Instagram and Spotify serve different purposes. Instagram excels in visual content sharing and social networking, while Spotify is the go-to platform for music and podcast streaming. The choice depends on the user's primary need: visual content and social interaction versus audio entertainment.
| Attribute | Spotify | |
|---|---|---|
| Image and Video Quality | Allows users to upload photos and short videos that can be edited with filters. In 2015, Instagram eased its square-only format restriction and increased the resolution to 1080 pixels. Automatically plays videos in the highest quality available. | Not available |
| Music Library Size and Variety | Does not have a music library in the same way a music streaming service does. However, users can add music to their stories and reels. | Over 100 million tracks, exclusive podcasts, curated playlists |
| Social Sharing Features | Allows users to share content to other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Users can connect their Instagram account to other social networking sites, enabling them to share uploaded photos to those sites. Launching a new feature called broadcast channels that would let users send text or picture updates straight to followers. | Integrates with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In-app sharing, collaborative playlists, Spotify Codes. Continuous share feature may come to Instagram Notes. |
| Content Recommendation Algorithm | AI algorithm recommends content out of billions of options in real-time. The Instagram algorithm uses a series of AI ranking systems to determine what each user sees on the platform. These systems consider what you like, who you follow, and how you engage with other users to predict what content suits you. Aims to surface content according to the intent of the user. | Combines collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and audio analysis. Considers listening history, preferences, skips, release date, genre, tempo, mood, and cultural context. Uses AI for customized playlists, artist recommendations, and yearly roundups. |
| Offline Playback Availability | Does not offer offline playback. | Premium subscribers can download music and podcasts for offline playback on mobile, desktop, and Apple Watch. Up to 10,000 songs on each of up to 5 devices. Free users can only download podcasts. |
| Ad Frequency and Intrusiveness | Not available | Free, ad-supported service and a paid Premium subscription. Premium provides ad-free listening. |
| Data Usage | Can use a significant amount of data, especially with video content. Tests have shown the app using about 64 MB of data every ten minutes. The average person might use 400 MB to 600 MB in an hour. Stories, especially those with videos, consume around 300-500 MB per hour. Watching Reels or videos for an hour can use between 600 MB to 1.2 GB. | Varies depending on audio quality. Low (24kbps): 11MB or 25MB, Normal (96kbps): 42MB or 40MB, High (160kbps): 72MB, 85MB or 84MB, Very High (320kbps): 144MB or 150MB. Users can adjust streaming quality. |
| User Interface and Experience | UI is known for being aesthetic and minimalist. The design is direct and simple, avoiding information overload. New user interface may have violated the principle of least astonishment (POLA). | Simple and clear layout. Drag-and-drop interface for playlists. Consistent across platforms. Dark interface. |
| Community Features and Interaction | Offers several community features, including the ability to follow other users, like photos, and comment on posts. Launching a slew of new sharing features: notes, groups. | Collaborative playlists, listening parties, real-time friend activity. Follow friends and artists. Spotify Connect. |
| Live Streaming Capabilities | Live allows users to broadcast live video to their followers. It offers real-time interaction through comments and likes. Has become a powerful tool for brands to share behind-the-scenes content, host Q&A sessions, and launch products. | Spotify Live allows artists to connect with fans in real-time through live music streaming. Offers live audio streaming, live chat, and polls. |
| Subscription Cost and Value | Not available | $5.99/month (students), $11.99/month (individual), $16.99/month (Duo), $19.99/month (family) |
| Podcast Availability | Not available | Wide selection of podcasts. Free users can download podcasts, but not music. |