5 Best Music Apps That Offer Free Ad-Supported Streaming in India 2021

Ever since Indian consumers gained access to fast and affordable internet, music streaming has gone through the roof in the country. Plus, affordable smartphones have made streaming music via the internet easier. If you just bought your first smartphone and don’t want to spend your hard-earned money to stream music, and still want to be on the legal side of things, there is a way you can enjoy your music.

There are various music streaming services that let users enjoy music without spending a single rupee. They do this either by offering ad-supported music streaming or by free subscription to the streaming service in the bundle offer. In this article, check out the best free music streaming services in India.

Best Music Apps That Offer Free Ad-Supported Streaming in India 2021

1. Wynk Music
2. JioSaavn
3. Gaana
4. Spotify
5. Hungama Music

1. Wynk Music

Wynk Music is Airtel’s own music streaming platform and is available for Android, iOS, and the web. Its library of music has over 30 million songs in fourteen languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, English, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Telugu, and Tamil.

If you are looking for a free music streaming app, then Wynk Music is your best bet on the condition that you have an Airtel SIM. Airtel offers complimentary Wynk Music subscriptions at zero cost on all of their data plans. In other words, Airtel subscribers can use Wynk Music free of cost.

If you don’t have an Airtel SIM, you can always use free ad-supported music streaming. If you want to get rid of ads, you can buy the Wynk music monthly subscription at Rs 49 or yearly subscription at Rs 399.

The only problem with Wynk Music is that it lacks compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but it supports Chromecast. Its UI design might not be as clear and sharp as that of Spotify, but it’s pretty damn good.

2. Spotify

Spotify is currently the best music streaming service in the world, thanks to its vast music library and a brilliant set of apps on various platforms. However, the reason why it isn’t the first on our list is that it does not have access to a lot of regional music tracks, something which domestic apps have better access to.

Apart from that, Spotify excels in most other areas, be it the quality and UI design of apps, the music streaming quality, or compatibility with a vast collection of platforms and devices. Spotify’s music quality is the best in the industry, and it shows when compared to the quality of other music streaming services in the list. This music streaming service also offers an excellent collection of playlists that suit your preferred music type, genre, mood, or artists.

Although Spotify supports ad-supported music streaming, there are just too many ads. Spotify throws at least two-three audio ads before a song begins, which gets on your nerves after a point.

If you want to get rid of the Spotify ads, the only option is to go for the Spotify subscription. Spotify offers a host of premium plans for individuals, families, and couples. The cheapest plan is for individuals at Rs 119 per month, which can get as low as Rs 99 if you pay Rs 1189 annually. Spotify also throws offers throughout the year. For instance, right now you can get 3 months of free Spotify premium with an individual plan.

Spotify is available on Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation, Android TV, tvOS, Fire TV, and Smart TVs from Samsung and LG.It is also compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, CarPlay, Android Auto, AirPlay and Chromecast. It is even compatible with various NAPs (network audio players), home theatre systems, and network DACs.

3. Jio Saavn

Jio Saavn, which was earlier known as Saavn before Reliance Jio acquired it, offers ad-supported music streaming. It is one of the best free music streaming apps in India due to various reasons. First of all, it has access to millions (over 55 million) of songs, including English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Urdu, Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Oriya, and Assamese.

Jio Saavn offers free music streaming via an ad-supported tier. Plus, if you are a Jio user, you get complimentary access to JioSaavn Pro for three months.

JioSaavn has apps on Android, iOS, Windows 10, and the web. It is also compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and works with Alexa as well as Google Assistant for streaming music via smart speakers. Plus, it supports both AirPlay (on iOS devices), Chromecast (via iOS and Android devices), and Sonos speakers.

While not the best in the industry, JioSaavn has a fairly good-looking and easy to use interface. Plus, it supports up to 320kbps audio quality in the paid tier. Free music streaming is limited to 64kbps. While it supports offline music playback, the feature is available only to JioSaavn Pro users.

JioSaavn frequently adds the latest music tracks, music playlists, refreshes music playlists, and offers access to exclusive podcasts. It lacks a few features, though, including lyrics and a sleep timer, and it does not have apps on smart TVs and gaming consoles. JioSaavn premium subscription is priced at Rs 99 monthly and Rs 399 yearly.

Also Read: Jio Recharge Plans and Offers

4. Gaana

Gaana is the next best thing after JioSaavn. It has access to over 30 million songs (as per Gaana’s website). Their vast library includes songs in Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Odiya, Rajasthani, Urdu, Haryanvi, Assamese, and Bengali.

It supports ad-supported music streaming with access to 128kbps music quality. If you pay for the premium subscription, you get access to ad-free music, 320kbps audio streaming, and offline music playback.

It has apps for Android, iOS and Windows, and supports Alexa as well as Google Assistant for smart speakers. Gaana is also compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also supports casting through AirPlay and Chromecast. It is also available on Android TV and Fire TV. The app is slightly cluttered compared to JioSaavn and a lot more ads (in the free plan). Gaana also shows song lyrics.

You can get the Gaana premium plan for Rs 99/month and Rs 399/year. If you are a student, you can get the yearly plan for Rs. 199. There is also a three-month plan for Rs 149.

5. Hungama Music

Hungama Music’s library of music consists of over ten million songs and music videos. It has a collection of music in English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Oriya. It also offers various TV shows, movies, short films, TV shows for kids, and Hungama Originals.

Hungama supports free music streaming (64kbps) in India, and its apps are available for Android, iOS, smart TVs, Fire TV, Android TV, and the web. It is also available on Echo speakers through Alexa integration.

Listening to HD (320kbps) and ad-free music is available, too, but for premium subscribers only. Prices start from Rs 99 for one month and Rs 499 for one year. There’s a three-month plan for Rs 269. The paid plans also allow you to download HD music for offline playback.

There’s a way you can use points to redeem premium plans for free. Points are available by listening to music, watching videos, creating playlists and interacting with the app.

Other features that Hungama’s apps offer include dynamic lyrics, Chromecast (and AirPlay on iOS), playlists (by genre, artists, occasions, and mood), and radio stations. There’s a dark theme, too, so you can use the apps without straining your eyes at night. The apps can also play your local music files. Hungama’s app is not among the ones that are good-looking, though. The app still uses pretty old UI designs.

Best Music Apps with Ad-supported Streaming Service: Features

According to us, an ideal music app should offer these features:

1. Good music library with access to as many tracks as possible.
2. Music from multiple languages to cater to multi-lingual Indians.
3. Apps on as many platforms as possible: Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Windows, web, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Plex, Fire TV, and Smart TVs.
4. Simple, easy-to-use, and good-looking user interface.
5. Music Casting: AirPlay, Chromecast.
6. Access via AI Assistants: Alexa, Google Assistant.
7. High-quality music streaming options.
8. Music sharing.
9. Lyrics.
10. Sleep timer.
11. Offline music playback.

Of course, a single music streaming app cannot have all the good features. But below is a list of all the best music streaming apps and their features.