Apple Music vs SoundCloud
Recent reviews clearly favor Apple Music.
Based on 500 + 500 recent App Store reviews · updated 1d ago
Who wins on…
| Measure | Apple Music | SoundCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction scoreFrom 0 to 100, based on recent reviews. | 72/100 Wins | 52/100 |
| Recent averageAverage stars in the reviews we read. | 4.1★ Wins | 4.0★ |
| 1–2 star reviewsShare of recent reviews. Lower is better. | 19% Wins | 22% |
| Reviews we read TieMore reviews make the score more solid. | 500 | 500 |
| App Store ratingAll-time rating on the App Store. | 4.9★ Wins | 4.8★ |
| Number of ratingsAll-time ratings on the App Store. | 3,236,108 Wins | 2,066,959 |
Apple Music wins 5, SoundCloud wins 0, and 1 is a tie. The first four rows come from the reviews we read. The last two are all-time App Store numbers.
Which should you pick?
Recent reviews clearly favor Apple Music. It scores 72 out of 100 for satisfaction, and SoundCloud scores 52. Only 19% of Apple Music’s recent reviews give 1 or 2 stars, against 22% for SoundCloud.
Pick Apple Music if you want what its fans praise most: Huge catalog, finds nearly any song
. Pick SoundCloud if you would rather have this: Best place for underground and unreleased music
. Each app has a weak spot. For Apple Music it is Red icon swapped for black and white
, and for SoundCloud it is App crashes on launch or on play
. Both apps get complaints about price and paywalls and 1 more issue, so do not expect either one to fix that for you.
We read 500 recent reviews of Apple Music and 500 of SoundCloud, so this shows how people feel now.
Recent rating mix
Share of recent reviews at each star level.
Shared complaints
Users of both apps complain about these. Expect them whichever one you pick.
Price and paywalls
Started 1.99 and now it is 11.99 a month
Making certain songs unplayable as a premium feature is despicable
Crashes and bugs
it just automatically starts skipping and running through a list of 100 other songs
App crashes on startup and when it doesn't, it crashes when I click on a song.
What users love
Apple Music-
Huge catalog, finds nearly any song15× mentions
Every song that I look for is on Apple Music.
-
No ads, unlike Spotify and YouTube12× mentions
I love Apple Music because there's no ads like Spotify or YouTube
-
Clear, high-quality sound10× mentions
The sound is clear as water
-
Clean, easy-to-navigate interface7× mentions
The interface is so much cleaner.
SoundCloud-
Best place for underground and unreleased music35× mentions
It's just the best for underground music. You can find music you won't find anywhere else.
-
Better than Spotify for finding music30× mentions
This is literally better than spotify in my opinion
-
Huge library, songs others lack18× mentions
There is not a song that I can't find on SoundCloud
-
Few ads on the free tier10× mentions
There are less ads . you can pick whatever song you want.
What users hate
Apple Music-
Red icon swapped for black and white25× mentions
Bring back the RED app icon!
-
Downloaded songs vanish or won't play12× mentions
all my downloaded songs are gone
-
Price keeps climbing12× mentions
Started 1.99 and now it is 11.99 a month
-
Recommendations and autoplay feel random12× mentions
the algorithm is still really really really unusable
Why some say they are leaving
- Switching to Spotify or Amazon Music after bugs or algorithm complaints
- Songs deleted from playlists and libraries, so users cancel
- Deleting and reinstalling the app every few months due to technical issues
SoundCloud-
App crashes on launch or on play90× mentions
App crashes on startup and when it doesn't, it crashes when I click on a song.
-
Recent update broke older iPhones25× mentions
I'm on iOS 16 and my soundcloud does not work
-
Too many ads, unskippable ones35× mentions
Playing back-to-back-back unskippable ads doesn't make me want to sign up
-
Songs locked behind premium paywall10× mentions
Making certain songs unplayable as a premium feature is despicable
Why some say they are leaving
- Switching to Spotify after repeated crashes
- Deleting and reinstalling without the app ever working again
- Cancelling premium after launch crashes persist for days
What users want
Apple Music-
Restore red icon or offer icon choices22× mentions
Can you give us maybe 5 choices of what kind of app icon
-
Free or ad-supported tier5× mentions
I just think there should be a free version with ads
-
Block artists and genres from recommendations4× mentions
I should be able to block artists that I don't want to hear
-
Download whole library in one click3× mentions
download your whole music library in one click
SoundCloud-
Lyrics display4× mentions
Add lyrics! ... the only thing you need to add now is LYRICS!!
-
Block artists or tracks from stations4× mentions
Let us Block... We should be able to block accounts/profiles/artists
-
Free downloads or offline for free users4× mentions
at least give 12 free song downloads per person
-
Fewer or skippable ads6× mentions
Less ads please lol
Questions people ask
Which is better, Apple Music or SoundCloud?
Recent reviews favor Apple Music. It scores 72 out of 100 for satisfaction, and SoundCloud scores 52. 19% of recent Apple Music reviews give 1 or 2 stars, against 22% for SoundCloud.
What do users dislike about Apple Music and SoundCloud?
Apple Music users complain most about Red icon swapped for black and white
. SoundCloud users complain most about App crashes on launch or on play
. Both get complaints about price and paywalls.
What do Apple Music and SoundCloud users want next?
Apple Music users most often ask for Restore red icon or offer icon choices
. SoundCloud users most often ask for Lyrics display
.
How did you compare Apple Music and SoundCloud?
We read the 500 most recent App Store reviews of Apple Music and the 500 most recent of SoundCloud. Then we sum up what users love, hate and want, and give each app a satisfaction score from 0 to 100. The scores come only from those reviews.
Want the details? Read how we read reviews.
Keep exploring
Full Apple Music teardownEvery insight from 500 reviews
Apple Music alternativesApps users like more
Full SoundCloud teardownEvery insight from 500 reviews
SoundCloud alternativesApps users like more
Music leaderboardBest-loved apps in this category
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