When you want to listen to your favorite song, the Spotify app likely comes to mind first. The Swedish streaming giant is undoubtedly the market leader, but there are many alternatives that could save you money. Let’s explore how to find the best deal with this comparison from internet-offer.
The Top Music Streaming Providers in Switzerland
The music streaming market in Switzerland offers consumers a wide range of subscription options. To make the right choice, it’s worth comparing key features like monthly costs and other functionalities. This ensures you only pay for what you truly need.
Here are the main music streaming platforms available in Switzerland:
Spotify
Apple Music
Youtube Music
Tidal
qobuz
Deezer
Soundcloud
Now that we’ve listed the platforms, let’s start the comparison by defining the criteria used for evaluation.
How to Compare Music Streaming Services
Several criteria can be used for an objective comparison. In this article, we focus on the following aspects:
Monthly Costs:Â The subscription fee paid monthly to access the entire catalog.
Free Trial:Â The duration of the free trial period, if available, to test the service without obligations.
Free Version:Â Whether a free version with ads and limited features is available for streaming without a subscription.
Artist Payment:Â Average earnings per stream for artists.
Student Discount:Â Price of the premium subscription for students.
Family Subscription:Â Price and maximum number of users, broken down by cost per user.
With these criteria in mind, let’s dive into the direct comparison of the various services.
Comprehensive Comparison of Music Streaming Platforms
The table below presents the premium subscriptions offered by the platforms. The order is alphabetical, and only the cheapest premium options without additional features have been included.
Platform | Monthly Cost | Free Trial | Free Version | Artist Payment per Stream |
Apple Music | CHF13,90 | 1-3 months | No | CHF0,008 |
Deezer Premium | CHF14,95 | 1 month | Yes | CHF0,006 |
qobuz Studio | CHF17,99 | 1 month | No | CHF0,040 |
SoundCloud Go | CHF6,49 | 7-30 days | Yes | CHF0,003 |
Spotify Premium | CHF13,95 | 1-3 months | Yes | CHF0,004 |
Tidal Individual | CHF13,90 | 1 month | No | CHF0,012 |
YouTube Music Premium | CHF17,90 | 1 month | Yes | CHF0,005 |
Results Analysis:
Average Costs:Â A premium subscription in Switzerland costs an average of just over CHF 14 per month, higher than in neighboring countries.
Free Trial:Â All platforms offer a trial period ranging from 7 days to 3 months.
Free Version:Â Most platforms offer a free version with ads. However, Apple Music does not allow free listening.
Artist Payment:Â Artists earn an average of CHF 0.01 per stream. Platforms like Tidal and qobuz pay significantly more, while Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music pay around CHF 0.005 per stream.
If we were to consider only the criterion of saving on the subscription fee, we would recommend that you go ahead and subscribe to SoundCloud Go for only CHF 6.49 per month, knowing, however, that the free trial expires after 1 week and that it is the platform that pays artists the least.
If you would like to save money for a few months and would like to purchase a subscription of a better-known platform, then we recommend that you subscribe to Apple Music since among the three largest ones (we refer to Youtube Music and Spotify) it is the one with the lowest price and which pays the most for artists.
If you are a Sunrise Mobile customer, activate Apple Music now by combining it with your bill and take advantage of any dedicated promotions.Â
If you want to play it safe and share your music with your contacts and be able to access playlists created by your friends, then we recommend Spotify, which still offers great value for money.
Student Discounts for Music Streaming
Students under 25 can benefit from discounted premium subscriptions. The table below lists the cheapest offers for students in Switzerland.
Platform | Monthly Cost | Discount |
Tidal Student | CHF6,49 | -53,31% |
qobuz Student | CHF6,99 | -61,15% |
Apple Music Student | CHF7,50 | -46,04% |
Spotify Premium Student | CHF7,95 | -43,01% |
Deezer Student | CHF7,95 | -46,82% |
YouTube Music Premium | CHF11,90 | -33,52% |
As can be seen, with the exception of SoundCloud, which, however, offers a subscription at a lower price than the market average, all other platforms have a dedicated discount for students.
The average price for a student music streaming subscription is CHF 8.13, and on average a 47% discount is applied from the standard subscription price.
In this case, the cheapest subscription is the one offered by Tidal, while the one offering the biggest savings is qobuz with more than 60% discount.
Family and Duo Subscriptions
In case you no longer fall into the student category, there is another way to save money on music streaming: you can share your subscription with other members of your family or with your partner. Subscriptions called Family provide a number of accounts to manage within the same subscription from 3 to 6, while subscriptions named Duo are designed for a pair of user profiles.Â
In this table you will find the monthly price, the maximum number of users that can be activated and the price per user with which we will compare the different platforms.
Platform | Monthly Cost | Users | Cost per User |
Apple Music Family | CHF21,90 | 6 | CHF3,65 |
Tidal Family | CHF21,90 | 6 | CHF3,65 |
Deezer Family | CHF22,95 | 6 | CHF3,83 |
qobuz Family | CHF25,00 | 6 | CHF4,17 |
YouTube Music Premium | CHF33,90 | 5 | CHF6,78 |
Spotify Premium Family | CHF22,95 | 3 | CHF7,65 |
Spotify Premium Duo | CHF18,95 | 2 | CHF9,48 |
Deezer Duo | CHF18,95 | 2 | CHF9,48 |
qobuz Duo | CHF22,99 | 2 | CHF11,50 |
The cheapest subscriptions in Switzerland for sharing the account with 6 users are Tidal and Apple Music: in both cases the price per user is CHF 3.65. In case you can't find 6 people to share the account with and you prefer a couple Duo account, then Spotify is the winner.
Buy a Spotify premium voucher now to pair it with your account and start streaming music without commercial interruption.
Disclaimer: The information is based on the platforms' websites as of 31.12.2024. Please verify the current terms and conditions before subscribing.
Other Ways to Save in Switzerland
Beyond music streaming, you can save on other subscriptions in Switzerland. Here are additional comparisons to help you save money:
Let's close with a question for you: do you know any other music streaming platforms besides the ones analyzed? Share the name in the comments and we will add it to the comparison.