

Free music online
With online music services you can listen to the latest and greatest hits whenever and wherever. And by putting up with a few ads or making use of free trials, you can do so without paying a penny. Here's our round-up of the best online music services that let you listen for free.
What is online music streaming?
The internet is a great way to browse, discover and pay for music. The music streaming industry has exploded in the past few years – according to the British Phonographic Industry, 139 billion tracks were streamed in the UK in 2020, an over 20% increase on 2019.
Before you start using any of these online music services though, it's important to understand how they work. Here are some streaming FAQs:

Always check any software you put on your computer is suitable. Ensure it's compatible with your existing set-up. No liability can be accepted for any problems caused from acting upon the info given.
Music streaming isn't always free – but you can cut the cost when it's not
Many music streaming companies do offer free versions of their services, often with ads and/or certain limitations (such as lacking the ability to play offline). If you're happy to put up with these, then by all means go free.
If you want an ad-free, fully-fledged experience though, you'll need to upgrade to a premium subscription or a paid-only provider. Plans typically go for £10/mth, though the good news is there are ways to cut the cost.
Top free online music services
Here are a few music streaming providers with free versions worth considering. These all offer a completely free service you can use on an ongoing basis, though some such as Spotify also offer limited free trials of their paid-for service.
Spotify is hiking the price of some paid-for plans from June. The Family plan will go up by £2/mth, while the Student and Duo plans will go up by £1/mth. Full info in the Spotify to hike prices MSE News story.


Probably the biggest name in online music, the Spotify streaming service has 345 million users around the world and over 70 million available tracks. While many use the paid version, it also offers free streaming with ads.
You can listen for free on smartphones and tablets via the Spotify app, but you can only listen on shuffle (you can skip six times per hour) and you must be online. If you pay to upgrade to Premium you can listen ad-free, play any song or album on-demand, and download and listen to music offline.
Used Spotify? Tell us what you think in the MSE Forum.
Looking to cut the cost of Spotify? See our Spotify MoneySaving Tips.

On the scene since 2006, Deezer is one of the older music-streaming sites, with around 14 million active monthly users. It's a fully-fledged free service supported by ads.
As with Spotify, free users can only listen in shuffle mode and when online, but unlike with Spotify you can't skip tracks at all unless you're willing to fork out for the privilege.
Used Deezer? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the forum.

There are over 150 million tracks on SoundCloud, and this continues to grow because of its scale and easy uploading - it was launched as a platform for sharing music between artists.
Its popularity with consumers quickly led it to develop into a full publishing tool for musicians to distribute their tracks to the public, and it now boasts 175 million listeners a month.
Tried SoundCloud? Tell us about it in the forum.

Jango is an online radio service rather than an on-demand streaming service. You can't listen to particular artists or songs as and when, but you can listen to radio 'stations' by artist or genre.
You don't have to register. Just type in an artist or genre, select a result and the station will start playing right away. For example, type in 'Adele', select 'Adele Radio' and it will play similar artists to Adele, such as Carly Rae Jepsen and Tove Lo, as well as Adele herself.
Used Jango? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the forum.
Top paid-only music services, with free trials
The following music streaming services don't have free options, but they do offer free trials. Handy for sampling what's on offer before deciding whether you want to stump up the cash.

70 million songs – use Amazon Prime trick to slash the cost
AMAZON MUSIC UNLIMITED* – 3MTH TRIAL, £9.99/MTH (£6.58/MTH EQUIV VIA TRICK)

The online retail giant's answer to the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited* is ad-free and lets you listen offline. Yet unlike with Spotify there is no ad-supported free version.
Anyone can get it on a free three-month trial. After that, the standard price is £9.99/mth, though you can choose between a few different plans...
Tried Amazon Music Unlimited? Tell us how you got on with it in the forum.

70 million tracks, plus live radio stations hosted by well-known artists
APPLE MUSIC* – 3MTH TRIAL, THEN £9.99/MTH

As with Amazon and Google, there's no free, ad-supported version of Apple's music streaming service, but those new to Apple Music* can get a free three-month trial.
You'll get all the features of paid membership for the duration of the trial, including access to the library of 70 million songs. The paid version is £9.99/month if you don't cancel before the trial ends.
Used Apple Music? Tell us what you think of it in the forum.

Over 70 million tracks, plus cloud storage for your existing songs and albums
YOUTUBE MUSIC – 1MTH TRIAL, THEN £9.99/MTH

Launched by Google in 2015, YouTube Music has now replaced the search engine's previous music service. Google Play Music, which was shut down in Dec 2020.
While there is a free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music that even lets you listen on-demand, it doesn't let you listen without loading a video and, on smartphones and tablets, only lets you listen if you keep YouTube Music on screen and your screen unlocked. Because of that, we haven't included it in our top free online music services.
It costs £9.99/mth to subscribe to YouTube Music Premium, but much like its rivals it lets newbies try it for free (you need to have or create a free Google account to use it) before they have to pay.
Those on the 30-day trial will get the same as paying members – on-demand access to its library of music ad-free, background and locked-screen listening on smartphones and tablets, offline listening and audio-only listening.
Have you tried YouTube Music? Tell us about it in the MSE Forum.
How to complain about a provider
If you're not happy about the service you receive from an online music service, you should contact the company first. And if you're still not satisfied after doing that, escalate your complaint to the relevant ombudsman or trade body – for full help, see our Consumer Rights guide.
Have your say in our forum!

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