1. Pandora Vs Spotify Free
2. Pandora Vs Spotify Free Download

Unfortunately, most users will never get to participate, except in the case of Spotify's experimental Stations app. After a test in Australia on both Android and iOS, Spotify made its Pandora-esque. Spotify Music Spotify is obviously majorly different than Pandora. If you’ve used Spotify for any time at all, you know that Spotify doesn’t operate based around stations, but around playlists. Whether you choose Spotify or Pandora Premium, you’ll pay the same cost of $9.99 a month, with a 60-day free trial for new users. Or you can save money by purchasing a year’s worth of streaming. That said, if you want to go ad-free with Spotify, you’ll have to pay at least $10 per month, which gives Pandora an automatic win. Winner: Pandora User interface and experience.

How Pandora and Spotify Work

When a user visits Pandora and creates a radio station based on, for example, his or her favorite artist, Pandora searches for similar artists and songs using the complex algorithms of the Music Genome Project, a music database that Pandora has patented. The Music Genome Project compiles information on songs, first categorizing each one by genre. A musician then analyzes every song for up to 30 minutes at a time, finding unique characteristics with which to further categorize the music by (e.g., types of instruments used, gender of lead vocalist, rhythm, tonality, etc.). Most songs have hundreds of attributes that help Pandora determine the similarities and differences between one song and another.

Tidal vs Pandora: Music Discovery. We think Pandora reigns supreme when it comes to the AI and music discovery aspect. The Pandora algorithm does a beautiful job suggesting new tracks based on your previous selections and preferences. This gesture lets you easily find your favorites, ensuring that you only listen to what is pleasing to your ears. Currently, Pandora has an advantage. Although Spotify recently boasted about 72 million active users in the U.S., the amount of ad-supported Spotify listeners is likely closer to 54 million addressable consumers.

Pandora users can further customize their personal radio stations by giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to songs that are recommended to them. They can also share their stations with friends; however, linking to specific songs directly is impossible due to licensing restrictions.

Spotify is less about new music discovery than it is about replacing traditional music players, like iTunes or Windows Media Player, with streamable music. Spotify depends on a large catalogue of roughly 20 million songs to accomplish this—a sticking point in some countries when major record labels have not wanted to make deals with the company. In theory, users should be able to create an account on Spotify, search for any song or artist that they like, and begin streaming that music with Spotify's online player.

Playlists

On Pandora, radio stations are really just playlists (and vice versa) and come with the same limitations that all Pandora stations come with. Users can build their own stations/playlists based on their favorite music, use friends' shared playlists, or take advantage of one of many public Pandora stations that are based on genre. However, manually adding individual songs or albums is not supported.

Playlists on Spotify work in the same way that playlists in traditional media players work. Music is manually added or removed by the user. The only difference between Spotify's playlists and traditional media players' playlists is that Spotify's can be easily shared (and even co-edited). This has made Spotify a popular choice among those searching for a free or cheap and legal way to share their favorite artists and songs. It has even led to the creation of full websites (e.g., Playlists.net) dedicated to sharing and rating spotify playlists.

Pandora allows users to create up to 100 unique stations/playlists, while Spotify puts no limit on the number of playlists a user can create.

Phone Apps

Pandora has mobile phone apps for Android and iOS, as well as some limited support among Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries. On the iPhone, the Pandora app can only be installed using a U.S., Australian, or New Zealand iTunes account.

Spotify has apps available on a wide variety of mobile devices around the globe. Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile and Windows Phone are all supported.

Free vs Paid Subscriptions

Relatively few restrictions are placed on non-paying Pandora and Spotify members. The most jarring difference between free and paid memberships on both services is the presence of ads; paying members experience no audio ads on Pandora or Spotify.

Pandora's premium membership is known as Pandora One and costs $4.99 a month. Spotify's subscription is known as Spotify Premium; at $9.99 a month, it is more expensive than Pandora One.

As of 2014, students can subscribe to Spotify Premium for $4.99 a month provided they have a .edu email address from an accredited college or university in the U.S. that they can prove they are enrolled in. This reduced pricing is available to students for three years.

Restrictions on Free Membership

Pandora Vs Spotify Free

Both Pandora and Spotify put restrictions on non-paying users. The restrictions have changed numerous times over the years as both companies have tried out different pricing models and been affected by changing licensing fees or laws.

At present, Pandora's restrictions on its free members are as follows:

• Audio advertisements that last for 15 to 30 seconds periodically interrupt music. The number of ads served up in an hour varies depending on the operating device (i.e., whether listening to Pandora via computer, mobile, or car).

• Restrictions on how many songs can be skipped in a day. Six skips are allowed, per hour and per station; only 30 skips are permitted across all stations in a 24-hour period. Clicking the 'next' play button, selecting 'I'm tired of this track,' or downvoting (giving a thumbs down to) a song while it plays all count as a skip.

• Reduced audio quality. Music for free members plays at 64 kilobits per second in an AAC+ format. Built-in apps for televisions and other non-mobile devices, like Roku, may receive a slightly higher quality of 128 kbps.

• Timeouts. To avoid paying royalties on songs that users might not be listening to, Pandora periodically times out if the player has not been used in a while.

Spotify places similar restrictions on its free members:

• 15- to 30-second audio ads.

• Reduced audio quality. However, at 160 kbps in the Ogg format Spotify's free version offers a higher quality sound than Pandora does.

Premium Membership Benefits

Pandora One's benefits include the following:

• No ads.

• Higher audio quality of 192 kbps.

• Downloadable desktop application. Users are no longer limited to using Pandora on their mobile devices or in the browser.

• Custom skins for the web application.

• Fewer timeouts, allowing users to listen for longer periods of time without having to interact with the player.

Spotify Premium benefits include the following:

• No ads.

• Ability to download music for offline listening.

• Higher audio quality of 320 kbps for some songs.

• Use of Spotify Connect, which allows users to hook up other hardware to Spotify's mobile app.

Library Size

In 2011, Tim Westergren, a founder of Pandora, stated that the service had over 900,000 songs in its library catalogue at the time. More recent statistics are difficult to find, but it is likely Pandora has well over a million songs in its database as of 2014. Pandora has a good track record of finding and adding obscure independent artists, which aids users in discovering new music.

Because Spotify depends on having songs available on demand, the company has been more aggressive about making deals with major labels as well as well known independent labels. In 2012, its catalogue was said to hold about 20 million songs; however, the size of the catalogue varies by region due to licensing restrictions.

Social Features

Pandora and Spotify provide users with several ways to share music, but Spotify has more widespread, general sharing capabilities than Pandora does.

On Pandora, users can share links to stations via email, Facebook, or Twitter. Users can also share links to individual tracks, but the web address points to general song information—lyrics, purchase info, and a link to create a station based on the song, not listen to it directly (see an example).

With Spotify, users can share individual songs, full albums, and playlists. This is done via special links that target the Spotify application itself. This flexibility has led many third-party websites to adopt Spotify links as a method to legally share music. And as of 2014, Spotify has teamed up with Last.fm, an online music statistics and recommendation service, to try to compete with Pandora.

Parental Controls

For parents who are concerned about the music their children might listen to, Pandora is the better option, as it offers parental control options that will play censored versions of songs and exclude others entirely. Because every song is analyzed by real people, Pandora's parental controls are very reliable and do not simply rely on 'Parental Advisory' labels.

In contrast to Pandora's rigorous parental control system, Spotify offers no such capabilities. This means that explicit, uncensored music is available to anyone who signs up to Spotify.

Other Features

While Spotify's flexibility may make it more universal on the web in some respects, Pandora is found a lot more frequently beyond computers and mobile devices. Not only do many audio-video receives, media players, and HDTVs carry default support for Pandora, but so too do many modern automobiles that have digital radio systems.

Spotify can be found on or downloaded for many mobile devices and media players, but it is rarer on HDTVs and is not built in to any vehicle's digital radio systems by default. In some cases, Spotify Connect can be used to join Spotify with a device or set of speakers, which are controlled via the Spotify mobile app, but Connect requires a premium membership.

Availability and Popularity

Pandora has more users than Spotify does, but Spotify's service is available to more users around the world. Whereas Pandora only serves users in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, due to licensing issues, Spotify reaches dozens of countries and territories (click here for a full list). This has made Spotify popular outside of the U.S., but Americans remain loyal to Pandora according to statistics.

In 2014, Pandora reached 200 million users, with nearly 70 million active each month. By comparison, Spotify has about 40 million users as of 2014, 10 million of them premium subscribers.

Both Pandora and Spotify depend on banner advertisements, music-interrupting ads, and premium member subscriptions for funding. However, as of 2014, both companies operate at a net loss.

Recent News

References

Pandora is a radio-based streaming service, and Spotify is playlist oriented, so they work very differently in some ways. Any how, both Spotify and Pandora intend to help users find their favorite jams and to discover tons of new music with ease. Which one is the best music streaming service? Which one is your preference?

Here we make the side by side comparisons between Spotify and Pandora. After considering variety of factors, you will make the right choice!

Side by Side Comparisons between Pandora and Spotify

Pandora provides simple yet perfect interface. 'Now Playing' tab displays what you’re currently playing, including thumbs up and thumbs down buttons, and the album art in the center of the main interface, with additional backstage which give users an access to the artist’s lyrics, tour dates, bios, and more. It claimed that the improved 'Navigation' feature makes things easier when users create and organize stations, look at their favorite tracks, and use playback controls. However, users do not think so and some even think that the UI on the desktop version 'make things more difficult and take more actions to do the same thing for the sake of aesthetics'.

Spotify has updated the user interface since January 2019. The positions of a few useful buttons have changed, making it more difficult for users to navigate the features they want, for example, the Artist/Albums pages are set up in 'Your Library' section, and the 'Repeat' and 'Go to queue' buttons on mobile app are moved into the sub. It seems that this is the first time that people strongly complain about the changes.

Verdict: By all accounts, both Pandora and Spotify have made unnecessary compromises for the sake of aesthetic changes. Users just wanna go back to the past version. In conclusion, though Pandora has beautiful and appealing UI, most of users prefer to Spotify which displays all features more conspicuously.

Pandora offers 4 different tiers of service: free ad-supported Pandora, Pandora Plus, Pandora Premium and Pandora Family Plan.

It is taking up almost 3 gigabytes on my phone and all my offline songs are stored on my SD Card. I don't know what to do or how to fix it;-; × Close We use cookies to give you the best online experience. Spotify app takes up too much space. From the Android home screen, tap Settings Apps. Find Spotify in your list of apps, tap it and select Uninstall. For older Android devices, navigate to Menu Settings Applications Manage applications. Open Google Play then search for and install the Spotify Music app.

Pandora Free is ad-supported radio service which allows users to create stations based off of their favorite artists, songs, and genres.

Pandora Plus ($4.99/month or $54.89/year) gives users the ability to replay tracks, listen to 4 radio stations offline, and the benefit to enjoy higher quality audio and a longer timeout period.

Pandora Premium ($9.99/month or $109.89/year with a 60-day free trial) covers all the benefits of Pandora Plus, and pluses the ability to search and play songs on-demand. With Pandora Premium users can create fully customizable playlists, access as much of their music collection offline, and enjoy higher quality audio and longer timeouts than Pandora Plus subscribers.

Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs. Spotify white app.

Pandora Premium Family ($14.99 USD monthly or $164.89 annually) offers all of the features of Pandora Premium to up to six unique Pandora accounts.

Spotify Premium for individual is $9.99 per month. Spotify Family allows up to create five additional individual accounts for a total of $14.99 per month. If you’re a student, you can sign up with a .edu email address which allows you a student discount with $4.99 (includes Hulu) per month.

Spotify is testing a new Premium deal which offers a cheaper subscription to couples. Dubbed Premium Duo, it sits between the existing solo and Family subscriptions, and is ideal for those without kids.

You Might Interested in: How to Get a Discount on Spotify Premium

1. Things You Need to Know about Spotify and Hulu Bundle

Pandora Vs Spotify Free Download

Spotify and Hulu have partnered to offer a combined streaming media service that could save your money to access your favorite streaming music and videos. So here we will mainly talk about things you need to know about Spotify and Hulu bundle.

2. If you have new Samsung Galaxy S10, S10+, or S10e and you could get your first 6 months of Premium absolutely free.

3. Spotify is teaming up with AT&T, so if you’re an eligible AT&T customer, you can sign up for a free six-month trial of Spotify Premium.

The size of a music catalog is crucial when comparing two services. Spotify claims over 30 million songs, while touting the addition of another 20,000 songs to its library daily, so it seems that users can literally find anything and everything. Pandora also offers on-demand access to more than 40 million songs, and millions of curated and auto-generated radio stations that offer variations on a theme.

In summary, both Spotify and Pandora accomplish two different tasks: Pandora is for radio, and Spotify is for playlists, but the key points to keep subscribers sticking to their services depend on the ability to discovery new music. Spotify build the personalized playlists like Discovery Weekly and Release radar which provide new music from artists they never stumbled across on their own. While Pandora's 'Music Genome Project' is a powerful engine offering the incredible ability to provide listeners with songs they like based on a vast amount of variables. In addition to creating radio stations, the 'Music Genome Project' helps to curate playlists automatically adding music once you have selected a few songs.

Verdict: Pandora does a better job in discovering music. The 'radio mode' introduces listeners millions of interesting music, then you do not have to worry about what to listen to.

Best Add-ons or Third-Party Apps for Discovering New Music on Spotify

In addition to the built-in features that Spotify holds, there are plenty of third-party add-ons, or web-based tools which are using Spotify official API or not. Here we list the best 8 add-ons or web-based tools for Spotify, which are working with Spotify and bring your streaming music to a new level.

By default, Spotify music player runs at 160kbps on desktop, but Premium allows you to up this to 320kbps, which is the best compression rate you’ll actually notice. For Spotify mobile app, Low quality is 24kbps, Normal quality is 96kbps, High quality is 160kbps, and Extreme quality is 320kbps. Free users can select Normal or High, but only Premium lets you select Extreme on mobile.

For Pandora, its audio quality might be the lowest available among the major streaming music service, even the Premium subscribers stream music at only 192Kbps in AAC format.

Verdict: It is apparent that Spotify offers the better audio quality. If you are particular about the audio quality, Spotify is your choice.

How to Improve the Streaming and Download Audio Quality on Spotify?

If you want all your music from Spotify sound amazing, you can take multiple methods to improve sound quality. And here we list the best ways you can refer to change or improve the streaming or download audio quality on Spotify.

Sometimes the smart speakers you own also decides which music streaming service you should choice, because you need to consider whether your speaker is natively compatible with the service. Spotify is available everywhere, and available on most of devices including desktop, mobile phone or tablets, TV and game console, smart speaker and watch. Pandora Premium was on a select few platforms, but now it's also available on iOS, Android, desktop, web browser, Sonos, Kindle devices, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One, Google Home, Fitbit and more.

Verdict: Relatively speaking, Spotify is compatible with most of mainstream smart speaks, TV and game consoles, wearable devices, so it has mass appeal and happily reaches very broad users.

Podcast that a service provides are a critical element when you consider which platforms you will choose. It may not be ready to switch over from a dedicated app just yet, but it's a nice feature for anyone looking to trim down the number of apps they use daily. Spotify seizes the initiative and heavily invests to provide listeners high-quality podcasts with different topics. It seems that Pandora has not lagged behind at all. In 2018, Pandora announced that it has hundreds of podcasts with over 100,000 episodes across genres like true crime, technology, music, and more. Users can discover podcasts throughout the app of Spotify and Pandora, in this round, the draw is a good result.

How to Download Spotify Podcast to PC without Premium?

How to download podcasts from Spotify on your computer to listen to it offline? Now here is the solution: Sidify Music Converter is an impressive application which downloads Spotify podcast to audio tracks like MP3, AAC, WAV or FLAC.

Spotify deserves to the pioneer and king in the music-streaming space, although it is not to everybody's taste. Spotify is for playlist, so if you are the ones who want a solid all-around service, and love to make, browse and share playlists to others, Spotify is your choice. Pandora's 'Music Genome Project' is a trump card to give better recommendations. If you are tired of discovering new music and do not know what to listen to, Pandora will give you more suggestions.

If Spotify is a popular choice to avoid 'landmines', Pandora is special-interest to meet a specific need.

Recommend: Spotify Music Downloader

Sidify Music Converter is a wonderful Spotify audio converter on Windows & Mac, which can download Spotify songs to other playable formats, thus users can play the downloaded songs on other devices, such as the iPod, iPhone, Zune, PSP, etc.

Sidify Music Converter

• Download Spotify song or playlist to MP3/AAC/WAV/FLAC.
• Keep 100% original audio quality of Spotify after conversion.
• Keep ID3 tags and metadata to well organize music library.
• Burn Spotify music to CD and share Spotify music via Email.