Spotify price in India is high, but its feature set is quite compelling
Photo Credit: Spotify
Now that Spotify has launched in India, quite a few people have begun checking out the service and figuring out if it has everything they need. We're here to help in that regard. We looked at the key features Apple Music, Amazon Music, Gaana, Google Play Music, JioSaavn, Hungama, and Wynk Music, and compared these against Spotify. We considered the price of Spotify, app support, the free tier, and a bunch of other factors, and compiled all of this data into a table for you to check this out and decide which music streaming service ticks all the correct boxes.
Spotify has an ad-supported free tier which doesn't allow downloads or listening to music at the highest quality. This is similar to all of its competitors that offer a free tier. Spotify premium subscription costs Rs. 119 per month and it's one of the most expensive music streaming services in India. To compare, Amazon Music charges Rs. 999 per year (roughly Rs. 83 per month); Gaana, Google Play Music, Hungama, JioSaavn, and Wynk cost Rs. 99 per month. Only [Apple Music] costs is more expensive than Spotify at Rs. 120 per month.
Spotify does not offer its family plan in India. Considering how the price is much lower in India than in the US ($10 per month, which is roughly Rs. 715), we don't expect to see the family plan launching in India. If you want the best value for money plan for a music streaming service, Apple Music surprisingly enough is the one for you. Apple Music offers a family plan at Rs. 190 per month for up to six people, which is roughly Rs. 32 per person per month. No other streaming service in India offers a family plan.
Spotify offers a discounted plan for students. If you want the monthly subscription, the price for students is Rs. 59 per month. If you want prepaid packs for Spotify, the price for students is Rs. 66 for 30 days. Apple Music is the only other music streaming service that offers a discounted plan for students at Rs. 60 per month.
One of Spotify's best features is support for apps on multiple platforms. It supports the widest range of platforms when compared with its competitors. In spite of that there are gaps — Spotify does not offer an app on Apple TV. In India, Spotify does not currently work on Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Xbox One, among other platforms. However, we hope this changes as these Spotify apps work in other regions.
There's lots of information in the table below, feel free to check it out and see if Spotify is for you.
| Amazon Music | Apple Music | Gaana | Google Play Music | Hungama | JioSaavn | Spotify | Wynk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier (with ads) | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Rs. 999 per year | Rs. 120 per month Rs. 1,200 per year | Rs. 99 per month Rs. 499 per year | Rs. 99 per month | Rs. 99 per month Rs. 899 per year | Rs. 99 per month Rs. 999 per year | Rs. 119 per month Rs. 1,189 per year | Rs. 99-120 per month (non-Airtel) Rs. 29- 60 per month (Airtel) |
| Student discount | No | Yes (Rs. 60 per month) | No | No | No | No | Yes (Rs. 59 per month) | No |
| Family plan | No | Yes (Rs. 190 per month) | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Android app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iOS app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Windows, Mac | Windows, Mac | No | No | No | Windows 10 | Windows, Mac, Linux | No |
| Offline downloads | Android, iOS | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | Android, iOS | Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, Windows | Android, iOS |
| Web player | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Login required | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Other platforms | Amazon Echo Amazon Fire TV Stick | Apple TV, Apple Watch, HomePod, AirPlay speakers | No | Google Home, Android TV, Android Auto, CarPlay, Chrome App, Android Wear | Vizio Smart TV, Jaguar cars, Land Rover cars | No | Android TV, Android Auto, CarPlay, PS4, Xbox One, Chromecast, Amazon Echo, Google Home | No |
| Audio format, bitrate | 256kbps mp3 | 256kbps aac | 128kbps mp3 (free) Up to 320kbps (paid | Up to 320kbps | Not mentioned on website or app | Up to 160kbps mp3 Up to 320kbps (paid) | Up to 160kbps ogg (free) Up to 320kbps ogg (paid) | Up to 320kbps |
We discussed Spotify's India launch on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
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