# Alternatives to YouTube Music Music plus everything uploaded to YouTube. YouTube Music ranks #3 of 10 in Music streaming, with an Alt Score of 78. It is proprietary, freemium and available on Web, iOS and Android. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/youtube-music/ Category: Music streaming ## Where YouTube Music stands out - **Music videos** — 2 of 6 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Music listeners who want the depth of YouTube's catalog (official releases plus live performances, remixes, covers, and fan uploads) in a dedicated streaming app, especially those already paying for YouTube Premium. - **What you get**: Access to both official studio tracks and YouTube's wider catalog of live sets, remixes, covers, and music videos in one place. Personalized recommendations and playlists driven by Google's algorithms, including lyric-based search. Background audio playback, offline downloads, and ad-free listening with a paid plan (Premium or YouTube Premium); the free tier plays music in video form with ads. - **How it works**: Search or browse by artist, song, or mood, or let the home feed and auto-generated playlists surface recommendations based on listening history. Play tracks as audio or video, save them to playlists, and download them for offline use if subscribed to YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11) - **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-11) - **Starts at**: ? - **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 | [Amazon Music](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/amazon-music.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 4 | [Apple Music](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apple-music.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android | | 5 | [Pandora](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pandora.md) | 64 | 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 | YouTube Music | Deezer | Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Music | Pandora | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Subscription | Freemium | | Starts at | ? | $11.99/month | $12.99/month | $13.99/month | $10.99/month | $4.99/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 | Yes | Yes | No | | Free tier with ads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | 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 | No | Yes | | Music videos | Yes | Partial | Partial | ? | 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 YouTube Music. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “© 2015 Google Inc.” - **Pricing model**: Freemium — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “YouTube Music with ads” - **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “You can use YouTube Music on your mobile device and computer.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “With the YouTube Music app, you can watch music videos, stay connected to artists you love, and discover music and podcasts to enjoy on all your devices.” - **Lossless / hi-res tier**: No — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Upper bound of 256kbps AAC & OPUS” - **Free tier with ads**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “YouTube Music with ads” - **Offline downloads**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “If you're a YouTube Music Premium member, you can enjoy content offline by downloading songs, videos, and podcasts to your mobile device.” - **Family plan**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “YouTube family plans allow you to share membership benefits with up to 5 family members who live within the same residential address.” - **Podcasts included**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “On-demand playback for podcasts, songs, and music videos” - **Music videos**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Switch seamlessly between song audio and music videos, only with YouTube Music” - **Lyrics**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Song lyrics so you can sing along to your favorites” - **Import playlists from competitors**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Depending on your previous service, you can use built-in transfer options or third-party tools like TuneMyMusic or Soundiiz.” - **Web player**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Visit http://music.youtube.com/ on a Chrome browser” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/