Apple Music vs YouTube Music
Recent reviews clearly favor Apple Music.
Based on 500 + 500 recent App Store reviews · updated 1d ago
Who wins on…
| Measure | Apple Music | YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction scoreFrom 0 to 100, based on recent reviews. | 72/100 Wins | 42/100 |
| Recent averageAverage stars in the reviews we read. | 4.1★ Wins | 2.4★ |
| 1–2 star reviewsShare of recent reviews. Lower is better. | 19% Wins | 58% |
| 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 | 1,516,037 |
Apple Music wins 5, YouTube Music 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 YouTube Music scores 42. Only 19% of Apple Music’s recent reviews give 1 or 2 stars, against 58% for YouTube Music.
Pick Apple Music if you want what its fans praise most: Huge catalog, finds nearly any song
. Pick YouTube Music if you would rather have this: Better than Spotify for many users
. Each app has a weak spot. For Apple Music it is Red icon swapped for black and white
, and for YouTube Music it is App crashes or freezes during playback
. 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 YouTube Music, 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
Why do I have to pay for it to be in the background?
Crashes and bugs
it just automatically starts skipping and running through a list of 100 other songs
this app crashes on my daily
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.
YouTube Music-
Better than Spotify for many users12× mentions
Still better than Spotify
-
Huge catalog, including obscure and independent music10× mentions
it has literally every song ever
-
Recommendations surface music people like6× mentions
has very good recommendations
-
Bundled with YouTube Premium value3× mentions
YouTube premium carrying over to YT music is the greatest subscription ever
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
YouTube Music-
App crashes or freezes during playback30× mentions
this app crashes on my daily
-
Ads between nearly every song18× mentions
There is an add each time before and after a single song
-
Background play locked behind Premium18× mentions
Why do I have to pay for it to be in the background?
-
Shuffle repeats the same songs18× mentions
it starts over after a hundred songs or so
Why some say they are leaving
- Switching to Spotify or Apple Music after crashes and bugs
- Canceling Premium because the free tier is unusable
- Deleting the app after playlists and downloads disappear
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
YouTube Music-
Real shuffle through entire playlists8× mentions
make it so that the whole playlist is actually shuffled
-
Free background and screen-off playback6× mentions
Just wish this was free to play in the background
-
Filter or label AI-generated music6× mentions
there's no way to filter out AI music
-
Proper iPhone Duo support5× mentions
App needs to be optimized for the iPhone Duo
Questions people ask
Which is better, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
Recent reviews favor Apple Music. It scores 72 out of 100 for satisfaction, and YouTube Music scores 42. 19% of recent Apple Music reviews give 1 or 2 stars, against 58% for YouTube Music.
What do users dislike about Apple Music and YouTube Music?
Apple Music users complain most about Red icon swapped for black and white
. YouTube Music users complain most about App crashes or freezes during playback
. Both get complaints about price and paywalls.
What do Apple Music and YouTube Music users want next?
Apple Music users most often ask for Restore red icon or offer icon choices
. YouTube Music users most often ask for Real shuffle through entire playlists
.
How did you compare Apple Music and YouTube Music?
We read the 500 most recent App Store reviews of Apple Music and the 500 most recent of YouTube Music. 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 YouTube Music teardownEvery insight from 500 reviews
YouTube Music alternativesApps users like more
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Is one of these your app?
Synthiya pulls in every new review, tags it with AI and shows what hurts your rating most. You will know what to fix before users leave.