Pandora is a trendy music streaming service. In 2020, the platform recorded 58 million monthly listeners and 6.3 million subscribers. Pandora doesn’t only support music streaming, it’s also an internet radio service.
Before 2017, Pandora was available in just 3 countries – Australia, New Zealand, and the US – due to global radio operation laws. Due to seemingly financial problems, the service is now only available in the United States.
As a user in Australia or New Zealand, you’ll have to use a Pandora alternative. You’ll also need an alternative if Pandora isn’t delivering what you want. Here are the 15 best Pandora alternatives.
15 Best Pandora Alternatives
1. Spotify
With about 155 million premium subscribers, Spotify is the biggest music streaming service in the world. Unlike Pandora, Spotify is available in countries across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The similarity with Pandora is that they are both freemium platforms.
Spotify is used by almost every top musical artist in the world. That means with the app, you can access every new release. Spotify has about 70 million songs in its catalog compared to the 30 million that Pandora features.
You can stream the songs online or download them for offline listening. Spotify has an impressive sound quality and there are readymade playlists for different moments and moods. Apart from music, Spotify also features podcasts and videos.
Spotify’s internet radio recommends new songs by genre or from the one you are listening to. There are also radio stations but not as many as Pandora features. You can use Spotify on almost any major device.
Check out this post to explore the best Spotify alternatives.
2. Apple Music
Apple Music is the default music listening app for Apple device users – iPhone, iPad, Mac, iWatch. The platform is also available for Android. Apple Music is one of the best Pandora alternatives as it features millions of songs and live radio.
Apple devices are available globally which means anyone, no matter their residence, can make use of Apple Music. An advantage for Apple Music over Pandora is that it’s completely ad-free although it’s a completely premium platform.
Without an active subscription, you can play any song on Apple Music. Interestingly, new Apple Music users can access it for free for 3 months before paying. Apple Music boasts of a catalog of about 75 million songs which is bigger than Pandora’s.
The platform makes finding music easy as there are playlists, podcasts, year replays, and compilations. The Apple Music Top 100 lists are one of the ways top artists rate their success. This Pandora alternative also features videos, interviews, and live performances from top artists.
3. YouTube Music
YouTube Music was launched by the renowned video streaming platform, YouTube, in 2015. It’s an extremely simple app and is available for all major devices. YouTube music will work in any region where YouTube is available which makes it a global platform.
With over 70 million official songs, you can access more musical content with YouTube Music than with Pandora. There are also thousands of playlists in different music genres and thanks to its neatly organized library, you can find everything easily.
Unlike Pandora, the YouTube Music radio feature doesn’t let you listen to radio stations. Instead, it recommends similar music to you and you can access it directly from the Now Playing screen.
You can use YouTube Music for free but just like Pandora, you’ll have to deal with ads and you can’t download offline. Subscribing to YouTube Music premium removes the ads and other limits. YouTube Music works together with YouTube so you can easily watch music videos.
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4. TIDAL
To many TIDAL is the best Pandora alternative due to its unique audio quality. It supports high fidelity (HiFi) sounds, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio, and MQA Tracks. This put the platform at an advantage above Pandora and relatively other alternatives.
While Pandora has a library of about 30 million songs, TIDAL features more than 700 songs. There are also more than 250,000 videos and TIDAL is an ideal Pandora alternative if you want to access exclusive music interviews and performances.
Another advantage of TIDAL over Pandora is the integrations. More than 150 integrations are available on TIDAL which makes it easy for you to connect and share music to these platforms. You can access TIDAL on your Smartphone and other devices such as Smart TVs and smart speakers.
TIDAL doesn’t allow a free account like Pandora as the platform features no ads. There are different subscription plans available depending on the audio quality you want to enjoy.
5. iTunes
iTunes is another music content service from Apple but it’s different from Apple Music. In many ways, iTunes is also different from Pandora but it still is one of the best alternatives for getting the latest songs.
Pandora is subscription-based or you can use it for free with ads and other limitations. iTunes, on the other hand, is like a marketplace where you buy songs and videos. Once you purchase content, you own it for life and you can always download it from any device with your account logged in.
The notable benefit of iTunes is that you can download songs in their best audio quality after purchasing. iTunes doesn’t have as much music as Apple Music but it still has more than Pandora. There are over 43 million songs available.
As a service from Apple, iTunes can only be used on iPhones, iPads, Mac, and other Apple devices. The app isn’t available for Android devices.
6. Deezer
Deezer was launched in 2007 and currently is available in more than 180 countries. More than 53 million songs on the platform include the biggest global hits. These and more make the platform a good alternative to Pandora.
Just like Pandora, Deezer lets you play songs without a subscription. The downside is that you can only stream online and you have to listen to audio ads in between songs. With Deezer Premium, you can go limitless.
The platform lets you play and download music at 320 kBps which is superior sound quality. A unique functionality is the Deezer Flow. With Deezer Flow, you can describe the type of music you want and the app will generate a personalized playlist.
Deezer is compatible with both Android OS and iOS. On desktop, you can access the platform via the web and it’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home amongst others.
7. TuneIn Radio
If you exclusively need a Pandora alternative for listening to radio stations, you should check out TuneIn Radio. With this app, you can access live music, podcasts, and AM & FM radio. You can also access live sports and news.
The TuneIn Radio platform has a bigger content library than Pandora and it’s also the largest live audio library in the world.
There are more than 100,000 radio stations and 5.7 million podcasts available. As a platform available in many countries, TuneIn Radio allows users to sort the library by location or language.
Like Pandora, TuneIn Radio can be used for free but you can only access a limited number of radio stations, podcasts, and others. Also, you have to watch ads. TuneIn Radio premium allows you to access everything available and enjoy the app ad-free.
8. Jango
Jango is one of the best free Pandora alternatives in 2021. It’s a radio service you can use to play music from your favorite artists just like Pandora. The app is free to use, there’s no premium subscription available, and the main deal closer is that there are no commercial ads.
Using Jango is easy as the app is straightforward. You simply search for the name of the song or artist that you want to stream. The app will generate a custom radio station featuring the artist’s songs and others.
Jango comes pre-built with hundreds of radio stations and they are sorted by music genre. The app is available for Android and iOS devices and you can use it on desktop via a web browser.
Jango is available in more countries than Pandora but it isn’t entirely global. Residents in some regions can’t make use of it.
9. Amazon Music
At number nine, we have Amazon Music, a platform operated by the renowned eCommerce giant company. Like Pandora, Amazon Music allows free and premium accounts. At 10X+ bitrate, you get nothing but quality audio with this Pandora alternative.
There are about 70 million songs on the Amazon Music platform. You can play them by using a free account. A free account only gives you access to thousands of free radio stations and playlists and you can listen to them on different devices.
With a premium account, you can access the full music catalog along with the free account features. You get unlimited access to all the songs, there are no ads, and you can download them for offline listening. Amazon Music allows you to import playlists from other streaming platforms.
If you’re an Amazon Prime user, you can enjoy up to two million songs on Amazon Music without subscribing. Similar to Pandora, Amazon Music also includes videos and podcasts.
10. SoundCloud
SoundCloud has the largest database among all music and audio streaming platforms in the world. With over 200 million tracks, the platform has about six times the tracks on Pandora. The platform is home to both established music artists and upcoming.
You can make use of SoundCloud for free and play about 120 million songs. Although you’ll get ads like with Pandora, you get more options with a free SoundCloud account. In fact, you can create unlimited playlists without hassles. Also, you will get song recommendations based on your previous music streams.
SoundCloud features two premium pricing plans – SoundCloud Go and SoundCloud Go+. With SoundCloud Go, you can download songs for offline listening and access premium tracks. There are also no ads.
You can only access the over 200 million songs on SoundCloud with a Go+ subscription. If you’re a musician or producer, you can quickly upload your songs on SoundCloud for others to listen to. The platform is available on Android, iOS, and the web.
If you like to explore more such tools, check out this post on SoundCloud alternatives.
11. Bandcamp
Bandcamp is a unique Pandora alternative. It is a platform where artists and fans come together to search for music. As a result, there are millions of songs on the platform although not many are from top artists like Pandora.
With Bandcamp, you don’t pay for subscriptions, instead, you purchase the songs. The price of the songs is decided by the artists. Once you purchase a song, you can download it for offline playing on any device you log in to.
You can access internet radio stations with Bandcamp but it’s different than Pandora. The internet radio stations are mainly music channels and podcasts.
As a BandCamp user, you can follow your favorite artists and get updates when they put out something new. Like Pandora and other platforms listed herein, Bandcamp supports other audio formats aside from MP3. It supports FLAC, ALAC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV and AIFF.
12. Audiomack
Audiomack is another Pandora alternative you can enjoy for free. This platform is used by top global artists and it brings you the latest releases. It’s a very popular music streaming platform with more than 17 million active users.
Pandora and Audiomack both feature ads on free accounts but unlike Pandora, you can download music for offline listening with the Audiomack app. You can also access playlists and podcasts all for free.
The main advantage of paying for an Audiomack premium plan is to get rid of the ads. Using Audiomack, you can follow your favorite artist and not miss any of their new music. Some of these artists feature an online radio you can also listen to.
Audiomack has mobile apps for modern Android and iOS devices. You can access it via a browser too and if you’re an artist, you can upload your own songs. Plus, you can also create an online radio station.
13. Last.fm
Last.fm is one of the oldest platforms on this list as it was launched in 2002. It’s an online music streaming service you can use to listen to music online and discover new artists from song recommendations.
This platform has an advantage over Pandora as it’s not just a streaming service but also a tracker. With the featured Audioscrobbler, you can track your listening details and that of users from all over the world.
With Last.fm, you can discover what people are listening to in any part of the world. All you have to do is to tap on a region on the map and you’ll get the trending songs in that region.
You can make use of Last.fm via the web or by installing the desktop app on your device. The platform can be used for free to access a lot of features but there’s a Pro version available.
14. Jamendo
Jamendo is a Pandora alternative for independent artists. As a result, you may not find music from top artists as you might with Pandora. Jamendo was launched in 2005, so it is among the oldest of the Pandora alternatives.
As an independent music service, Jamendo doesn’t have as many songs as Pandora. There are about 40,000 artists who use Jamendo and about 600,000 songs on the platform.
Jamendo‘s advantage over Pandora is that the app is available to users in multiple countries. In addition, Jamendo is a 100 percent free platform and doesn’t require a subscription; you’ll only pay if you use Jamendo licensing for business.
Like most Pandora alternatives, Jamendo allows you to follow your favorite artists and get updates on their music. There are radio channels, playlists, and more to help you discover new artists. The Jamendo app is compatible with modern Android and iOS devices.
15. Yandex Music
Last on the list is Yandex Music from the notable Russian-based company. The app features songs and podcasts. With over 50 million tracks available, Yandex has more songs than Pandora.
Yandex Music features smart playlists to help you discover new songs. There’s a featured Playlist of The Day that features the best music of each day. You can’t download music for offline listening with a free Yandex Music account. It’s the same with Pandora.
As you listen to songs with Yandex Music, you can like and favorite them. Songs you like will feature in your personal compilation. You can enjoy high-quality music by getting a premium subscription.
Yandex Music is available for users from many countries for free. Only users in specific regions can pay for a premium subscription. Unlike Pandora, Yandex Music doesn’t feature an internet radio.
Bottom Line
Pandora is a great music app and many users like it because it’s very easy to use. Its unavailability in all countries except the United States makes it impossible for many music lovers to use the app.
If you don’t have access to the service, you can go with any of the 15 best Pandora alternatives listed above. Spotify is recommended as the best as it’s available in almost every country.
