Many audio streaming platforms are there, but everyone has heard about Spotify. Recently, many other platforms have started providing quality services and competing with Spotify. One such platform is Pandora, as it has got some quality music. Are you confused between these two platforms? Then you are at the right place; in this post, we’ll have a discussion on Spotify vs Pandora; Let’s see who wins the battle.
Spotify has a good user base, and Pandora is not close to that. But, if Pandora continues to do what it is doing now, it’ll surely increase its user base. There are many other things too that you should look for in an audio streaming platform. I compared every feature below the post.
Spotify vs Pandora
Undoubtedly, both platforms are performing very well in their way. But, it gets hard when we need to choose between the two. Read the detailed analysis below to choose the platform that you find better.
Plans & Pricing
| Platform | Free Plan | Individual Plan | Family Plan | Student Plan |
| Spotify | Yes | $9.99/month | $15.99/month | $4.99/month |
| Pandora | Yes | $4.99/month | N/A | N/A |
Spotify offers three premium plans; if you want to use it for yourself only, then you can buy the Individual plan that costs $9.99/month. The Family Plan allows you to use the same Spotify accounts on six devices, which costs $15.99/month. If you are a student, you can opt for the Student plan, which costs $.99/month.
But Pandora has only one plan, which is way lower than Spotify. If you want to subscribe to Pandora, it will cost you $4.99/month, equivalent to the Student plan of Spotify.
Both have a free version that you can use with ads.
Content
Content is one of the main things users should consider before subscribing to any platform.
Spotify has almost 85 million songs, and the number is increasing daily. There is a good chance that you’ll find your favorite artists on Spotify.
Along with it, Spotify also offers tons of podcasts.
On the other hand, Pandora has only 10 million songs on its platform, which is way lower than Spotify. If you are a fan of an artist, then there is a possibility of unavailability of that artist.
We can say that Spotify is content-rich, and if you want to get more content, then Pandora can’t match Spotify’s level.
Audio Quality
Another main thing you’ll consider in an audio streaming platform is audio quality.
Spotify offers 1660 kbps audio streaming with its free version and 320 kbps in the premium version.
Pandora gives users a 64 kbps audio streaming quality for free users and 192 kbps for premium users.
Spotify is better in both free and premium ways. If you want to listen to some quality music, you should take a subscription to Spotify.
Discovery
Music discovery is something that helps you find your favorite music in one place, and it also promotes new artists.
Spotify auto creates tons of playlists based on your music listening habits. You’ll find My Mix and Weekly Mix on the home page. You can find music of different genres and languages. The yearly wrap-up of Spotify always makes you feel the old music in a new way.
Pandora also has music categorized based on genres. It also has a For You section on the bottom that suggests songs based on your interest.
You can’t create your playlist on Pandora, but there’s a limit of 100 playlists.
Spotify uses Artificial Intelligence well; their music discovery is way above Pandora. If you want to get a good music suggestion, then Spotify is the best choice for you.
Availability
Before you subscribe to any platform, make sure the platform is compatible with your device and available in your country.
Spotify offers its service all over the world, but the service area of Pandora is limited to the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Only subscribe to Pandora if you are living in these countries.
Both platforms have a mobile app and a web app. You can also use them on your desktop, but in the case of Pandora, you need to get the premium version.
If you belong to any country other than those mentioned above, you must go for Spotify.
User-Interface
The UI makes users more interactive with the platform. You always search for a platform with a good UI to do things easily.
Spotify has a dark theme that looks quite attractive. The options are navigable easily. You’ll find Home, search, and library options directly on the bottom bar. You can click on your profile photo to access other settings.
On the other hand, Pandora has a light blue and a dark theme, too; that doesn’t look bad. It has four options on the bottom: For You, My Collection, Find and Profile. You can navigate to other options easily.
Spotify and Pandora both have great UI; you can use any platform if you want to experience a great UI.
Additional Features
Now, let’s see what else both have to offer their users.
- Spotify allows its users to download music with a premium membership. But, this feature is not available with the premium version of Pandora.
- You can create custom playlists on Spotify, but you can’t do that on Pandora.
- If you want to listen to your local music, you can import those songs on Spotify, but there’s no such option on Pandora.
- Pandora has a parental control feature, whereas Spotify doesn’t provide such features.
- You can use both platforms with navigation apps and integrate them in car play too.
- Pandora has a voice assistance feature that you can use to give commands, which will work accordingly.
Conclusion
If you were confused about choosing any platform, this Spotify vs Pandora analysis must have cleared your doubt. If you live outside the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, then you have no choice other than Spotify. Both are quite good from different perspectives; select the one that meets your needs. Share the post with your friends to help them choose between these two platforms.
Review & Discussion