There are a plethora of music platforms nowadays, including: Pandora, Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud. Personally, I like to keep all my music in one area and one application. I outgrew Pandora since I did not always appreciate music similar to my tastes, but wanted to listen to specific songs. YouTube has always been a go-to, but it can be tiresome having to find a video and once it’s over having to click another one. Thus, how I quickly became a Spotify fan.

Spotify

Spotify has its advantages, such as having one large music database all in one place and for free (unless you sign up for premium, which also has its benefits). Moreover, if you’re tired of your own playlists, they have moods and genres that are pretty tailored to a specific vibe. I’ve used these playlists on more than one occasion, such as “confidence boosts” or “hipster house party”. Spotify also has a discover weekly playlist that has new song recommendations every week based off of what you listen to regularly. For the additional cost (a pretty low one if you’re a student), Spotify allows you to have downloaded playlists that you can listen to anytime, whether you have wifi service or not. This is pretty convenient if you travel a lot. It is no wonder Spotify has become my go to streaming platform.

However, as of recently, I have become an avid fan of house music, remixes and EDM. Here is where Spotify is not the best: Spotify is not home to obscure house remixes or EDM songs. SoundCloud is.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a haven for discovered and undiscovered artists, remixes from famous groups or from individuals, covers and so much more. Its tagline reads as: an audio platform that lets you listen to what you love and share the sounds you create. SoundCloud is not just a music application that has popular radio hits in its database, but also original mixes and sounds that would otherwise stay unknown. It is no wonder that SoundCloud has become as popular as it has since it reaches another audience with its streaming services. Additionally, each song that you listen to has its own radio station where you can find similar songs.

SoundCloud also has its own premium type of service, “SoundCloud Go”, which costs the same as Spotify premium. Essentially both have similar features, but I do not find SoundCloud Go to be as useful, since the advertisements are short and are spaced out well on the free version. I tend to run into ads on SoundCloud very rarely, and, even then sometimes, I can skip them and continue listening to music.

But which is better, SoundCloud or Spotify? Not necessarily either. I find myself using both streaming services for different reasons. When I want a wide variety of music or my own playlists that I’ve spent time building, I use Spotify. When I find myself in need of an energy boost or music to get hype for going out, I use SoundCloud.

Both are great music platforms within themselves and I cannot see myself just abandoning one for the other completely. I continue to use both, but depending on your tastes, one might be more worth it than the other.