Everybody loves music. And thanks to the advancement in technology, there are multiple ways to enjoy music for everyone. This can also make things confusing for someone who is new to the game. Keeping this in mind, we’re going to talk about some of the best music apps available for Android. In addition to apps that let you stream music for free, we will also discuss apps that let you play locally stored music from your smartphone or tablet. So without waiting any further, let’s check out some of the best free music apps for Android.
Best Free Music Apps for Android
1. Spotify
Spotify is undoubtedly one of the most popular music streaming apps in the world today. In addition to having the most subscribers among every streaming service, Spotify is also one of the only offerings to provide an ad-supported free music streaming service albeit with certain limitations. Spotify is also available across platforms, and even has a web player, making it a versatile and complete app for music streaming.
Ideally, we recommend trying out Spotify for free, and then subscribing to its premium subscription which offers unlimited ad-free music streaming as well as skips. The app is free to download on the Play Store and comes with ads on board. There are no in-app purchases on this app, and users will have to buy, renew or cancel the subscription online.
Download Here: Google Play
2. iHeart Radio
While not talked about much, iHeart Radio has been around for a while, and has seen multiple changes over the years to make it one of the better streaming apps out there. Similar to Spotify, the app lets customers listen to music, radio or podcasts for free as long as they are fine with advertisements.
You can access thousands of AM and FM radio stations around you at any given location which gives iHeart Radio an advantage over its rivals. Moreover, the app offers sports news and insights from a wide range of sources including ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FNTSY Sports Radio, and so on. The developers also offer a paid version known as iHeart Radio Plus and iHeart Radio All Access.
iHeart Radio is a free download on the Play Store and is ad-supported. There are no in-app purchases, however.
Download Here: Google Play
3. Pandora
Pandora is an app that has seen multiple changes over its 20-year history in the business. Today, the app has converted to the streaming model and offers top music, playlists, radio, as well as podcasts. This is considered to be one of the key contenders to Spotify and Apple Music which are currently dominating the streaming business.
However, Pandora has remained relatively obscure in the presence of the aforementioned juggernauts. What I personally like about Pandora is the personalization and custom playlists it can offer based on your listening history. The company claims that it has over 1,400 podcasts to choose from, so the collection is not as wide as you would find on Spotify. However, you should be able to find popular shows on SiriusXM.
As you would expect, Pandora also has a premium version that brings ad-free music and the ability to save music on your device for offline listening. Thankfully, most of Pandora’s features are accessible to free users as well. As far as the best free music app is concerned, this app is certainly up there with the likes of Spotify.
Download Here: Google Play
4. TuneIn
This is an app that rose to prominence over the past couple of years thanks to the versatility it offers. TuneIn offers free music and complements it with radio (AM/FM), podcasts, news, sports, and so on. Moroever, the radio function allows you to listen to music and other content from over 197 countries.
Just like every freemium app, there’s an incentive to pay for a TuneIn Premium subscription. With this, users will be able to listen to commercial free news from sources like MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News Talk, in addition to music stations. Paying customers will also be able to listen to NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL in real time.
TuneIn has a decent library of songs, and even has curated playlists from DJs and special guests to help you discover new music. It’s certainly one of the best music app out there, although it goes without saying that there’s more than one.
Download Here: Google Play
5. Deezer
Originally launched in France back in 2007, Deezer has been around for a while now. The service is now available globally, including the U.S. The Android app is neatly designed and offers a viable replacement to the wide range of streaming apps flocking the market today. The developers mention that the app has more than 56 million tracks to offer, so there’s no dearth of quality content on Deezer.
The catalog is expanding every day as new songs make its way to the charts. The addition of a standard shuffle mode allows you to discover music like never before. It’s worth pointing out that Deezer is compatible with your Amazon Echo (Alexa) or Google Home devices, allowing you to change tracks with just a voice command.
Deezer’s free offering is ad-supported, although the developers also offer a paid version for the full experience. This also includes unlimited skips and no forced song shuffles. The app is free to download, and has in-app purchases.
Download Here: Google Play
6. Google Play Music
This is a music player that has been around for a few years now. Launched initially as a standalone music player on Android devices, Google decided to jump to the streaming game a couple of years ago when it announced that Play Music will support music streaming. Play Music offers a pretty vast collection of music and can curate playlists depending on your mood, activity, decade, and a variety of other factors.
What’s even better is the fact that Play Music allows you to store up to 50,000 songs from your local collection directly on the cloud. So if you have any old personal music recordings, they can be instantly transferred onto Play Music for free. Play Music also offers a web-player, so you can listen to your favorite tunes and playlists from practically anywhere.
The UI of the app is also worth mentioning, and has changed with each iteration of Android. We highly recommend you to try out this app, as the app may be available by default on your Android phone. If not, be sure to hit the link below. Customers can also enjoy Play Music controls on their Wear OS smartwatch. Play Music has ads but no in-app purchases.
Download Here: Google Play
7. Shazam
When we discuss the best music app for Android, it not only includes apps that come with streaming, but also those that offer discovery. Shazam, a previously independent company is now owned by Apple, although its features are accessible across all mobile platforms. What makes Shazam a popular music app is its ability to help you discover music playing around you and even sing with it thanks to the handy lyrics tab.
The app has also received a social aspect over the past few years which helps you discover what other people or celebrities are listening to. You can also find music videos for the track you’re discovering as well as other details. The app also offers a chart that shows songs that are currently trending.
Each song you discover on Shazam will also have a quick link to Apple Music which is really helpful if you’re a subscriber. This app is completely free to download and has no ads or in-app purchases.
Download Here: Google Play
8. SoundCloud
SoundCloud emerged onto the scene as a platform for independent artists to get discovered. While the app is no longer just that, it does offer some great tracks from upcoming artists. It’s fairly easy to upload your music onto SoundCloud, which makes it one of the best music apps out there. The app has also added features like song recommendations based on your listening habits, the ability to make your own playlists, and so on.
SoundCloud also has curated playlists which can help you find new songs in abundance. The company offers two subscriptions – SoundCloud Go and SoundCloud Go+ for $5.99 and $9.99 per month respectively. The difference between the two subscriptions is that SoundCloud Go+ offers high-quality audio while SoundCloud Go doesn’t. The developers also mention that these subscriptions help financially support the creators on the platform.
SoundCloud is free to download on the Play Store, and is ad-supported. Since there are no in-app purchases, you will have to buy subscriptions online.
Download Here: Google Play
9. YouTube Music
YouTube Music is relatively new to the business, and is an offshoot of Google Play Music, although the two continue to co-exist. This apps brings you the best of YouTube’s music in addition to pretty much any YouTube video that you want in the audio format. It blends seamlessly with the default YouTube app on Android, allowing you to seamlessly switch between the two.
Since this is a dedicated music streaming app, users will also get playlists and music recommendations based on their tastes. If you’re interested to listen to the top trending songs around you, YouTube Music has you covered. It’s updated constantly with new features and tracks, so you can expect to make this your default music app if you choose to.
YouTube Music is free to download on the Play Store, and is ad-supported. There are no in-app purchases.
Download Here: Google Play
10. Poweramp
Download Here: Google Play
11. Audiomack
Audiomack is also a music streaming app, but it’s not quite the same as the apps we’ve discussed above. By this we mean that the selection of music is limited to a few genres like Hip-Hop, Rap, R&B, EDM Afropop, Reggae music, and mixtapes. But users can be sure that they will have free access to all music for as long as they use the app.
The only downside to using the free version is that you will have to make do with ads, which is the case with most free music apps anyway. The best part is that to go ad-free, all you have to do is pay $4.99 per month, which is a small fraction of what you would pay on other premium streaming apps. Moreover, users of Audiomack can also create unlimited playlists on their own in addition to accessing the curated playlists created by the app.
Audiomack is free to download on the Play Store, and comes with ads and in-app purchases. Be sure to check it out.
Download here: Google Play
12. Amazon Music
While Amazon Music has been around for a while, its functionality is slightly confusing for a few. Music on this platform is free for Amazon Prime members, while you can also access your catalog if you’re subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited. The key difference between Amazon Music and Music Unlimited is the collection of the songs, with the latter offering up to 50 million tracks.
Fortunately, Amazon also has a free trial for new users. The app is well designed, and also be used in tandem with your Echo device at home. Much like any other streaming service, Amazon Music can also make excellent recommendations on the music you should listen to based on your preferences.
The app is completely free to download and is devoid of ads and in-app purchases. This means you will have to head over to Amaozn’s website and get a subscription or a free trial before using the services on the app.
Download here: Google Play
13. Apple Music
Apple is a dominant name in the mobile industry and the company has branched out in the music business over the past few years. Since the introduction of Apple Music, the company has struck numerous exclusive deals that could only be rivalled by Spotify. Although Apple is still behind Spotify in terms of subscribers, there’s no doubt that the company is catching up quickly.
Apple Music doesn’t have an ad-supported format unforunately, which basically leaves you the option of getting the free trial if you haven’t already. Apple charges $9.99 per month for Apple Music, while students get an additional discount on the subscriptions. Apple is currently offering Apple TV+ subscriptions for free to students with Apple Music, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
For those unaware, Apple Music also has deep lyrics integration with Shazam. This means you can get real time lyrics in sync with the audio by default without needing any other app or service. The app is free to download on the Play Store and has no ads or in-app purchases.
Download here: Google Play
14. Musixmatch
We’ve all wondered if there’s ever a convenient way to complement our music with real time lyrics. While apps like Shazam do a great job at this, Musixmatch takes it a step further by offering real time translation for foreign language songs. Using the app, you can enjoy lyrics while playing on services like Spotify, Youtube, Pandora, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Google Play Music, and so on.
Musixmatch also offers an excellent widget for your homescreen which allows you to view lyrics in real time with just a tap. You can also discover songs by typing just a single line of the lyrics that you know. The user interface is pretty slick, and you can find all your matched songs from a dedicated list.
Musixmatch offers a premium subscription which lets you save lyrics for offline singalong, and even remove ads. The app is also compatible with Wear OS smartwatches. Having won multiple awards, Musixmatch is definitely one of the best music app you will find out there. It’s free to download, and comes with ads/in-app purchases.
Download here: Google Play
15. SoundHound
This app adds a bit of additional spice to your music discovery by also adding the location for where you found that song. This is something that a lot of us desire on a music matching app, and SoundHound offers it. However, most music matching apps offer some form of location data today, so this is no longer an exclusive feature.
The app is pretty simple to use. Once installed, you simply have to press the big orange button and SoundHound will automatically detect the song playing in the background, whether it’s in your car or outside. Moreover, if you’re a Spotify user, you can add songs to your playlist with a voice a command. You can also use voice commands to pull up lyrics for a particular song.
SoundHound is free to download on the Play Store, and comes with ads. There are no in-app purchases, however. You can enjoy ad-free experience by upgrading to SoundHound Infinity on the company’s website.
Download here: Google Play
16. Pi Music Player
This is a bit of a hybrid music player as it can let you do best of both worlds. By this, we mean that it can let you play music stored on your device folder, while also letting you browse songs or music videos from YouTube. Users can combine both forms of music on their playlists by adding YouTube videos and locally stored MP3 files.
The user interface is pretty well designed and gives access to all the features from the home screen. The app also comes with a floating video player, allowing you to continue watching music videos while typing a text or browsing a website. If you’re concerned about the strain this will have on your battery, well, Pi Music Player also comes with a battery saver functionality.
This is a freemium app, which means you can enjoy most of its services for free, but you will encounter a few ads. However, the Pi Music subscription cannot hide ads displayed with YouTube videos. The app comes with in-app purchases.
Download here: Google Play
17. jetAudio HD Music Player
This is a music player app which is known for allowing customization options with sound effect plugins. While some plugins require a payment, jetAudio also offers a healthy selection of free plugins for its users. The music player is heavily customizable as well, something that most users will prefer. There are over 32 equalizer presets to give you a wide range of options.
Naturally, the developers are reserving the best features for paying customers, which is the nature of every freemium app out there. But if you’re looking for a no frills music player for your Android smartphone or tablet, jetAudio will do a perfectly good job.
jetAudio is a free download on the Google Play Store, but comes with ads and in-app purchases.
Download here: Google Play
18. Pulsar Music Player
This is a versatile music player which is available in multiple languages and has seen millions of downloads since it made its way to the Play Store. It lets you play music files located within your device, which means there are no streaming capabilities here. However, the app makes up for it with its easy to use interface, as well as the handy lyrics feature. You can also add lyrics files manually to audio files of your choice.
Pulsar can automatically create smart playlists based on newly added songs as well as most played tracks. You can also scrobble on last.fm using Pulsar, so it’s a pretty decent app overall. You can download this for free on the Play Store. There are no ads or in-app purchases.
Download here: Google Play
19. AIMP
This music player doesn’t bring too many changes as compared to the offerings we’ve spoken above, but we’ve mentioned it here solely for the gorgeous user interface it offers. You can add your own music to your library, and streaming services are not supported. If you have audio that lacks album art, AIMP lets you add them manually from your device or by scouring the internet.
The app also has features like a 29-band equalizer and a sleep timer to help save battery on your smartphone or tablet. AIMP is free to download, and there are no ads or in-app purchases.