our mobile app, website, and select devices with the latest version of our app” - **Lyrics**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “If lyrics for the currently playing track are available on Pandora, then they will be displayed below the album art.” - **Web player**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “If you're having trouble listening to Pandora in a web browser, please ensure that Pandora's volume is turned up (in the bottom right corner of the screen).” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/