The weights and per-service scores are below. If price is your only concern, re-weight value and Apple Music or Amazon Music wins instead of Spotify.
Smarter Ranking scored six music streaming services against a published 100-point Service Score. Every individual-plan price was checked in June 2026. This ranks the paid Premium tiers — the free, ad-supported versions are a different product.
Quick answer
Spotify scores 89.2/100 and takes first. Its discovery engine and cross-device ecosystem are the best in the field, and the catalogue (music plus podcasts plus bundled audiobooks) is the broadest. At $12.99/month it is also the most expensive individual plan in 2026. If lossless audio at a lower price matters most, the runner-up — Apple Music at 87.6 — is the smarter buy.
The ranking
| Rank | Service | Best for | Individual price/mo | Service Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spotify | Discovery + ecosystem | $12.99 | 89.2 |
| 2 | Apple Music | Lossless value, Apple devices | $10.99 | 87.6 |
| 3 | YouTube Music | Music videos + YouTube tie-in | $10.99 | 84.0 |
| 4 | Tidal | Audiophiles, hi-res | $10.99 | 83.1 |
| 5 | Amazon Music Unlimited | Prime members | $10.99 ($9.99 Prime) | 81.5 |
| 6 | Deezer | International catalogue | $11.99 | 78.3 |
Individual-plan prices verified at each vendor’s pricing page, June 2026.
Methodology
The full rubric. Weights sum to 100. Each service scored 0–100 per criterion; the weighted average is the Service Score.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measured |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 25 | Library size, podcast/audiobook breadth, exclusive content. |
| Audio quality | 20 | Max bitrate, lossless/hi-res availability, spatial audio. |
| Discovery & recommendations | 20 | Algorithm quality, playlist curation, radio. |
| Value for money | 20 | Price vs. features at the individual tier. |
| App experience & cross-platform | 15 | App polish, device support, offline tools. |
| Total | 100 |
Catalogue leads at 25 — the library is the product. Audio quality, discovery, and value tie at 20 because different listeners optimize for each. App experience at 15 reflects that all six are usable, with meaningful gaps.
Per-service profiles
1. Spotify — 89.2/100
Individual Premium at $12.99/month — the priciest in 2026. The discovery engine (Discover Weekly, Daylist, Radio) is the field benchmark, and the catalogue spans music, podcasts, and bundled audiobooks (about 15 listening hours/month for Premium).
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 94 | 25 | 23.5 |
| Audio quality | 80 | 20 | 16.0 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 96 | 20 | 19.2 |
| Value for money | 80 | 20 | 16.0 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 90 | 15 | 13.5 |
| Total | 100 | 89.2 |
Trade-off: highest individual price and the weakest lossless story of the lossless-capable rivals.
2. Apple Music — 87.6/100
$10.99/month individual, with lossless and spatial audio at no extra cost. Deep catalogue and tight integration across Apple hardware.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 90 | 25 | 22.5 |
| Audio quality | 92 | 20 | 18.4 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 84 | 20 | 16.8 |
| Value for money | 88 | 20 | 17.6 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 84 | 15 | 12.6 |
| Total | 100 | 87.6 |
Trade-off: discovery trails Spotify, and the experience is best on Apple devices.
3. YouTube Music — 84.0/100
$10.99/month standalone (or bundled in YouTube Premium at $16.99 family/with ad-free YouTube). Unmatched for music videos, live versions, and obscure uploads via the YouTube tie-in.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 92 | 25 | 23.0 |
| Audio quality | 78 | 20 | 15.6 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 86 | 20 | 17.2 |
| Value for money | 80 | 20 | 16.0 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 82 | 15 | 12.3 |
| Total | 100 | 84.0 |
Trade-off: no true lossless, and the app is the least focused of the six.
4. Tidal — 83.1/100
$10.99/month HiFi for CD-quality lossless; a Max-tier upgrade (~$19.99) adds hi-res and spatial. The audiophile pick, with strong artist-payout positioning.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 84 | 25 | 21.0 |
| Audio quality | 95 | 20 | 19.0 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 78 | 20 | 15.6 |
| Value for money | 80 | 20 | 16.0 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 78 | 15 | 11.7 |
| Total | 100 | 83.1 |
Trade-off: top-tier hi-res costs more, and discovery/app polish trail the leaders.
5. Amazon Music Unlimited — 81.5/100
$10.99/month, or $9.99 for Prime members, with lossless included. Best value inside the Amazon ecosystem and on Echo devices.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 86 | 25 | 21.5 |
| Audio quality | 88 | 20 | 17.6 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 74 | 20 | 14.8 |
| Value for money | 84 | 20 | 16.8 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 72 | 15 | 10.8 |
| Total | 100 | 81.5 |
Trade-off: discovery and the standalone app lag; best only if you live in Amazon’s ecosystem.
6. Deezer — 78.3/100
$11.99/month individual. Strong international catalogue and HiFi lossless, but the smallest US footprint and the weakest US-market mindshare of the six.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue & exclusives | 82 | 25 | 20.5 |
| Audio quality | 86 | 20 | 17.2 |
| Discovery & recommendations | 76 | 20 | 15.2 |
| Value for money | 74 | 20 | 14.8 |
| App experience & cross-platform | 71 | 15 | 10.65 |
| Total | 100 | 78.3 |
Trade-off: priced near Spotify without Spotify’s discovery or ecosystem in the US.
How to re-weight
- Price-first: value to 40%. Amazon Music (Prime $9.99) and Apple Music rise; Spotify slips to second.
- Audiophile: audio quality to 40%. Tidal takes first; Apple Music second.
- Casual discovery: discovery + catalogue to 60%. Spotify widens its lead.
Verification
- Spotify — $12.99 individual via Headphonesty 2026 pricing report and Vohnic Music comparison.
- Apple Music — $10.99 with lossless via Vohnic Music comparison.
- YouTube Music — $10.99 / Premium tie-in via Free Your Music comparison.
- Tidal — HiFi $10.99 / Max ~$19.99 via Free Your Music sound-quality comparison.
- Amazon Music Unlimited — $10.99 ($9.99 Prime) via Free Your Music comparison.
- Deezer — pricing and catalogue via Spliiit 2026 comparison.
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Frequently asked questions
- How was this weighted?
- A 100-point rubric: 25 catalogue and exclusives, 20 audio quality, 20 discovery and recommendations, 20 value for money, 15 app experience and cross-platform. Weights sum to 100; the table is in the methodology section.
- Why does Spotify rank #1 if it's the most expensive?
- Spotify wins on discovery and ecosystem breadth, which carry 35% combined. At $12.99/month it is the priciest individual plan, so its value sub-score is lower than Apple Music's — but discovery and app experience offset that. Re-weight value to 40% and Apple Music takes first.
- What about lossless audio?
- Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music Unlimited all include lossless at the standard $10.99 individual price in 2026. Spotify's audio quality sub-score trails because high-bitrate lossless arrived late and is not its core differentiator.
- Does this include free tiers?
- We scored paid individual Premium plans for an apples-to-apples comparison. Spotify and YouTube Music free tiers exist but carry ads and feature limits.
- How often is this updated?
- Quarterly. Music prices shifted in late 2025; each individual-plan price is re-verified at the vendor page before publication.