Monday, August 19, 2013

Spotify Versus Pandora: Which Is Better?

Pandora logo image
Most people that have switched to streaming music use either Spotify or Pandora. That may change in a month or so when iRadio comes to life, but right now both companies hold the lead in the streaming part of the business. But which one is better? Here's a quick comparison.

Spotify: available in 21 countries
Pandora: available in 3 countries

Spotify: 20 million active users
Pandora: 47 million active users

Spotify: 20 million songs
Pandora: 1 million songs

Spotify: users can search for specific songs
Pandora: users refine their favorite channels with "thumbs up" or "thumbs down"

Spotify:after 6 months for free, users are limited to 10 hours per month
Pandora: basic music app is free, but with ads

Spotify: users can create custom playlists
Pandora: suggests songs so you can discover new music

Spotify: integrates with Facebook so users find new music based on friend's recommendations
Pandora: rewind and repeat not possible

So who's the winner? There's pros and cons with both, but there's enough cons that both are open to some competition. With a lot of that soon coming from some heavy hitters in the business, it's no doubt that the streaming landscape will be different by this time next year.
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