About & sources
How this guide works
Independent, no affiliate links
This guide compares music streaming services on facts you can check. No service paid to be listed and none of the links earn us anything.
How we check
Every price and feature comes from the service’s own page or a dated news report, linked next to the fact on the compare page. Prices are US list prices in USD before tax, last checked October 25, 2026. If we couldn’t confirm a price, we show a dash instead of guessing.
How the Matchmaker ranks
It starts every service at the same score, then adds or subtracts for: the price of the plan you picked (cheaper scores higher), whether a free tier exists when you want one, whether the audio quality meets your bar, how well the service fits your devices, and the extra you picked. The formula only uses facts from the spec sheet.
The music
The background music is by Purrple Cat, an independent lofi project with 500+ songs. Music by Purrple Cat (purrplecat.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Using the music
Yes, with credit: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch and other social media, videos and livestreams. Credit: “Music by Purrple Cat” and a link to purrplecat.com. The music is licensed CC BY 4.0 and isn’t in Content ID.
Never: re-upload it to music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music or any service on this page. That includes remixes, samples and covers, because those uploads cause false Content ID claims for everyone else.
Spotted something out of date?
Prices change a few times a year. The “checked” date at the top of every page tells you when we last looked.
