Google Music vs. Apple Music: The Best Music Platform

Written By Pauline Mendoza

Last updated:January 15, 2024

There are several factors to consider when deciding which is the best music streaming service now. You need to consider the audio quality, price, features, and many other things. That’s precisely why not everyone can make a decision as to which is the best platform.

The same applies to this Google Music vs. Apple Music comparison. We will consider a lot of factors including the price, quality, and many other things.

At the end of the day, the decision would be up to you. The only purpose of this guide is to provide you with some insights on Google Music vs. Apple Music comparison. So without further ado, let’s start with the comparison.

Article Content Part 1. Google Music vs. Apple Music: What is the Best Music Streaming Service?Part 2. Google Music vs. Apple Music: Pros and ConsPart 3. Bonus: Play Apple Music on Google Music with TuneSoloPart 4. Summary

Part 1. Google Music vs. Apple Music: What is the Best Music Streaming Service?

The battle between Apple Music and Spotify has been going on for quite some time. (We can give you more information if you want to know more about the Apple Music vs. Spotify battle.) However, only a few talk about Google Music vs. Apple Music, despite their many similarities. However, that’s going to change right now, because we’re going to compare Google Music and Apple Music against each other. Let’s start by talking about the price.
Google Music vs. Apple Music

Google Music vs. Apple Music: Subscriptions and Plans

A subscription to Google Play Music and Apple Music both has a price of $9.99 a month. However, for Apple Music, this price may differ according to the country or territory. This price includes all the features such as access to the music library, offline listening, exclusive access to new releases, and access to radio stations.

As for Google Play Music, with $9.99 a month, you get to access their catalog, radio stations, offline listening, and other features that were mentioned earlier. Basically, you get the same features, so what’s the difference. The difference is when you apply for the Google Play Music subscription; you also get access to YouTube Music Premium.

Anyway, that’s not the only subscription plan available for these platforms. You can also sign up as a student so you only have to pay $4.99 a month. This only applies to Apple Music. Google Play doesn’t have a student subscription plan, but you can always apply for the student plan of YouTube Music which is connected to Google Play Music.

Moreover, you can also opt for the family plan of Apple Music which costs $14.99 a month. But, this will provide the privileges to a total of six accounts. Google Music offers the same plan which is called Play Music Family Plan. It costs the same and it allows up to 6 accounts as well.

The main difference is with the free account that Google gives out to its users. So even if you’re not subscribed, you can still millions of songs and even upload some of your songs. And that’s why it’s clear that Google Music is the winner of this round.

Google Music vs. Apple Music: Audio Quality

I’m not an audiophile, but all music lovers would want their music to sound good. That’s probably why audio quality is considered when choosing the best music-streaming platform.

It’s known that Apple Music can stream AAC files with up to 256 kbps. This can be adjusted through the settings of the platform. On the other hand, Google Play Music can stream the same files with up to 320 kbps. This can also be adjusted from low quality (198 kbps) to normal quality (192 kbps). It should also be noted that YouTube Music has a bit rate of 128 kbps.

As you can see, Google Music has a slightly higher bit rate than Apple Music. Unfortunately, I can’t notice the difference that much, since I’m not exactly a complete audiophile. However, there might be some who will notice the slight difference between the bitrates.

The good news is, although it seems like 320 kbps is the maximum bit rate as of now, they predict that this will increase in the coming years. This is good news for a lot of music lovers, but I don’t suggest that you use this as the basis of choosing a music-streaming service. After all, there’s not much difference between 256 kbps and 320 kbps.

Still, in general, Apple Music is stricter when it comes to audio quality. They make sure content creators only upload the highest quality of audio and reject others that do not comply to this guideline.

Google Music vs. Apple Music: Library and Music Discovery

Luckily, the music catalog of Google Music and Apple Music are both huge. Apple Music boasts 50 million songs in their catalog while Google Music features 40 million songs. Although there’s a gap, it’s not going to make a huge difference in the future. But the more important question is, how big can your library be for each platform?

For Apple Music, you can store up to 100,000 songs in your library. And thanks to the iCloud technology, you can synchronize these songs across all your devices, as long as they are all signed into the Apple ID that you use. Google Music, however, features the same library but they don’t specify the maximum number. Thankfully, no one has found out the maximum number of songs yet, so it should be safe to assume that it’s a huge number.

As for the music discovery, upon signing up for Apple Music, you’re immediately asked several questions regarding your favorite artists. This is done so they can get a sense of your interest in music. With this information, Apple Music is able to show you music that you’re most likely going to like. And that’s why Apple Music is known for doing a great job curating your music.

Unfortunately, Google Music isn’t as good as Apple Music in this aspect. Once you sign up, you just get the typical recommendations that everyone gets. The good news is while you browse Google Music, the algorithm slowly gets a better idea of your tastes, so their recommendations get better after a while, but not as fast as Apple Music.

Google Music vs. Apple Music: User Interface

Google Music does a great job in creating a neat interface. They offer an easy-to-organize library and this can be customized in a number of ways. You can also set up playlists that can be shared with your friends. Although it’s entirely based on a website, they made sure it’s fast and versatile so you can access it on your mobile device, Windows PC, or Mac.

Another great feature of Google Music is its rating system. Upon sending a thumbs up or thumbs down on a selected track, they make sure you don’t see that track again. Of course, you can always go look for it anytime, as long as you enter the right keywords for it. Anyway, personally, I love the search function, although it’s really no wonder considering how it’s the most popular search engine on the internet.

On the other hand, Apple Music has an interface that can be synced perfectly with iTunes. Although it’s been too long since iTunes received its latest update, it’s not that bad. There are many modern features on its interface. Unfortunately, I often face the problem of clicking a little too often just to do one thing. So it’s not exactly user-friendly.

To summarize, I like the user interface of Google Music while Apple Music doesn’t provide a user-friendly-enough interface. This applies to both mobile users and desktop users. So for this aspect, I’ll have to say that the winner is Google Music.

Google Music vs. Apple Music: Social Sharing

Both Google Music and Apple Music offer social sharing features, allowing users to share their favorite songs, albums, and playlists with friends and followers. When comparing the two in terms of social sharing, here's what you need to know:

Google Music:

Apple Music:

Both Google Music and Apple Music offer robust social sharing capabilities, enabling users to engage with their friends and the broader music community through sharing and discovering new music. The choice between the two platforms in terms of social sharing may ultimately come down to users' preferences, existing social networks, and the overall user experience each platform provides.

Part 2. Google Music vs. Apple Music: Pros and Cons

Due to the interference of YouTube Music to Google Music, it’s becoming harder and harder to predict how things will go for Google. Fortunately, they still offer the same services, but there’s no telling whether that’s going to change sooner or later. Until that happens, Google Music remains one of the best choices for a music-streaming service along with Apple Music.

On the other hand, if you’re dead-set in investing in Apple devices and Apple products, Apple Music would be a perfect choice. They offer some neat features that even Android users find to be very helpful. Anyway, to make your job easier, it might be best if you get to take a look at the highlights of this Google Music vs. Apple Music comparison.

Google Music Highlights

Apple Music Highlights

As you can see, both of them have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall, Google Music provides a better user experience even though the library isn’t as big as Apple Music. Plus, when you get their subscription bundle, you get to access YouTube Music as a plus one. On the other hand, Apple Music has a lot bigger library than Google Music. (Are you interested in learning about another music streaming platform? We also made a comparison between Amazon Music and Apple Music!)

At the end of the day, the decision falls on your shoulders. And depending on your decision, you might have a satisfactory experience, or not. If possible, I’d rather keep paying for the subscription for both of these services rather than picking just one. That is, of course, if you can afford such an expense.

Part 3. Bonus: Play Apple Music on Google Music with TuneSolo

We’ve always argued which is better and made Google Music vs. Apple Music comparisons. However, did you ever think of the idea of playing Apple Music on Google Music? If it’s possible, then is there even a need to choose the best music-streaming platform.

TuneSolo Apple Music Converter is an application capable of downloading and converting files so you can access them on other platforms. Hence, it’s possible to play Apple Music on Google Music using this software. To learn more about this application, you can check out its other features below:

Main Feature:

Other Features:

Try It Free Try It Free

With that, you should be aware of the capabilities of the TuneSolo Converter. Now it’s time to find out how to use this software to play Apple Music on Google Music:

Step 1. Select Apple Music Songs

Firstly, you have to ensure that iTunes is installed on the computer. Once you confirm this, proceed by opening the TuneSolo converter. You will then see a list of titles. From this list, select the songs that you want to play on Google Music.

Select Apple Music Songs

Step 2. Change Output Settings

Scroll down until you see the bottom of the window. You will see the Output Settings section. From this section, you can change the Format, Quality, Codec, and other properties.

Change Output Settings

Step 3. Convert Apple Music

After you change the settings, click the Convert button. This will start the conversion process and although it may take some time, you have to wait patiently.

Convert Apple Music

Tip: Please make sure that Apple Music/iTunes is closed before opening Apple Music Converter. And during the song conversion, please do not do any operation on Apple Music/iTunes.

Part 4. Summary

Google Music is becoming more and more popular by the minute. It’s becoming even more popular with the addition of YouTube Music Premium to its bundle. However, Apple Music, as always, won’t go down without a fight. It’s always been this way. When a new music-streaming service pops up, we end up comparing it with other services.

At the end of the day, the responsibility falls on your shoulders. Whether you pick one over the other is your choice. Just remember that after all this Google Music vs. Apple Music comparison, you’re still the one with the choice.

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