While Spotify and Apple Music may be the giants of music streaming services, Deezer is perhaps a lesser-known music streaming platform that is nonetheless a great alternative. With access to over 120 million songs, Deezer stands out for prioritizing premium sound quality through its HiFi plan that offers FLAC tracks that stream in CD quality, which is better than what Spotify offers (at the moment ).
Plus, Deezer's personalized Move recommendations teach you your music tastes to select the perfect playlist for you. No more endless trips to find that splendid environment. Give those headphones the sound quality they deserve. Read more about Deezer below.
What is Deezer?
Deezer is a digital music streaming platform that the company says is home to more than 120 million songs. Related to Spotify and Apple Music, Deezer lets you search for music by song, artist, album, and genre, and even includes an algorithmic monitor called Flow that will start recommending content based on your listening habits (once you've marked 16 favorites). tracks or more). The Deezer mobile app is available for iOS and Android, and the desktop app can be downloaded for Windows and macOS. You can also go directly to to transmit melodies.
Like competing platforms, several Deezer features are locked behind a subscription paywall, including a fun tool called SongCatcher that listens to song lyrics and melodies to tell you the name of the track you're listening to. (comparable to shazam). One of the best parts of the Deezer experience is its HiFi library, which features FLAC tracks that stream at 16-bit/44kHz. That's on par with CD quality.
How do I use Deezer?
If you're interested in trying out Deezer, all you'll need to get started is a web connection and a smartphone and/or home computer. You will first need to create a Deezer account. We recommend signing up for the Premium free trial if you want to experience all the features and benefits Deezer has to offer, although you'll also have the option to sign up for the free ad-supported plan.
For those listening on a PC, you can access the player directly through the Deezer site, but there's also a desktop app you can download for Windows and macOS, along with mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Once you're logged into the Deezer site, the top three artists you choose will be displayed at the top of the page. As you scroll down, you'll see multiple subcategories (with options including Made for you, New releases for youand so forth.) that are selected based on the artists you like and your listening habits. The left side of the main panel has several tabs for filtering content, including Music, Podcasts, Concerts, Browseand Favorites. Each screen is well organized and easy to navigate, with elements like genre and artist tiles laid out in a very clear way.
The iOS app is just as easy and intuitive to use. When you first launch it, you'll be on the home screen, which places your three favorite artists at the top of the page, with a Discover tab located below this area. This is where Deezer selects artists, albums and bonus tracks based on your chosen favorites and your listening habits. Touch the Explore icon at the bottom of the page to see even more curated music and podcasts, as well as many Deezer-exclusive radio stations and platforms (located on Deezer Originals).
Touch the Favorites icon to see the playlists, artists, and albums you've favorited, as well as the music and podcasts you've downloaded for offline listening. And last but not least is the Look for icon, which allows you to search for a song, artist, and so on. specific by typing in the search bar at the top of the page, sorting by genre, or using a feature called SongCatcher. This neat little relative of Shazam listens to lyrics and melodies to help you determine the name of the song you're trying to find.
How much does Deezer cost?
Deezer offers a variety of plans to suit your listening needs, from a free ad-supported option to premium family plans.
Free Deezer:
- Free access to Deezer's extensive music library.
- On mobile devices: Enjoy shuffle play with six skips per hour and occasional ads. Discover new music based on your tastes.
- On desktop: Listen to entire albums without interruptions, with unlimited skips and occasional ads.
Deezer Premium ($12/month):
Enhance your listening experience with:
- Ad-free music
- Unlimited jumps
- Offline downloads for listening on the go
- High fidelity (HiFi) sound for audiophiles
- Multi-device access so you can enjoy your music anywhere
Deezer Duo ($16/month):
- Share the music with a friend or loved one.
- Two Deezer Premium accounts for a shared musical journey
- Duo Combine collaborative playlist to discover everyone's favorites
Deezer Family ($20/month):
- The perfect plan for families who love music.
- Six individual Deezer Premium accounts
- Household Combine playlist to discover new songs together
- Parental controls to ensure a safe listening experience for younger members
Deezer Student ($6/month):
- All the benefits of Deezer Premium at an affordable price for students.
- 50% discount for eligible students
All Deezer plans come with a one-month free trial for new customers. Plus, you can save up to 25% by subscribing to an annual plan.
How is Deezer streaming quality?
Deezer's music library is divided into two main file formats: MP3 and FLAC files for high-resolution listening. If you're using Deezer's free plan, MP3s are capped at 128Kbps. On every paid Deezer subscription, MP3s are capped at 320Kbps, with the option to downgrade them to 128Kbps if you wish (this is considered “Standard” audio quality, with “Better” being the 320 Kbps option).
For all the discerning audiophiles in the world, Deezer HiFi playback is available on multiple devices and uses 16-bit FLAC encoding at 1411 Kbps. As mentioned above, we're talking CD quality, which will sound pretty good through a pair of decent speakers or headphones.
As far as the competition goes, platforms like Tidal and Qobuz definitely take things up a notch, with both offering 24-bit FLAC encoded content at up to 192kHz (advertised as HiFi Plus and Studio Hi-Res, respectively). That said, a more casual listener who still wants top-notch sound from a digital library should be more than satisfied with Deezer's top performance.
While it may be difficult to differentiate between free and paid MP3 formats, listeners will definitely get a big boost in soundstage and overall quality when listening to FLAC-encoded music from Deezer. For a time, Deezer listeners were also able to experience Sony's 360 Reality Audio through a separate app, but this service is no longer supported.
What devices are compatible with Deezer?
In addition to iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, Deezer is compatible with several different smart brands. If you run your home with Alexa and Google Assistant, you'll be able to use Deezer to play music through your Echo and Nest smart speakers and displays. Deezer is also integrated into the Sonos ecosystem and is easy to access using the Sonos S2 app. One of the best parts about having Deezer integrated into your smart home is the ability to use voice commands to play songs, something you'll be able to do with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Sonos.
There are also several car infotainment systems that have Deezer on board. If your vehicle is compatible with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, BMW or RockScout, you can enjoy your favorite Deezer songs while driving down the road.
If you're more into the at-home listening experience, you can also download the Deezer app for Android TV and Roku. A note to Xbox users: Deezer discontinued support for the Deezer Xbox app last year. Those who have it installed can still use it, but you won't receive updates, new features, or support going forward.
Is Deezer better than other music streaming platforms?
In many ways, Deezer is one of the best intermediate music streaming platforms. There's a lot to love in terms of user interface, algorithmic power, and musical variety. And with the service available in 186 countries, Deezer archives will only grow. So what happens when you pit Deezer against competitive platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Qobuz?
Spotify tends to grab the attention of all music streamers and for good reason. The company's paid subscriptions are a little cheaper than Deezer's (Spotify's individual Premium tier costs $11 per month, with its Duo plan for $15 and Acquainted plan for $17), its community features are a little more attractive and their music library is a little cheaper. more extensive. And while you won't find hi-fi tracks on Spotify right now, this elevated audio branch should be added to the platform shortly.
Apple Music is another big draw, with pricing in line with Spotify subscriptions: $6 per month for students, $11 for individuals, and $17 for its family plan.
Tidal is another great platform that promotes high-resolution music formats, an immense library, and video content (which Deezer and some other platforms are missing). Tidal plans start at $11 per month.
While Qobuz's library may not be as immense as its competitors, you don't need a subscription to purchase high-fidelity music on the service. We also mentioned that Qobuz offers some tracks in full 24-bit FLAC up to 192kHz, the best sound quality you'll get on a digital platform.