Napster vs Spotify: Brief Introduction
Before understanding the difference between Napster and Spotify, let’s first learn the basic introduction of Spotify vs Napster.
Spotify, launched in 2008, has swiftly become one of the world’s most popular music streaming services. It provides users with a free version that offers limited features and a premium version with additional features, such as listening without ads, higher audio quality, and downloading songs for offline listening.
Napster, however, has existed since the late 1990s and has gone through several changes over the years. It began as a peer-to-peer file-sharing service and digital audio file distribution. Closed in 2001, Napster was later relaunched on the market as a music streaming service.
Napster vs Spotify: Which One Wins?
Here’s a detailed comparison of Spotify vs Napster, divided into categories:
Pricing
Spotify and Napster both provide free versions of their services, but in order to access all features, you need a paid subscription.
Spotify currently includes 4 premium subscription plans: the Individual plan is $10.99 per month per user; the Duo plan costs $14.99 per month for two users; the Family plan is $16.99 per month for six members of a family; and the Student plan costs $5.99 per month per user.
Napster, on the other hand, now has 2 premium subscription plans: the Individual plan starts at $10.99 per month; the Family plan is priced at $14.99 per month for up to 6 accounts.
Audio Quality
Both services provide high-quality audio streaming, however, Spotify’s premium subscription offers better audio quality than Napster’s. The former streams at up to 320kbps, whereas the latter streams at up to 192kbps.
Music Library
Spotify and Napster both give users access to a huge library of songs, with millions of tunes available for streaming. They both have a slight advantage when it comes to the number of songs available, with more than 100 million tunes.
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Social Features
Napster has a great social feature that assists in building a music social network with users of Napster-like activities. With the help of the service, people with the same taste in music can engage and express their opinions about songs. But you can’t see what your friends are listening to in real time.
In comparison, sharing links to music is one of Spotify’s excellent social features. You can share music from Spotify with other social networking platforms. Spotify’s another social feature is the Friend Activity, which helps you keep track of what your friends are doing on the service.
You can see what types of music or playlists they’re listening to and share your playlists with them. Spotify’s Friend Activity feature is a great way to connect with friends via songs and podcasts. Additionally, you can create collaborative playlists with friends.
However, the Friend Activity on Spotify is limited to desktop users and is not available on the mobile app. On the bright side, Spotify plans to introduce the expected social feature to its mobile app called “Community.” This feature will function similarly to the Friend Activity.
Final Verdict
All in all, both Napster and Spotify provide an abundance of features and a vast library of songs, but they vary in pricing, audio quality, music library, and social features. Spotify features better audio quality and a larger music library, whereas Napster provides lower prices and a more customizable experience. Ultimately, personal preferences and priorities drive the Napster vs Spotify debate.
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About The Author
Position: Columnist
Jocelin is keeping a strong passion for the multimedia industry with her first thoughts and visions. While continuously absorbing relevant knowledge, she believes that pictures, videos, and music can bring so much pleasure to life. To go deeper into the industry, she has acquired many skills in video editing. Also, she can provide readers with ways to solve problems on image, video, and auido topics.