Amazon Music Unlimited vs Spotify: Which Is Better Value in the UK?

The 60-second answer

For one person, Spotify Premium and Amazon Music Unlimited now cost the same: £12.99 a month. The difference is in the details. Amazon charges Prime members £1 a month less, while Spotify includes a monthly allowance of audiobook listening.

Both services have more music than most people will ever play, both work on phones, computers, smart TVs and speakers, and both let you download songs to play without a signal. So the useful questions are: do you already pay for Prime, how do you listen, and do you want audiobooks as part of the same subscription?

What each plan costs in the UK

• Spotify Premium Individual costs £12.99 a month. Duo costs £17.99 for two people at the same address, Family costs £21.99 for up to six accounts at the same address, and Student costs £5.99 for eligible students.
• Amazon Music Unlimited Individual costs £12.99 a month, or £11.99 if you are a Prime member. The Family plan costs £21.99 a month. These prices applied to new customers from 3 February 2026 and to existing members from their first renewal on or after 10 March 2026.
• Amazon also sells a Student plan and a Single Device plan, which plays on one Echo speaker or Fire TV. Check the current price on Amazon before choosing either, because Amazon has not confirmed whether these changed in 2026.
• If you already have Prime (£8.99 a month or £95 a year), you get Amazon Music Prime at no extra cost. It gives you over 100 million songs without adverts, but in many cases you can only pick any song you like within Amazon's all-access playlists, and it streams at standard quality rather than HD.
• Both offer a free trial to eligible new members: one month for Spotify Premium Individual, and a free trial for Amazon Music Unlimited that was three months long when we checked on 30 September 2026. Both renew automatically at the full price unless you cancel.

Sound quality: lossless, HD and Spatial Audio explained

Lossless means the music file keeps every detail of the original recording. Most streaming uses lossy files, which throw away detail your ear is less likely to notice so the file is smaller. On good headphones in a quiet room, some people can hear the difference. Many people cannot.

Spotify added Lossless to Premium in September 2025 at no extra cost. It streams up to 24-bit/44.1kHz in FLAC, which is slightly above CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz). Amazon Music Unlimited includes its HD and Ultra HD tiers, plus Spatial Audio: tracks mixed so instruments seem to come from around and above you, rather than just left and right. You hear Spatial Audio properly only on supported headphones and speakers.

The catch is Bluetooth. As What Hi-Fi? explains, Bluetooth's limited bandwidth means the signal is always compressed on the way to your headphones, so wireless earbuds such as AirPods do not play true lossless audio from either service. To hear the full quality, use wired headphones, a speaker connected over Wi-Fi, or Spotify Connect, which lets a compatible speaker stream directly from the internet while your phone acts as the remote.

Audiobooks and podcasts

Spotify Premium includes 15 hours of audiobook listening each month from its audiobook catalogue. On the Duo and Family plans, only the plan manager gets those hours. Fifteen hours is roughly one or two average-length books, and extra hours cost more.

Amazon says Amazon Music Unlimited includes one audiobook each month from Audible's catalogue. If audiobooks matter more to you than music, a dedicated Audible membership may suit you better. Our Audible guide explains which Audible books you keep after cancelling.

Both apps carry the major podcasts free, so podcasts alone are not a reason to choose one over the other.

How each works with your other tech

If you use Alexa, Amazon Music is built in: you can ask an Echo speaker or Echo Show for a song, album or playlist without linking anything. Spotify can be linked to Echo speakers too, and you can set it as the default music service in the Alexa app.

Spotify's strength is Spotify Connect. It is built into many speakers, soundbars, TVs and games consoles, so you can start music on your phone and move it to another device in the same room with one tap.

Both services have apps for iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and most smart TVs. If you are switching, free playlist-transfer tools can copy your playlists across, but check the results, because a few songs may not match.

Who should choose which?

• Choose Amazon Music Unlimited if you already pay for Prime and want to save £12 a year, you use Alexa at home, or you want Spatial Audio on supported headphones and speakers.
• Choose Spotify Premium if its playlists and recommendations are the main way you find music, you share playlists with friends, you want 15 hours of audiobooks included, or you like moving music between speakers with Spotify Connect.
• Stay with Amazon Music Prime if you mainly listen to playlists and radio-style stations and already have Prime. It costs nothing extra and has no adverts.
• Consider a Family or Duo plan if two or more people at the same address would each pay for their own subscription. Family plans for both services cost £21.99 a month for up to six accounts.

Try before you pay

• Try one service at a time during its free trial, using it the way you normally listen, before deciding.
• Amazon's music free trial is usually only available if you have not had one in the last 12 months.
• Set a reminder a few days before the trial ends. Both trials renew automatically at the full monthly price.
• Downloaded songs stop playing when your paid plan ends, so keep that in mind before a long journey.