Spotify vs iHeartRadio: Which is Better?

In recent years, there’re many music streaming platforms that rush into the market. But Spotify and iHeartRadio might be two of the most unique platforms for music lovers. They almost cover all the on-demand music needs from listeners. And still, they continue to explore more possible listening experience and make the state of music get better and stronger.

What’s better: Spotify or iHeartRadio? Today, we’re going to look at these two music streaming services and help you choose the better one for you.

Part 1. Spotify vs iHeartRadio: Most Popular Features

Most Popular Features on Spotify:

1. Spotify Audio Settings

Expect for the audio quality, Spotify lets both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium users access the same audio settings of the app like Crossfade, Equalizer, Automix, Mono audio and more. See how to use Spotify Equalizer>>

2. Spotify Local Files

Added with the "Upload Local Files" feature, Spotify let both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium users upload their own music in supported audio files formats to Spotify desktop app. Therefore, you don't need to switch to other local players to play your music offline. If you want to bring the uploaded files to the mobile device, you need to upgrade to Premium to sync the local files and have the access in the Spotify app for mobile. See how to upload local files to Spotify>>

3. Spotify Social Features

With the integration with social media like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, both Spotify Free and Premium users have the access to along available features to share music on the familiar platforms in an instant. You can also share music on SMS, Messenger, Twitter, WhatsApp and even email via an embed content link.

To make friends, connect the account with Facebook or have the profile link. You can have other features like "Collaborative Playlist" or "Spotify Blend" to make a playlist with your friends. Or when there're a bunch of Facebook friends, make full use of the "Friend Activity" feature to see each other's listening activities in the desktop app up-to-date. See how to add friends on Spotify>>

Most Popular Features on iHeartRadio:

1. iHeartRadio Podcasts

For podcast lovers, it's simple to access the Podcasts tab on iOS or Android or visit iHeart.com/podcasts and browse through various sections like Popular Podcasts and Featured Podcasts. To keep the desired podcast, follow it then access it under "Your Podcasts" section. For iHeartRadio subscribers, you can even download the podcast episode for offline listening on iOS or Android.

2. iHeartRadio Radio Stations

As written in its name, iHeartRadio provides hundreds of the best radio stations across the United States and Mexico in its Live Radio.

Part 2. Spotify vs iHeartRadio: Other Features

Spotify and iHeartRadio are two of the most popular music streaming platforms, but they actually focus on different aspects and audiences. And so there'll be different features on each platform, here're some main features of these two.

Spotify

1. Officially Curated Playlists

Spotify provides a huge number of playlists made by its curators. Covering songs from different genres of music, these playlists can help you find what you want to listen to with constant updates. That ensures its music in playlists will never get outdated and always give you a new experience.

2. Discover Weekly

Wanna get the best out of Spotify? Check out your Discover Weekly playlist brought to you every Monday. Curated by Spotify’s top-notch recommendation algorithm, songs in this playlist will never let you down.

3. Spotify Connect

Spotify supports play and control songs on multiple devices. Start Spotify on a device, connect it to another device and you’re free to control playback and volume each other.

4. Autoplay

Have you ever imagined that someone knows about all your music taste and keeps naming songs you’ll like? Spotify does it. With the magic from Autoplay, you’ll get an endless recommendation from your playlist with similar songs and you definitely won’t get bored with it.

5. Spotify Audiobooks

In Spotify’s latest update, audiobooks are now available on desktop and mobile apps. For a Spotify fans, you can have the audiobooks right in your Spotify app with no need to switch to Audible. You’ll never have to turn to and search for the podcast you like. Spotify supports background playback which enables you to switch to other apps while listening to the purchased titles seamlessly.

iHeartRadio

1. Entertainment News

With news from the world of music, iHeartRadio updates feed for listeners on a daily basis. From celebrities kiss-and-tell to latest viral music, the quick-hit coverage keeps you informed with all the big news from the music industry.

2. Live Events

iHeartRadio sponsors music events all around the world. If you can’t make it to a concert, iHeartRadio provides news and live videos from all the live events it curates.

Part 3. Spotify vs iHeartRadio: What is the Difference?

1. Create Playlist

iHeartRadio lets your create only 1 playlist but add as many songs to it. If you want to create multiple playlists on iHeartRadio, you'll need to sign up for its free trial for iHeartRadio Plus and then $4.99 a month. For iHeartRadio Plus subscribers, you can save up to 40 songs to 1 playlist while there's no limit to the number of songs or the amount of playlists for iHeartRadio All Access subscribers.

However, even on the free version of Spotify, you're allowed to create up to 15 playlists. There's no difference of the number of songs between subscription plans, both Premium and Free users can have up to 10,000 songs to their playlists. For Premium subscribers, you can add up to 10,000 songs to as many playlists. See how to make a playlist on Spotify>>

2. Video Podcast

In iHeartRadio's latest update, video podcast is now available on desktop and mobile apps. You’ll never have to turn to YouTube and search for the podcast you like. Spotify supports background playback which enables you to switch to other apps while listening to the podcast seamlessly.

In Spotify, whenever you're on the home page, you'll see the Podcast section which let you listen to podcasts. After you have listened to several podcasts on Spotify, it will generate "Your Top Podcasts" section which show your most-listened podcasts on Spotify. For Premium subscribers, you also have the download option for the desired Spotify podcast. See how to download Spotify podcast>>

3. Radio Stations

Select your favorite genres and start your iHeartRadio station experience right away. A list of customized stations will be brought to you with millions of tracks and you can adjust how much you want to listen to between new artists and your favorites.

Once you create a Spotify account for either Free or Premium, you'll have access to its Radio feature in the Spotify app or Spotify Web Player. Spotify's Radio feature let Spotify users have the exclusives to a particular Spotify content - such as artist, song, playlist and album. When you dive into an artist radio, playlist radio or a song radio, you can save the radio playlist and download it with an active Premium subscription. See how to access Spotify radio station>>

Part 4. Spotify Premium vs iHeartRadio: Which is Better?

Spotify Premium is the paid version of Spotify, and as its counterpart, iHeartRadio rolls out All Access plan with all the paid features in it. The following part will show you how they compare with each other in some core aspects.

Streaming Quality

For Spotify Free, you have the audio quality of 256Kbps for the Premium version of Spotify Web Player and up to 320Kbps in its application. For Premium, change the audio quality setting of the app from Automatic, Low (24Kbits), Normal (96Kbps), High (160Kbps) to Very High (320Kbps), and the download quality is independent to the streaming quality. See how to improve Spotify audio quality>>

On iHeartRadio, the streaming quality is limited to 128kbps which might be the downside for it if users only use it for streaming music.

If you want to compare the sound quality between Spotify and iHeartRadio, the best way is to stream the same song downloaded from each platform on the same music player. So before you’ll be able to do that, you need to download Spotify songs with the ViWizard Spotify Music Converter and get the iHeartRadio songs for offline listening.

 

Music Library

Spotify owns 82+ million songs and iHeartRadio possess a library of 20 million tracks. And Spotify still keeps expanding its library at a significant speed by enrolling new artists and songs in its New Releases section. And the Release Radar can help listeners find more new songs specially curated for them.

So if you have a wide range of listening tastes and are always looking for new music, Spotify is a better choice. And if you’re into live radio, iHeartRadio will always keep you on.

Pricing

Spotify Free vs. iHeartRadio Free

Both Spotify and iHeartRadio will still be free with some features. If you can to have the access to features mentioned or not in this post, please read on to see how much does these two services and their subscription plans cost.

Spotify Premium vs. iHeartRadio Plus vs. iHeartRadio All Access

Spotify Premium - $10/month

Spotify Premium will unlock features like ad-free listening, offline listening, unlimited skips and more.

Spotify provides its unlimited and ad-free streaming service for each user with Premium Individual plan for $9.99/month. Based on various needs, Spotify also provides Student plan for a discounted $4.99/month, Duo plan for $13.99/month available up to 2 accounts or Family plan for $15.99/month up to 6 accounts.

iHeartRadio Plus - $4.99/month (web or Google Play Store) or $5.99/month (iOS App Store)

With iHeartRadio Plus will transforms live radio listening. You'll have access to these exciting features:

iHeartRadio All Access - $9.99/month (web or Google Play Store) or $12.99/month (iOS App Store)

iHeartRadio All Access provides all the benefits of iHeartRadio Plus and several additional features like:

Spotify vs. iHeartRadio: Comparison Table

Provider
Music Library Size	82+ million songs	20 million songs
Subscription Plans	Free, Premium, Duo, Student, Family	Free, Plus, All Access
Cost	$4.99/month for Student, $9.99/month for Premium	$4.99/month for Plus, $9.99/month for All Access
Supported Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Windows Phone, Android, streaming boxes, game consoles	macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, FireOS, Alexa, smart TVs, etc.
Subscribers	8.46 billion	150 million
Music Quality	256Kbps (Premium) or 128Kbps (free) on web player; up to 320Kbps (Premium) or 160Kbps (free) on desktop, mobile and tablet.	128Kbps
Audio Format	OGG Vorbis	MP3, AAC

Spotify vs. iHeartRadio: Conclusions & Suggestions

Apparently, Spotify and iHeartRadio focus on different aspects. If you love exploring new songs and have a wide range of tastes, Spotify will be the better choice for you. But if you’re a nostalgic person and need a lot of radio streaming in your daily life, iHeartRadio will better suit your needs. Of course, if you’re both of them, you can choose both platforms and they’ll not collide.