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SoundCloud vs Spotify: which app has fewer problems?

We compared 300 recent App Store reviews of SoundCloud and 500 recent App Store reviews of Spotify, each classified by AI into 7 complaint themes (samples from up to 6 storefronts, latest review 2026-10-22). Spotify has the fewest complaints overall: 23% of its recent reviews contain a complaint, vs 34% for SoundCloud.

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Ratings at a glance

App	All-time US rating	Ratings	Avg in our sample	Reviews analysed	Reviews with a complaint	Sample dates
SoundCloud	4.8★	2.1M	3.87★	300	34%	2026-10-17 – 2026-10-22 (6 d)
Spotify	–	–	4.12★	500	23%	2026-10-14 – 2026-10-19 (6 d)

Complaint themes side by side

Share of all analysed reviews that mention each theme (review count in brackets). Bold = lowest. A review can mention several themes.

Theme	SoundCloud	Spotify
Bugs	25% (75)	8% (41)
Crashes / freezes	21% (63)	1% (4)
Performance	11% (34)	1% (7)
UX / design	2% (7)	1% (5)
Pricing / subscription	3% (10)	12% (61)
Ads	7% (20)	9% (43)
Feature requests	4% (12)	9% (44)

Verdict: which one has fewer problems?

Across the latest 800 App Store reviews we collected, Spotify has the lowest share of reviews with a complaint (23%) and SoundCloud the highest (34%). The biggest single difference is in crash and freeze complaints: 21% of SoundCloud reviews mention them, vs 1% for Spotify. Each app's own biggest complaint theme: SoundCloud, bugs (75 reviews); Spotify, pricing / subscription (61 reviews). Average star rating in the samples ranges from 3.87★ (SoundCloud) to 4.12★ (Spotify). Time span of each sample: SoundCloud 6 days (2026-10-17 to 2026-10-22); Spotify 6 days (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-19). The samples cover comparable periods, so the comparison is reasonably like-for-like.

Fewer bug problems: Spotify, 8% of its reviews vs 25% for SoundCloud.
Fewer crash and freeze problems: Spotify, 1% of its reviews vs 21% for SoundCloud.
Fewer performance (slowness, battery, storage) problems: Spotify, 1% of its reviews vs 11% for SoundCloud.
UX / design complaints: roughly tied (SoundCloud 2%, Spotify 1% of reviews).
Fewer pricing and subscription problems: SoundCloud, 3% of its reviews vs 12% for Spotify.
Ad complaints: roughly tied (SoundCloud 7%, Spotify 9% of reviews).
Fewest feature requests: SoundCloud, 4% of its reviews vs 9% for Spotify.

Gaps under 3 percentage points are called a tie. Samples are recent reviews only, so this is a snapshot of current problems, not all-time quality.

Top 3 specific issues for each app

SoundCloud

Fix crash on launch (51 reviews, severity 2.9/3)
Fix in-use crashes and freezes (41 reviews, severity 2.9/3)
Reduce ad frequency and length (18 reviews, severity 1.9/3)

Biggest theme: bugs. Free PDF

Spotify

Reduce ad frequency and length (41 reviews, severity 1.9/3)
Ease paywall pressure (35 reviews, severity 1.9/3)
Justify or adjust the price (29 reviews, severity 1.7/3)

Biggest theme: pricing / subscription. Free PDF

FAQ

Which has fewer problems overall: SoundCloud or Spotify?

In the most recent App Store reviews we analysed, Spotify had the lowest share of reviews with a complaint (23% of 500) and SoundCloud the highest (34% of 300). SoundCloud: 101 of 300; Spotify: 116 of 500.

Which has fewer bug complaints: SoundCloud or Spotify?

Spotify. SoundCloud: 75 of 300 recent reviews (25%); Spotify: 41 of 500 recent reviews (8%).

Which has fewer crash and freeze complaints: SoundCloud or Spotify?

Spotify. SoundCloud: 63 of 300 recent reviews (21%); Spotify: 4 of 500 recent reviews (1%).

Which has fewer pricing and subscription complaints: SoundCloud or Spotify?

SoundCloud. SoundCloud: 10 of 300 recent reviews (3%); Spotify: 61 of 500 recent reviews (12%).

Which has fewer ad complaints: SoundCloud or Spotify?

In our samples they are roughly tied: SoundCloud: 20 of 300 recent reviews (7%); Spotify: 43 of 500 recent reviews (9%).

Which is rated higher on the App Store: SoundCloud or Spotify?

All-time US App Store ratings: SoundCloud 4.8★ from 2.1M ratings. SoundCloud is highest, but all-time ratings move slowly; the recent-review samples above show current problems.

How recent is this SoundCloud vs Spotify data?

Each sample is the most recent public App Store reviews we could collect (from up to 6 storefronts): SoundCloud: 300 reviews over 6 days (2026-10-17 to 2026-10-22); Spotify: 500 reviews over 6 days (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-19). It is a snapshot of current problems, not all-time quality.

What is the most common complaint about SoundCloud and Spotify?

SoundCloud: bugs (75 of 300 reviews), top-ranked fix: “fix crash on launch”; Spotify: pricing / subscription (61 of 500 reviews), top-ranked fix: “reduce ad frequency and length”.

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