SoundCloud vs Spotify

SoundCloud and Spotify hold different kinds of music. Spotify, run from Stockholm, is a licensed service with over 100 million tracks, podcasts and audiobooks. SoundCloud, headquartered in Berlin, says its Go+ plan reaches 100 million label tracks plus 400 million uploaded directly by artists: demos, remixes and DJ sets. Spotify replaces a record collection; SoundCloud shows what has not been signed yet.

Editor Sebastiaan Smits

Published Last reviewed How we review

Choose SoundCloud if

you follow electronic music, hip-hop or emerging scenes, want remixes and early uploads from unsigned artists, or make music yourself and want fan-powered royalties and tools for artists.

Read the SoundCloud review

Choose Spotify if

you want a complete licensed library with lossless audio, podcasts and audiobooks in one app, and a free plan to start, rather than a platform built around uploads.

Read the Spotify review

SoundCloud and Spotify side by side

 SoundCloudSpotify
Company SoundCloud Spotify AB
Headquarters Berlin, Germany Stockholm, Sweden
Founded 2007 2006
Jurisdiction EU (Germany) EU (Sweden), US-listed
Where the data sits EU EU (Sweden)
Pricing Free tier / from about €5.99/month Free with advertising / Premium subscription
Free tier or trial Free tier Free tier
Certifications and checks GDPR GDPR
Source code Closed source Closed source
Usually replaces Spotify, Apple Music Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music
Position in our Music Streaming guide #4 of 12 #6 of 12

Both are listed in our European Music Streaming guide. The table is built from the same directory data as those entries; how we check it is described in the editorial process.

Where SoundCloud and Spotify differ

Across the four points below, SoundCloud has the edge on 1 point, Spotify on 1 point and 2 are a tie. A count like that is a summary, not a verdict: the point that matters to you may be the one the other product wins.

What is in the catalogue

Spotify lists over 100 million tracks, 7 million podcast titles and 700,000 audiobooks. SoundCloud's Go+ page counts 100 million tracks from major and independent labels plus 400 million uploaded directly by artists, including DJ sets, demos and rare remixes. For a full licensed library pick Spotify; for unreleased and scene music, SoundCloud.

No clear winner on this point.

Sound quality

SoundCloud Go+ streams at 256 kbps AAC, a good compressed format. Spotify Premium adds a lossless setting equivalent to up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC on compatible devices, above its 320 kbit/s very high setting. On decent headphones that is an audible step for many listeners, so on sound alone Spotify's paid plan is ahead, though uploads on SoundCloud vary with the source.

Edge: Spotify

Paying the artist

SoundCloud uses fan-powered royalties, which it describes as your streams paying the artists you play directly, and says artists who distribute through SoundCloud keep 100%. It has added an Artist plan, announced at USD 3.25 a month, and direct music purchases without commission. Spotify publishes data on its royalty payments through its Loud and Clear site, without describing a per-listener split there.

Edge: SoundCloud

DJ software

SoundCloud lists DJ software integration as a Go+ feature, and Algoriddim's djay streams more than 200 million SoundCloud tracks with Go+. Spotify also works in djay, rekordbox, Serato and others for Premium users, but its support page limits this to personal, non-commercial use and rules out playing mixes in clubs, venues, events and livestreams.

No clear winner on this point.

When neither SoundCloud nor Spotify fits

Neither is built for full-length DJ mixes and radio shows with the tracklist shown up front: Mixcloud is, with copyright-cleared shows and upfront tracklists for Premium listeners. And if you want a licensed catalogue with an artist-centric payment model, Deezer offers that, with lossless HiFi on paid plans.

SoundCloud vs Spotify: questions

For some listeners. Go+ reaches 100 million label tracks as well as artist uploads, so much of the mainstream is there, but it streams at 256 kbps AAC and has no podcast or audiobook library like Spotify's. It suits people whose listening is mostly independent, unsigned or DJ-led music.

SoundCloud. Artists can upload directly, earn through fan-powered royalties and, when distributing through SoundCloud, keep 100% according to its Go+ page. Its newsroom announced an Artist plan at USD 3.25 a month in December 2024 and direct purchases with zero commission in August 2026.

Spotify's free plan needs no credit card. On the Dutch price page Premium Individual costs EUR 13.99 a month after a free month, Student EUR 6.99, Duo EUR 19.99 and Family EUR 23.99. Premium adds ad-free listening, downloads and lossless audio up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.

SoundCloud gives Berlin as its headquarters, with offices in Los Angeles, London and New York. Spotify's privacy policy names Spotify AB in Stockholm as data controller and allows processing outside the EU/EEA under safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. SoundCloud's plans page also stresses that its streams pay artists directly.

Sources

Facts, prices and plan details on this page were checked on the vendors' own websites on . Prices and plans change; the vendor's current page is authoritative.

More head-to-head comparisons

Against the US incumbents