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Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music: which app has fewer problems?
We compared 500 recent App Store reviews of Spotify, 300 recent App Store reviews of Apple Music and 300 recent App Store reviews of YouTube Music, each classified by AI into 7 complaint themes (samples from up to 6 storefronts, latest review 2026-10-22). Apple Music has the fewest complaints overall: 23% of its recent reviews contain a complaint, vs 72% for YouTube Music and 23% for Spotify.
Ratings at a glance
| App | All-time US rating | Ratings | Avg in our sample | Reviews analysed | Reviews with a complaint | Sample dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | – | – | 4.12★ | 500 | 23% | 2026-10-14 – 2026-10-19 (6 d) |
| Apple Music | 4.9★ | 3.2M | 4.04★ | 300 | 23% | 2026-09-01 – 2026-10-22 (52 d) |
| YouTube Music | 4.8★ | 1.5M | 2.48★ | 300 | 72% | 2026-09-14 – 2026-10-22 (39 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 | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bugs | 8% (41) | 15% (45) | 50% (150) |
| Crashes / freezes | 1% (4) | 2% (6) | 13% (40) |
| Performance | 1% (7) | 3% (8) | 19% (56) |
| UX / design | 1% (5) | 6% (19) | 18% (53) |
| Pricing / subscription | 12% (61) | 6% (19) | 26% (77) |
| Ads | 9% (43) | 0% (0) | 5% (16) |
| Feature requests | 9% (44) | 11% (33) | 31% (92) |
Verdict: which one has fewer problems?
Across the latest 1,100 App Store reviews we collected, Apple Music has the lowest share of reviews with a complaint (23%) and YouTube Music the highest (72%). The biggest single difference is in bug complaints: 50% of YouTube Music reviews mention them, vs 8% for Spotify. Each app's own biggest complaint theme: Spotify, pricing / subscription (61 reviews); Apple Music, bugs (45 reviews); YouTube Music, bugs (150 reviews). Average star rating in the samples ranges from 2.48★ (YouTube Music) to 4.12★ (Spotify). Time span of each sample: Spotify 6 days (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-19); Apple Music 52 days (2026-09-01 to 2026-10-22); YouTube Music 39 days (2026-09-14 to 2026-10-22). Because Spotify's sample covers a much shorter period, a single recent update or outage weighs more heavily in its numbers.
- Fewer bug problems: Spotify, 8% of its reviews vs 50% for YouTube Music.
- Fewer crash and freeze problems: Spotify, 1% of its reviews vs 13% for YouTube Music.
- Fewer performance (slowness, battery, storage) problems: Spotify, 1% of its reviews vs 19% for YouTube Music.
- Fewer UX / design problems: Spotify, 1% of its reviews vs 18% for YouTube Music.
- Fewer pricing and subscription problems: Apple Music, 6% of its reviews vs 26% for YouTube Music.
- Fewer ad problems: Apple Music, 0% of its reviews vs 9% for Spotify.
- Fewest feature requests: Spotify, 9% of its reviews vs 31% for YouTube Music.
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
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
Apple Music
- Stop data / progress loss (16 reviews, severity 2.3/3)
- Improve content quality (16 reviews, severity 2.0/3)
- Simplify navigation (9 reviews, severity 2.2/3)
Biggest theme: bugs. Free PDF
YouTube Music
- Improve content quality (40 reviews, severity 2.1/3)
- Fix in-use crashes and freezes (34 reviews, severity 2.6/3)
- Justify or adjust the price (34 reviews, severity 2.3/3)
Biggest theme: bugs. Free PDF
FAQ
Which has fewer problems overall: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
In the most recent App Store reviews we analysed, Apple Music had the lowest share of reviews with a complaint (23% of 300) and YouTube Music the highest (72% of 300). Spotify: 116 of 500; Apple Music: 68 of 300; YouTube Music: 217 of 300.
Which has fewer bug complaints: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
Spotify. Spotify: 41 of 500 recent reviews (8%); Apple Music: 45 of 300 recent reviews (15%); YouTube Music: 150 of 300 recent reviews (50%).
Which has fewer crash and freeze complaints: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
Spotify. Spotify: 4 of 500 recent reviews (1%); Apple Music: 6 of 300 recent reviews (2%); YouTube Music: 40 of 300 recent reviews (13%).
Which has fewer pricing and subscription complaints: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
Apple Music. Spotify: 61 of 500 recent reviews (12%); Apple Music: 19 of 300 recent reviews (6%); YouTube Music: 77 of 300 recent reviews (26%).
Which has fewer ad complaints: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
Apple Music. Spotify: 43 of 500 recent reviews (9%); Apple Music: 0 of 300 recent reviews (0%); YouTube Music: 16 of 300 recent reviews (5%).
Which is rated higher on the App Store: Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music?
All-time US App Store ratings: Apple Music 4.9★ from 3.2M ratings; YouTube Music 4.8★ from 1.5M ratings. Apple Music is highest, but all-time ratings move slowly; the recent-review samples above show current problems.
How recent is this Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music data?
Each sample is the most recent public App Store reviews we could collect (from up to 6 storefronts): Spotify: 500 reviews over 6 days (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-19); Apple Music: 300 reviews over 52 days (2026-09-01 to 2026-10-22); YouTube Music: 300 reviews over 39 days (2026-09-14 to 2026-10-22). It is a snapshot of current problems, not all-time quality.
What is the most common complaint about Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music?
Spotify: pricing / subscription (61 of 500 reviews), top-ranked fix: “reduce ad frequency and length”; Apple Music: bugs (45 of 300 reviews), top-ranked fix: “stop data / progress loss”; YouTube Music: bugs (150 of 300 reviews), top-ranked fix: “improve content quality”.
Full reports
- Spotify reviews: top complaints and what users want fixed
- Apple Music reviews: top complaints and what users want fixed
- YouTube Music reviews: top complaints and what users want fixed
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