What is the best free app for playing music on Android?
With so many free music apps available for Android, it can be tough to determine which one is the best choice for your needs. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the top free music apps for Android and highlight the key features that make them stand out. We evaluated apps based on factors like song selection, audio quality, offline listening, and overall user experience.
After extensive testing, we narrowed it down to our top picks for the best free music apps on Android. Whether you’re looking for unlimited on-demand streaming, customized radio stations, or offline listening capabilities, you’re sure to find an excellent option on this list. Read on as we countdown our top recommendations for free music apps you can start enjoying today on your Android device.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music (Make the most out of YouTube Music with these latest …) is owned by Google and has access to a huge catalog of official songs, albums, playlists, and music videos. It offers both a premium ad-free subscription as well as a free, ad-supported version. The free version provides access to all the songs, playlists and music videos but with advertisements between tracks. One standout feature is the ability to upload your own music library of up to 100,000 songs for free. This allows you to bring your personal music collection into the YouTube Music app and stream it anywhere.
Spotify
Spotify boasts a massive catalog of over 82 million songs, 2.9 million podcasts, and 4 billion playlists as of 2022, making it a great option for music fans who want access to a huge selection [1]. The streaming service offers both a free, ad-supported version and a paid Premium version. The free version allows you to stream music and create playlists, but has some limitations.
Most notably, Spotify Free users can only skip up to 6 songs per hour and don’t have full on-demand access to specific tracks [2]. Free users also can’t download songs for offline listening like Premium subscribers can. However, the free ad-supported version still provides access to Spotify’s full music catalog. If you don’t mind limited skips and always streaming with an internet connection, Spotify Free offers a solid free option for music.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music is a good option for those who are Amazon Prime members, as Amazon Music Prime gives access to a catalog of over 100 million songs ad-free at no additional cost. According to Amazon, this is the largest catalog of ad-free top podcasts and playlists available. For non-Prime members, Amazon still offers a free, ad-supported version of Amazon Music with access to top playlists and thousands of stations.
With the free version of Amazon Music, you can listen to select songs on-demand, create personalized stations, and get unlimited skips. However, the selection is more limited compared to the Prime version. Overall, Amazon Music stands out with its deep integration with Alexa and Amazon Prime, making it very convenient if you already use Amazon services.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online music service focused on emerging artists, curated playlists, and audio discovery. Users can stream over 200 million tracks and audio for free with the option to upgrade to SoundCloud Go+ for unlimited offline access. SoundCloud has an expansive library of remixes, rarities, and DJ mixes that can’t be found on many major platforms.
SoundCloud’s free version allows limited skips and on-demand playback, perfect for discovering new artists and genres tailored to your tastes. While the paid version unlocks unlimited ad-free listening, The free tier gives enough flexibility for casual users to enjoy the vast catalog of remixes, live versions, and underground tracks.
Pandora
Pandora is one of the most popular free music apps for Android. The core of the Pandora experience is creating personalized radio stations based on your favorite artists or genres (source: Pandora Subscriptions FAQ). The free, ad-supported version allows you to create unlimited stations and enjoy unlimited listening. However, you only get a limited number of skips per hour.
Pandora also offers premium subscriptions like Pandora Plus for $4.99/month and Pandora Premium for $9.99/month (source: Upgrade to Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium). These give you unlimited skips, higher quality audio, and the ability to search for and play any song on demand. Pandora Premium is similar to Spotify or Apple Music, while Pandora Plus enhances the radio experience without full on-demand playback. Overall, Pandora is great for music discovery through customizable radio stations.
Comparison of Top Free Music Apps
When comparing the top free music apps available for Android, there are several key factors to consider:
Catalog Size: YouTube Music and Spotify offer the largest music catalogs with over 70 million tracks. Amazon Music has around 70 million songs as well, while Pandora has a smaller catalog of around 3 million tracks.
Ad Support: YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora and SoundCloud all have free ad-supported tiers. Amazon Music does not have ads in their free version. Pandora has the most frequent ad interruptions.
Offline Listening: Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud all allow offline listening by letting you download songs, albums or playlists. Pandora does not support offline listening.
Song Skipping: YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and Deezer allow unlimited song skips. Spotify limits skips to 6 per hour for free users. Pandora also limits skips.
Uploading Own Music: Only SoundCloud and YouTube Music allow you to upload your own music library. The other apps do not support uploading your own tracks.
Recommendation
Based on criteria such as library size, offline listening, audio quality, and ease of use, our top pick for the best free music app on Android is YouTube Music.
YouTube Music has a massive catalog of over 50 million songs that you can stream for free. It also allows you to save playlists for offline listening. The audio quality is excellent at up to 256kbps. And the app has a clean, intuitive interface that makes discovering new music easy. Overall, YouTube Music provides the best free music experience on Android.
Runners up include Spotify, which offers great playlists and recommendations but limited offline listening in the free version, and Pandora, which streams free radio stations with minimal ads. However, YouTube Music has the advantage in library size and offline listening making it our top recommendation.
Tips for Using
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your free music app:
How to Download for Offline Listening
One of the best features of many free music apps like Spotify is the ability to download songs, albums, or playlists for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. This is great for plane rides, road trips, or anytime you’ll be away from WiFi. Most apps have a download button next to each track or playlist that will save it to your device storage. Make sure you have enough free space before downloading a lot of songs.
Using Playlists
Playlists allow you to organize your favorite music and discover new related songs. Apps like YouTube Music make it easy to create customized playlists around a genre, mood, activity, or particular artist. You can also find premade playlists curated by music experts. Following playlists created by others is a great way to expand your musical tastes.
Sound Quality Settings
Most music apps let you choose between different audio quality settings, trading off higher fidelity for more mobile data usage. Make sure to connect to WiFi when streaming music at the highest quality. You can also download high-quality songs for offline listening. Explore your app’s settings to find the optimal balance between sound quality and data usage for your needs.
Conclusion
In summary, there are several great options for free music apps on Android. YouTube Music is excellent for watching videos and listening to audio across YouTube’s vast music library, while Spotify offers the core Spotify experience for free with ads. Amazon Music provides access to millions of songs with Prime membership, and SoundCloud enables streaming from a more unique collection of creators. Pandora stands out for its personalized radio stations.
Of all the free music apps, Spotify is likely the best overall option for most Android users. It provides a robust music streaming experience and access to an extensive catalog of songs, albums, playlists and more. The free, ad-supported tier has almost all the core features of the paid version. For those looking to avoid ads and unlock more functionality, reasonably priced premium subscriptions are available.
The key with Spotify and most other free music apps is to take advantage of features like offline listening, personalized recommendations, and playlists to get the most out of the service. With the ability to stream huge amounts of music for free, Android users have an abundance of options to soundtrack their lives.