Nearly 15 years ago, in 2008, Spotify was first introduced. Since then, a lot has changed, and the platform is now among the most widely used music streaming services, far outpacing rivals like Apple Music and Tidal.

See also: The Best Spotify Tricks to Make the Most of Your Account

What does Spotify actually do, what services does it offer, and is it worthwhile spending money on it? You can get all the information you need about Spotify from this guide. Let's get going!

Spotify 

Spotify is a website that streams music. It offers immediate access to its sizable online music and podcast library, enabling you to listen to any content whenever you want. It is easy to implement and legal.

There are millions of songs to choose from, including classical music, obscure indie rock, top 40 pop, and soundtracks to movies. A sophisticated algorithm for making music recommendations based on your listening history is also included, in addition to curated playlists and internet radio stations.

There are many podcasts available, so whether you prefer tech discussions or true crime stories, there is something for everyone. In fact, the business has made significant investments in podcast content by purchasing the networks Gimlet Media and Parcast. Even more than $100 million was spent on an exclusive multi-year contract with the Joe Rogan Experience.

The best feature is that using Spotify is totally free.

Although the platform has a paid Premium subscription option, you can also use its free, ad-supported version. To find out more about the differences, read this article's section on Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium.

Is Spotify a free service?

The free, basic version of Spotify is supported by advertisements. It has some limitations but offers unrestricted access to the entire music and podcast library.

The frequent ad breaks are the most annoying. These can seriously ruin your groove if you're listening at a party. Additionally, there are only a few song skips available, and the audio quality is only 160 kbit/s.

Why should you pay for Spotify Premium?

Inconvenient ads can be removed from Spotify by purchasing a Premium subscription, but the service offers more features than you might realize. This is why you might find Spotify Premium to be worthwhile.

Absolutely no advertisements, including banner and audio ads.

Better sound quality: If you are an audiophile, the upgrade of Spotify Premium from 160kbit/s to 320kbit/s may be well worth it.

Song downloads: Spotify Premium gives you the option to download songs for offline listening. However, you won't have access to them if you cancel your subscription.

You can skip as much as you want on the mobile app, and there is no forced shuffle. The free version of Spotify allows for six skips per hour and shuffles all playlists, even adding single tracks to shuffled playlists. Only mobile apps experience this, but it's still annoying. However, you can skip as much as you want with Spotify Premium.

Ad-supported If you reside in the United States, you are qualified for access to Hulu.

How much does Spotify Premium cost?

The standard Spotify Premium plan costs $9.99 per month in the United States, €9.99 in Europe, and £9.99 in the United Kingdom, whereas ad-supported Spotify is always free.

There are no discounts for paying bi-annually or annually, but choosing the Spotify Premium Family plan will result in savings. Family members living under the same roof can use six different Premium accounts for just $15.99 a month. You can purchase a shared Spotify Duo account for $12.99 if you're in a relationship. Additionally, there are price breaks for college students of up to 50%.

What is the price of Spotify Premium then? Let's analyse it:

Person: $9.99 per month On-demand playback, offline listening, ad-free music listening, and access for one user are all included.

Duo costs $12.99 per month. Ad-free music listening, offline listening, and on-demand playback are all included, as well as access for two users from the same household.

A family's monthly cost is $15.99. Spotify Kids access, ad-free music streaming, offline listening, on-demand playback, blocking of explicit music, and access for up to six users from the same household are all included.

A student's monthly cost is $4.99. has access for one user, offline listening, on-demand playback, ad-free music, and Showtime access.

Does Spotify work with Hulu?

If you reside in the US, a Spotify Premium subscription gives you free access to Hulu, which is supported by advertisements. This translates into a $5.99 monthly savings. To find out more about Hulu and its pricing options, click the link below. This also includes a plan for students.

Do I have access to Spotify where I live?

In contrast to some of its rivals, Spotify is accessible in a large number of international locations. If you reside in Europe or North America, you're in luck because Spotify is almost universally accessible there. However, there are still some sizable gaps in Spotify's coverage. For instance, the service is not yet accessible in South Korea or Russia.

How does Spotify operate?

There is no better time than the present to try Spotify if you haven't already. To get started, all you need is a Spotify account and an internet connection. This is how you create one:

Open a browser on your computer or mobile device and go to the Spotify registration page. A working email address, a password, and a username are required. Your birth date and gender will also be required. Click the green "Sign up" button after that.

The next step is to choose a subscription level. You can test out Premium for three months for free if you're new to Spotify. Given that it has a tonne of advantages that the free version does not, we advise giving it a try.

The free Spotify app must now be downloaded and installed. Both an Android app and a desktop application are available. You can start listening after downloading the Spotify app to your preferred device.

You can access and sync your listening history and playlists across all of your devices. If you'd rather not use apps, you can use the Spotify web player to listen to the service in a browser tab.

The audio quality for both paid and subscription versions of the service suffers slightly when using the web player as opposed to the Spotify app. On the web player, Spotify Free is restricted to 128 kbit/s while Spotify Premium is restricted to 256 kbit/s.