YouTube Music offers 100+ million licensed tracks with superior audio quality (up to 256 kbps) and YouTube integration, while SoundCloud provides direct artist uploads, independent music discovery, and a lower premium price ($4.99/month vs $13.99/month), making it ideal for finding emerging artists.
YouTube Music vs SoundCloud — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Google's all-in-one music and video streaming platform with extensive content integration.
Independent music platform allowing direct artist uploads with affordable premium access.
Premium Subscription Price. Music Library Size. Maximum Audio Quality. YouTube Video Integration. Independent Artist Upload. Free Tier Audio Quality. Offline Downloads (Free)
Choose YouTube Music if you want the best audio quality (256 kbps), seamless YouTube video integration, and a comprehensive mainstream music catalog with premium features. Choose SoundCloud if you're budget-conscious ($4.99/month), want to discover emerging and independent artists, value direct artist support, or prefer a music-first platform without video distractions.
YouTube Music: 1000+ million | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Not available | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Data not available | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 320 kbps standard | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: YouTube-hosted only | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Primary growth engine via YouTube Shorts | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Wider access via Partner Program | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $13.99 | SoundCloud: $12.99
YouTube Music: Audio + Video (music videos, official content, shorts) | SoundCloud: Audio only (tracks, mixes, remixes)
YouTube Music: Requires YouTube Partner Program verification | SoundCloud: Open to any artist (no gatekeeping)
YouTube Music: Yes (Premium members) | SoundCloud: Limited (Pro members)
YouTube Music: 100+ million tracks | SoundCloud: 350+ million (includes user uploads)
YouTube Music: Deep (Google Assistant, Workspace, Search, Android) | SoundCloud: Minimal (standalone with API access)
YouTube Music: Ad revenue sharing, Super Chat, channel memberships | SoundCloud: Follower Exclusive Releases, Repost, fan payments
YouTube Music: 100+ million | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Limited | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Full integration (2.7B videos) | SoundCloud: Music-only platform
YouTube Music: Split-view Now Playing redesign rolling out | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Standard streaming splits | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 320kbps Opus (lossy) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $0.007 (blended average) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes - full catalog with shuffle | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Android, Wear OS, web browser only | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: YouTube ecosystem video performance + watch history | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $0.006-$0.012 | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $0.002-$0.004 | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: AAC 256kbps (lossy) | SoundCloud: 320kbps MP3
YouTube Music: Premium subscribers only | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $0.005-$0.009 | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Android-optimized only | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 256 kbps AAC | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes — full library | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes (ad-supported) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes (auto-mix) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Google Assistant | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes (preferred on Android) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Via AirPlay | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $11.99/mo ($15.99 w/ YT Premium) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $26.99/mo (w/ YT Premium) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $6.99/mo | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 100+ million | SoundCloud: 35+ million
YouTube Music: $12.99 | SoundCloud: $9.99 (Go+)
YouTube Music: No skipping allowed | SoundCloud: Unlimited with 3-hour limit per 8-hour window
YouTube Music: Unlimited downloads | SoundCloud: Limited downloads
YouTube Music: ~0.3-0.4 cents per stream | SoundCloud: Up to 55% of platform revenue
YouTube Music: $22.88 saved (buy yearly) | SoundCloud: $11.88 saved (buy yearly)
Monthly Subscription Price (Premium/Paid Tier)
YouTube Music: $11.99 | SoundCloud: $5.99
YouTube Music: 100+ million | SoundCloud: 500+ million
YouTube Music: 128 kbps | SoundCloud: 128 kbps
YouTube Music: $0.003-0.005 | SoundCloud: $0.007
YouTube Music: 100,000 watches/month (YouTube Partner) | SoundCloud: 1,000 streams
YouTube Music: 80 million | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Google Assistant (500M+ devices) | SoundCloud: N/A
Annual Prime/YouTube Premium Bundle Cost
YouTube Music: $139.99 (YouTube Premium music only) | SoundCloud: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Premium Tier)
YouTube Music: 256 (AAC lossy) | SoundCloud: 128kbps
YouTube Music: 800+ million | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: None (AAC only) | SoundCloud: N/A
Monthly Subscription Price (Standard Tier)
YouTube Music: $10.99/month | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $139/year (Premium + YouTube ad-free) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: ~80+ million (estimated YouTube Music users) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $0.003-0.005 (estimated) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Yes, available on Premium | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $11.99 | SoundCloud: $9.99
YouTube Music: 100+ million | SoundCloud: 76 million
YouTube Music: No (requires distributor) | SoundCloud: Yes (instant)
YouTube Music: 15-20 per hour | SoundCloud: 20-30 per hour
YouTube Music: Full integration with official videos/Shorts | SoundCloud: Limited to user uploads
YouTube Music: $11.99/month | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 100+ million songs | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Under 1 million (limited availability) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Unlimited | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Select Google devices + Google Home ecosystem | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $18.99/month (6 accounts) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 256 kbps (AAC) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 100,000 songs maximum | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Full official videos | SoundCloud: Not included
YouTube Music: Yes—ad-supported with limitations | SoundCloud: Yes (with ads, limited plays)
YouTube Music: Not applicable | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 320 (MP3) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 70+ official videos | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Unlimited with Premium | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: 6 profiles | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $11.99 | SoundCloud: $14.99
YouTube Music: 320 kbps | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: Separate subscription | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: No (Premium required) | SoundCloud: N/A
YouTube Music: $13.99 | SoundCloud: $4.99
YouTube Music: 100+ million | SoundCloud: 635+ million
YouTube Music: 256 kbps | SoundCloud: 320 kbps (Hi-Fi tier)
YouTube Music: Not available | SoundCloud: 3 hours
YouTube Music: Via distributor only | SoundCloud: Direct upload supported
YouTube Music: $167.88/year | SoundCloud: $59.88/year
Artist Growth Multiplier (focused strategy)
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Baseline (1x)
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Free tier available + paid tiers
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: $0.001-0.003 per stream
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Native direct upload available
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Direct comments/engagement, immediate
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Follower Exclusive Releases feature (2026)
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Higher number of musicians
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: 256 kbps
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: $0.002-0.007
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Not required (instant upload)
YouTube Music: N/A | SoundCloud: Unlimited (with ads)
How to choose between YouTube Music and SoundCloud
YouTube Music vs SoundCloud — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for YouTube Music vs SoundCloud. Contains 147 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
YouTube Music vs SoundCloud — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for YouTube Music vs SoundCloud.
Which streaming service has better audio quality?
SoundCloud technically supports higher bitrate (320 kbps with Hi-Fi tier) than YouTube Music's 256 kbps, but most listeners cannot distinguish the difference. YouTube Music's 256 kbps is considered high-quality and sufficient for most users. SoundCloud's Hi-Fi tier requires an additional subscription tier beyond Premium.
Can I download music offline on both services?
YouTube Music allows offline downloads only on the Premium plan ($13.99/month). SoundCloud uniquely offers 3-hour offline downloads on the free tier and unlimited downloads with Premium ($4.99/month), making it more accessible for offline listening.
Is SoundCloud better for discovering independent artists?
Yes. SoundCloud's strength is its direct-upload platform allowing artists to upload without major label representation. The platform has 635+ million tracks (vs YouTube Music's 100+ million), with many emerging and experimental artists. YouTube Music focuses on mainstream licensed content through major labels.
How much cheaper is SoundCloud Premium compared to YouTube Music?
SoundCloud Premium ($4.99/month) is 64% cheaper than YouTube Music Premium ($13.99/month), saving $108/year. However, YouTube Music Premium includes YouTube Premium benefits (ad-free YouTube access and offline downloads on YouTube).
YouTube Music offers seamless integration with YouTube's 2.7 billion videos, music videos, and YouTube Premium features (ad-free viewing, background play). SoundCloud is a music-only platform without video integration, providing a distraction-free listening experience focused solely on audio content.
How to Choose Between YouTube Music and SoundCloud
Premium Subscription Price: YouTube Music has $13.99/month, while SoundCloud has $4.99/month.
Music Library Size: YouTube Music has 100+ million tracks, while SoundCloud has 635+ million tracks.
Maximum Audio Quality: YouTube Music has 256 kbps (Premium), while SoundCloud has 128 kbps (Free), 320 kbps (Hi-Fi).
YouTube Video Integration: YouTube Music has Full YouTube integration included, while SoundCloud has Music-only platform.
Independent Artist Upload: YouTube Music has Requires distributor/label, while SoundCloud has Direct artist upload enabled.
Free Tier Audio Quality: YouTube Music has 128 kbps with ads, while SoundCloud has 128 kbps with ads.
Offline Downloads (Free): YouTube Music has Not available, while SoundCloud has Available with 3-hour limit.