Head-to-head
Audiomack vs Spotify
Audiomack
75
Winner
Audiomack
Spotify
68
Audiomack is the better choice for users seeking a free music streaming experience with offline capabilities, despite its recent increase in ads, while Spotify is better for those willing to pay for premium to avoid ads and access full features.
Audiomack offers a strong free tier with offline listening and a wide variety of music, but recent updates have introduced more ads and locked content. Spotify, while having a vast library and good recommendations, is heavily criticized for its ad frequency and feature limitations for free users, pushing many towards its paid premium subscription.
Head to head
Audiomack Audiomack users praise its wide selection of music, including non-viral songs, and the ability to download music for offline listening for free R2. Some unique features like slowing or speeding up songs R6 and uploading personal music are also appreciated . However, some users report difficulty finding original versions of songs R4R6 and issues with locked content R16R19.
Spotify Spotify is lauded for its extensive music library, diverse collections, and playlists . Users also appreciate its strong algorithm for discovering new artists and its podcast offerings . However, free users often face limitations like forced shuffle mode, inability to skip songs freely, and restricted search functionality .
Audiomack Audiomack is generally considered easy to use once users get past an initial confusing appearance R2. Users appreciate the straightforward interface R30. However, some find it messy and hard to navigate, especially when trying to find specific versions of songs R4. There are also reports of bugs, such as inability to select specific songs in offline playlists R9 and lyrics features causing crashes .
Spotify Spotify is praised for its organized interface and ease of creating playlists . However, recent updates have led to significant usability issues, including slow loading times, lag, app crashes, and glitches . Users also dislike the inability to delete recently listened-to items and a search algorithm that some find poorly oriented .
Audiomack Audiomack's offline functionality is a major selling point, with many users confirming it works perfectly R2R24. However, some users contradict this, stating it doesn't work offline for them R12 or that ads appear even when offline R19. There are also reports of songs being played at incorrect speeds R6.
Spotify Spotify users report significant reliability issues, particularly after recent updates. Problems include the app randomly switching songs , going into offline mode despite having data , and general slowness and lag . Some users also experience the app muting or cutting out music when playing other games .
Audiomack Audiomack is highly valued for being free, especially for offline music R2R24. However, recent changes have led to a significant increase in ads R1R7R13R15 and some content being locked behind a subscription R16R19R21. Some users feel the ad frequency makes the app barely functional R1.
Spotify Spotify's free tier is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of ads and severe feature limitations, making premium almost a necessity for a good experience R61. Users feel they have to pay to access basic functionalities like skipping songs or creating queues .
Pick Audiomack if
you are looking for a free music app that allows offline downloads and has a wide variety of music, including less mainstream artists, and you are willing to tolerate an increasing number of ads R2R24.
Pick Spotify if
you are willing to pay for a premium subscription to avoid ads and access full features like unlimited skips and custom queues, and you value a vast, organized library with strong recommendation algorithms and podcasts R61.
Evidence note: Both apps have a high lifetime rating, but recent reviews for both are heavily skewed negative due to increased ads and feature limitations on their free tiers. Audiomack's negativity often stems from the transition from a nearly ad-free experience to one with many ads, while Spotify's free tier has long been restrictive, pushing users to premium. The comparison highlights that Audiomack's free tier, despite its flaws, still offers more core functionality (like offline listening) than Spotify's free tier.
Frequently asked
Can I listen to music offline on Audiomack and Spotify?
Yes, Audiomack allows free offline music downloads, a feature highly praised by its users R2R24, though some users report issues with it not working or ads appearing offline R12R19. Spotify's free tier generally does not allow offline listening; this feature is typically reserved for premium subscribers.
Which app has more ads?
Both apps have a significant number of ads on their free tiers, but Spotify's free experience is more severely impacted by ads and limitations, with users reporting ads every second or multiple ads per song . Audiomack has also increased its ad frequency, with users calling them 'crippling' and 'annoying' R1R7R13R15, but some users still report 'barely any adds' .
Are there any hidden costs or locked features?
Audiomack, while largely free, has started locking some songs and features behind subscriptions, which has frustrated users who previously had free access R16R19R21. Spotify's free tier has long had significant limitations, such as forced shuffle play, limited skips, and inability to choose specific songs, effectively pushing users to pay for premium to unlock basic functionalities R61.
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R2] Audiomack Amazing! (every detail : ): So first when you go to the app it looks quite confusing. 😧 But little do u know it’s amazing! 🥳 1. You just need an apple account or your device account or an google account! Which is great! ( or a Facebook account!)😍😇. 2. And yes it dose work without Wi-Fi which I personally love! ( when you download songs!) ☺️😗 3. It’s just like Spotify but free!.🥹👌 4. I am a
- [R4] Audiomack Very VERY messy hard to find original versions of a song: I just downloaded it and it’s REALLY hard to work with and it annoys me like wdym you can’t find original versions of a song even on the artists page it’s all mixed up anyways I’m just gonna have to stick with my YouTube music that kinda is annoying me with the fact that I can’t turn off my device while using it but it’s better than this sa
- [R6] Audiomack Very good 👍🏻 ✨: Overall it’s a very good app and I like it , The features are great like you can slow reverb the song or speed it up & more. But something that kinda disturbed me is that some original songs like Bts and dua lipa songs are not in their original speed like some are a bit fast an some slow. I hope it fixes as soon as possible Thank you so much 😊
- [R16] Audiomack Outrageous: I had my playlists filled with my favourite artists and then one day they all randomly got locked and I’m forced to buy their subscriptions.
- [R9] Audiomack I found a bug: Latest discovered issue: my library-playlists-offline only- can’t select a specific song from a playlist to play right away, can only add to cue
- [R30] Audiomack audiomack.: it’s a great app for downloading, i have no trouble with anything.
- [R12] Audiomack Good but doesn’t work offline: It’s good but it doesn’t work offline at all tried so many times but doesn’t
- [R19] Audiomack Really??: Ok this app used to be absolutely great but the more time passes on the more spotify-like it becomes. You’re starting to shove ads down everyone’s throats and its understandable if they keep the app running but if you have a feature to download songs and listen to them offline, advertised as being ad-free, then why the hell are we still receiving ads offline. Another ridiculous thing is
- [R1] Audiomack Killed by Ads: Use to be great, now barely functional crippling ads
- [R7] Audiomack Ads annoying: Very annoying with the ads. I’ll have to watch every ads before downloading anything
- [R13] Audiomack They ruined it: I guess most of the reviews are from before but now when you try to use it there are so many ads at first it was manageable a few pop ups every now and then an actual ad, But now they have them everywhere in between songs, When you try to click anything they went from minimal ads to alot, The bright side though is you can still skip and click anything song you want with no limit
- [R24] Audiomack The app: Its great personally used it works perfectly offline no need to install other apps and pay for it this app is perfect
- [R15] Audiomack Fine: It’s a decent app but the adverts are literally impossible to exit, I can’t listen to a song without having to watch an ad and get stuck for 10 minutes trying to close it because of how small the button is
- [R21] Audiomack Do changes to your app: We have to pay to download a song, this bad bad bad bro I used to love this app because I did not have pay but now it’s bad please change it please please . Even the internet says the same .
- [R61] Spotify bad bad bad: if you can: turn back now. tidal is better and spotify is only worth it if ur willing to pay for premium
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store