YouTube Red and Spotify -- both powerhouses when it comes to streaming media content. And when the current generation of media lovers consume, they do so in insane amounts.
That’s why these two media giants have become very popular around the world. All of us are hungry for content, whether it be audio or video. But with a lot of platforms that allow for the streaming of media, which one should we choose?
In this guide, we’ll dig deeper into different streaming services -- YouTube Red vs. Spotify (Free or Premium). We’ll explain each in a comprehensive section and then end with the differences or similarities among them. Hop in to know more!
Contents GuidePart 1. YouTube Red Vs. Spotify (Free or Premium)Part 2. Advantages And Disadvantages of YouTube Red and SpotifyPart 3. Bonus Tip: Download Spotify Music to View OfflinePart 4. In Conclusion
YouTube Red is a monthly subscription paid by users in order to remove ads from videos on YouTube. It is previously known as YouTube Music Key that enables you to stream music videos (including music) without having to view ads. By October 2015, Google changed its name from Music Key to that of Red. By this time, coverage was expanded to various types of YouTube videos.
Spotify is a music streaming service that allows you to choose from a variety of available songs. Usually, the availability of tracks will depend on your location. Spotify bids for their ability to stream a particular track and gets rights from the legal owners of the music. Part of the contract indicates the locations where music will be available. Thus, tracks on one country might not be available on another.
Spotify Premium is the paid subscription service of Spotify that gives a lot of new features to its users. For instance, ads are removed when playing with Spotify Premium. It usually has all of the features provided in Spotify (free). However, more capabilities and tracks can be availed of in Spotify Premium.
Tips: Do you know what is the difference between Spotify Premium and Spotify free? Is it worth to pay for the Spotify Premium? Well, you can check the link to get the best advice.
When you opt for YouTube Red, ads won’t be displayed on YouTube’s site. Also, these ads will not be displayed when you use the YouTube app on televisions and mobile devices. However, this won’t be applied to paid media on YouTube including movie rentals, movie purchases, paid TV, and paid channels. With these paid media content, you will still see advertisements.
The devices where you can watch videos without ads once you are subscribed to YouTube Red include the following:
Aside from removing content ads, YouTube Red has other benefits as well. For instance, it allows offline viewing and listening to its content even when the screen is turned off. These two benefits can be taken advantage of by users on the YouTube platform, YouTube Gaming applications (for iOS and Android), and YouTube Kids.
Downloading videos to your mobile device is possible. These are made available to you by YouTube for about 30 days and you can watch them even if you are not connected to the Internet. However, commenting and liking videos is not possible when you are not online.
The feature which users have been dying to have is also present in YouTube Red. This feature -- the ability to listen to video content even when you’re using another application or when the screen is turned off -- is not available to non-paying YouTube viewers.
With Spotify (free), you get access to tens of millions of songs on their platform. However, ads will be played every now and then once you stream tracks. You still get access to all the songs, albums, playlists, and podcasts on Spotify.
You can listen on your desktop or laptop computer using a web browser of the desktop application. Or, you can listen to it on Android and iOS devices by downloading their respective applications on the Google Play Store or the App Store.
Spotify gives you the ability to listen to music even when you’re using another application. The same is true when you’ve turned the screen off on mobile devices. You can also listen to the web player even if you’re surfing on another tab or another browser.
Usually, if you use a computer to listen to Spotify, you can choose the particular song you want to hear. You can loop one song to play in repeat mode. And, you can choose shuffle play if you wish. It also allows you to have unlimited skips if you want to when you’re using a computer.
However, if you’re using a mobile device, you have only 6 skips per hour. In addition, you can’t choose the specific song you wish to play. Shuffle play is the only available mode when you’re using a mobile device on the free version of Spotify.
With Spotify Premium, you are able to listen to tracks without advertisements. Ads will not be streamed when you play songs through the Spotify website, through the desktop application, and through its mobile app.
Similar to the non-paid service of Spotify, the Premium version allows you to listen to music even when you’re using another application or you’re surfing another site. On mobile devices, you can still hear tracks even when the screen is turned off.
More songs are available through Spotify Premium as well. Certain releases for about the last 2 weeks won’t be available on the free version of Spotify. However, it will be available instantly on Spotify Premium.
Another benefit of Spotify Premium is unlimited skips. With the free version of Spotify, you can only skip 6 tracks per hour. The skip count is disregarded in Premium. Plus, you can download songs for offline listening. In case you don’t have an Internet connection, you can still listen to music you’ve downloaded. Finally, Premium subscribers can listen to music at a bitrate of about 320 kbps. On the other hand, the free version only gives you about 160 kbps bitrate.
Aside from music and music videos, you can watch a variety of video types on YouTube Red. In addition, original movies and shows were debuted for subscribers. These include “12 Deadly Days, Bad Internet, Dance Camp, Hyperlinked, PewDewPie, We Love You, and a whole lot more. The video search engine giant is investing massively in creating original content. So, users will enjoy original videos from the platform as part of their subscription benefit.
Tens of millions of different tracks are available on Spotify. These include tracks made available to you by certain music rights owners. Usually, music created in your country is available as well. However, recent releases won’t be available in the free version of Spotify for about 2 weeks. On the other hand, these new releases will be available in Spotify Premium immediately.
Similar to Spotify, tens of millions of tracks are available on Spotify Premium. In addition, recent releases can instantly be made available to Premium users by artists if they want to. Depending on your location, some tracks may be available and some may not be. Typically, tracks that have been released years ago will be available within the site. Locally-made music will usually be available on your location as well.
Obviously, if you don’t opt for YouTube Red, the platform will stay the same. You can still watch any video you like on the site. However, ads will still show up as controlled by YouTube’s algorithm. Listening while the screen is off will not be possible. The same is true when you’re using another app on your phone. Similar to YouTube Red subscribers, you still have to pay for video rentals, video purchases paid TV, and paid channels.
There are a lot of things you won’t get when you don’t go for Spotify Premium. First, you will have ads streaming every now and then when you listen to tracks. In addition, you only get 6 skips per hour. This can be annoying if the music you don’t want gets played.
Plus, when you use the Spotify app on a mobile device, you won’t have the option to choose the exact song you want to play. The only shuffle is allowed for free users. Once your playlist is exhausted, Spotify will select songs that it recommends based on your playlist or preferences. You won’t have the option to replay the entire playlist after you have played it once. This will only be available after a few hours or a day, the time span of which is not entirely clear.
Without Spotify Premium, you won’t be able to download tracks. That’s why you have to listen to the platform with an Internet connection. Once you are offline, you won’t have access to the songs anymore.
Now, we’ll get on to note the similarities and differences between the three. In this way, you can choose which service you’d like to pay for and we’ll dig deeper into the YouTube Red vs. Spotify (Free or Premium) debate.
YouTube Red is more on video content such as tutorial videos, movies, series, snippets of informational videos, etc. On the other hand, Spotify is more on music tracks such as songs, instrumental music, and podcasts.
Spotify free is given to you at no cost at all. The other two have paid subscription models that allow you to get more features for your money. However, YouTube and Spotify still allow you to use their platform even when you don’t want to pay for their subscription packages. Also, both contains ads once you go for the free version.
The two paid services -- YouTube Red and Spotify Premium -- also allow you to watch or listen to their content offline. Downloading of videos and tracks are possible through YouTube and Spotify, respectively.
On the other hand, Spotify’s free version can only be used while you’re connected to the Internet. Downloading of tracks is not possible through Spotify (free). Finally, all three platforms allow you to create playlists of your own. You can also share these playlists if you want to by making them public.
Advantages :
Disadvantages :
Advantages :
Disadvantages :
Advantages :
Disadvantages :
You can also download Spotify Music if you want to. In this way, you don’t have to pay for the subscription. For this, you can use DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter. This is a great tool that allows you to download and convert Spotify music so you can view them offline.
The tool easily removes the DRM protection of music so you can grab it at any time using the software. ID tags and metadata information of songs are kept 100%. Thus, you don’t have to organize your music ever again. You can download DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter here.
With all that being said, which should you pot for, YouTube Red, Spotify (free), or Spotify Premium? It actually depends on your preferences. If you’re more on watching videos, then you should go for YouTube Red. However, if you want to listen to music alone, then you should opt for Spotify (free) or Spotify Premium.
The only thing to point out here is that music is also available on YouTube Red. Thus, when you get a subscription, you get both music (with video or image displays) and legit videos such as movies, series, documentaries, etc. When you opt for Spotify or Spotify Premium, you only get tracks.
Most features provided by Spotify (free) and Spotify Premium are with YouTube Red as well. For instance, both allow you to create playlists and both provide music content. The only problem is, Spotify doesn’t have video content.
However, if you are into music alone and you don’t mind the ads that come and go, then you can opt for the free version of Spotify. It allows you to easily organize playlists and music. Spotify’s free version is recommended if you want to listen to using your desktop or laptop. However, if you’re going to listen to music on your mobile device, then you should go for Spotify Premium or YouTube Red.
We’d like to ask you a question. What do you think of our YouTube Red vs. Spotify vs. Spotify Premium article? Which do you prefer? YouTube Red, the free version of Spotify, or Spotify Premium? The choice is up to you. We’ve given you a rundown of features that can help you choose among the three.
