Music Wars: Spotify vs Apple

Lucy Schiff '26

Sports Page Editor

One of the biggest debates among Gen Z is the question of Spotify vs Apple Music. After talking to many students, here is what I have found out: Spotify users have a strong belief that their cherished app is better than Apple Music. Some Apple Music users may argue that the ads on Spotify are inconvenient and annoying, but Spotify users disagree.

“Spotify is worth the ads,” says Sophia Bonoli ’26. Many Spotify users like Thuyan Tran ’25, president of the music club, love the app because of the easy accessibility and the “Spotify Wrapped” feature, which showcases their most listened to songs, top artist and top genre.

The price of subscription for Apple Music ($5.99/month) is a key component in why some users choose the free version of Spotify instead of Apple.

In contrast to these claims, Emerson Calle ’26 says that the constant ads on free Spotify, and the need for Premium to skip songs, makes the price of Apple Music worth it. Calle is a strong believer in Apple music and has grown up using it. She says that although she has experience with Spotify she still prefers Apple Music.

“It’s easier to find songs and the platform is simpler,” said Sierra Swan ’27 on the Apple Music side of the debate.

After all the claims, I decided to find out for myself, statistically, which is the more used and a more popular platform.

Sitara Pitamber-Fry '26 displaying the Spotify and Apple Music logos

“Spotify remains the global leader in music streaming,” states Memberful Blog. So despite the controversy, statistically, the most popular app globally is Spotify. Data shows that there are over 500 million users of Spotify, including 226 million Premium Spotify users. This goes to show how beloved this app is, not just in other states and countries, but in the world.

So you may be thinking, what does Spotify offer that Apple Music doesn’t?

“I like Spotify because you can see random peoples playlists that you did not specifically look for that end up being playlists that I add to my library” says Berlyn Granier ’25.

An article written by Sound Guys, says that Spotify has a Graphical Graphical Equalizer (EQ), which fine tunes the listeners taste in music and allows you to customize your taste in music directly.

In conclusion, the more popular app overall is Spotify. Despite this, there are still many Apple Music warriors who may have proven to be the underdogs, but will fight for their favorite streaming platform!