- Not every alternative is a subscription
- Know what kind of listener you are
- The options at a glance
- Subscription catalogues
- Free listening
- Buying straight from artists
- Streaming music you already own
- An app for audiophiles
- What you give up by leaving
- Before you cancel, run through this
- Frequently asked questions
Leave Apple Music if you'd like a free tier with ads, a service tied to a different ecosystem, or to pay artists directly for the music you love. Subscription apps suit all-you-can-hear listening, artist-direct stores suit fans who want to back musicians, and self-hosted players suit anyone who already owns a big folder of music files.
Apple Music leads with all access and no ads, and its page claims lossless playback keeps all the detail of the first recording. So if you're a subscriber searching for something else, it's rarely about sound alone. More often it's a new phone from another maker, a household that's settled on another service, or a feeling that your money isn't reaching the artists you listen to most.
This page groups the options by how you'd listen, because a streaming catalogue, a record shop and a server in your spare room are very different answers to the same question.
Not every alternative is a subscription
Two of the options below aren't subscription catalogues at all. Navidrome streams your own music collection from your own server, so the songs are files you already own. Bandcamp is a store where you buy music straight from artists, along with records, tapes and T-shirts.
That opens up a different way of thinking about the switch. You don't have to swap one monthly plan for another. Some people keep a streaming app for discovery, buy the albums they love outright, and play those from their own library. Others cancel streaming entirely and build a collection they'll still have in ten years.
If you've never owned your music before, try buying one album you love from an artist-direct store before deciding. It tells you quickly whether that model suits you, and whether you enjoy the small ritual of choosing what to keep rather than having everything on tap.
Know what kind of listener you are
Before you compare services, be honest about how you listen. Some people press play on a mix and let it run all day; they want endless choice and good recommendations. Others listen to the same few dozen albums on repeat; they'd be happier owning them. Some love finding unsigned artists and early demos; they want somewhere new music turns up first.
Each of those listeners points to a different group below. Trying to find one service that pleases all three versions of you is how people end up paying for two subscriptions and using neither fully. Pick the listener you are most days, choose for that person, and treat the rest as a bonus.
The options at a glance
| Service | Model |
|---|---|
| Amazon Music Unlimited | Subscription |
| Bandcamp | Buy from artists |
| Deezer | Free with ads, or Premium |
| Navidrome | Self-hosted |
| Plexamp | Audiophile app (Plex) |
| SoundCloud | Free streaming |
| Spotify Premium | Subscription |
Subscription catalogues
These are the closest swap if you want everything on tap. We've compared one of them directly in our Amazon head-to-head. Try each on the listening you do most, not the album you happen to be thinking of today.
Amazon Music Unlimited
Lists HD and Spatial Audio among its features. If immersive sound is part of why you subscribed in the first place, that's the line to compare.
Deezer
A free tier streams with ads, and a Premium tier sits above it. Start on the free one and you'll know within a week whether the catalogue suits your taste.
Spotify Premium
No ads on the Premium Individual plan, according to its own feature list. Jam is its way of playing songs together with friends in real time, handy for shared car journeys and parties.
Free listening
If the reason you're leaving is that you'd rather not pay at all, there are ways to listen with ads instead. Deezer's free tier fits here too. Ad breaks are fine for background listening while you work, less fun at a dinner party, so try a free tier during the moments you listen most before you decide.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud lets you stream and listen to music online for free, so you can try it without committing to a plan.
Buying straight from artists
If you'd like more of your money to reach the musicians, buying is the most direct route. It also suits collectors: a download you can keep, a record on the shelf, a tape for the car.
Bandcamp
Sells digital music alongside vinyl, compact discs, cassettes and T-shirts. If you want something on the shelf as well as on your phone, it's the one here that does both.
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Streaming music you already own
If you've a big folder of music files, from old CDs or downloads, you can turn it into your own streaming service. It takes some setup, but nobody can take an album away from you.
Navidrome
A personal streaming service for the music collection you already own. You run it yourself, so your library, your folders and your rules.
An app for audiophiles
Some listeners care most about the player itself: how it sounds, how it handles a big library and how it treats albums. That's the angle this one takes.
Plexamp
A music app from Plex made for audiophiles. Some of its features are reserved for Plex Pass members, so check which ones before you decide.
What you give up by leaving
Your listening history and the recommendations built on it may not travel with you. Expect a few weeks of the new service guessing at your taste before it gets things right. Smart speakers, car systems and watches may need setting up again, and any habits you've formed around one app's layout will take time to unlearn. None of that is a reason to stay, but it's worth knowing, so the first fortnight doesn't put you off a service that would suit you well by week four.
Before you cancel, run through this
Leaving a music service is easy. Leaving without losing years of playlists takes a little care, so work down this list in order.
- Write down your top playlists and any albums you'd hate to lose.
- Try the new service's free tier or trial on your real daily routine.
- Move your library or playlists over, and check a few by hand. Our guide to moving playlists between services shows the general idea.
- Check it works on every device you use: phone, car, speaker and laptop.
- Sharing a plan? Let each person at home live with the new app for a week, and only cancel once the heaviest listener is happy.
- Decide whether you want to own some music outright as well.
- Only then cancel the old subscription, and note the date it ends.
Not ready to cancel yet? Our page on the Apple Music free trial explains how the trial itself works.
Frequently asked questions
What is Blend on Spotify?
It's Spotify's feature for discovering your taste match, according to its Premium page. Handy if you'd like to see how your music lines up with a partner's or a friend's.
Can I move my whole library to Deezer?
Deezer says you can transfer your entire music library to it in a few clicks. Check a handful of playlists by hand afterwards, because a missing track is easier to spot early.
Is Navidrome open source?
Yes. It's distributed under the GNU GPL v3 licence, so anyone can read the code.
Does Spotify Premium work offline?
Yes, offline listening is one of the features its Premium Individual plan lists. Download your favourites before a flight or a long tunnel.
Is Amazon Music Unlimited lossless?
Its page lists HD audio among its features. If lossless matters to you, compare the technical details on each service's help pages.
What do I need to run Navidrome?
A computer or storage box that stays switched on and holds your music files, plus a little patience with setup. Its own documentation covers the details.
