Spotify Versus Pandora: Which Is Better?

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.

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

Follow me on Forbes for some insights on the new music business.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.