This Music Streaming Service Is Completely Unloved but Has Some of the Best Features

I’ve been using Deezer for a while now, and I can’t help but feel it’s one of the most underrated music streaming services. Here’s why I think this underdog is a worthy rival to big names like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and Tidal.

Deezer Offers More Tracks Than Spotify

One of the chief benefits of streaming services is their massive music libraries, but what surprised me was that Deezer actually offers more tracks than any of them. In fact, Deezer boasts over 120 million tracks in its catalog, which is a substantial number compared to the competition, most of which offer just over 100 million tracks each.

While Spotify and Tidal provide an unquestionably wide variety of music, Deezer’s larger catalog means you have a better chance of discovering rare tracks, deep cuts, or even entire genres that might be missing from mainstream services.

As someone who enjoys diving deep into specific genres, particularly niche or international music, I find tracks are easier to source on Deezer. A quick search by genre gives you options beyond the usual staples, with diverse categories that include Afro, Funk, and Italian Music, as well as more obscure genres such as Reggaeton, Forro, and Schlager, to name a few. Deezer’s especially good for anyone who loves exploring beyond the top 40 hits and enjoys finding fresh and unique music.

Deezer Provides Excellent Audio Quality

As a musician and audio enthusiast, I find sound quality to be an essential factor in choosing my preferred music streaming service. While many services offer high-resolution streaming, Deezer goes above and beyond with its Deezer HiFi option, which streams music in FLAC (lossless) quality at 1,411 kbps. This is a huge step up from the 320 kbps MP3 streams offered by Spotify, although it requires a high-speed internet connection before it kicks in.

The clarity of Deezer’s sound is impressive and there’s a noticeable depth to the music when streamed in high quality through the active studio monitors that I use for comparison testing. With other streaming services, audio can often feel a bit flat, especially on good-quality headphones or speakers.

Deezer HiFi is comparable to Apple Music’s hi-res service, as you can hear nuances in the music that you might not typically notice with lower-quality streaming, especially subtleties at the higher and lower ends of the frequency spectrum.

You Get Interesting Bonus Features on Deezer

In addition to its vast catalog and great audio quality, I find Deezer’s bonus features make it stand out from the music streaming crowd. While some services rely mainly on their music libraries and playlists to keep you engaged, Deezer adds extra layers that make it feel like a more dynamic, personalized platform.

One of the standout features for me is “Flow”. This is essentially a personalized, endless radio station based on the music you’ve listened to, but it also offers new recommendations and hidden gems. Like Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” or Apple Music’s “For You” section, it’s a great way to discover music that matches your taste without having to do much work. However, I find it much more intuitive than the competition, and it’s helpfully categorized to instantly find music that matches your mood.

While I tend not to subject others to my singing, another quality feature of Deezer is Lyrics. This offers real-time lyrics for many tracks, which is ideal for anyone who loves to sing along or wants to learn the lyrics to a song. The lyrics are displayed in sync with the music, making it easy to follow along, and while it’s not as advanced as Apple Music’s karaoke feature that allows you to turn down the vocal track, it should be adequate to suit most users.

In addition to podcasts, radio stations, and even a podcast-based radio service, which can be a good way to discover something new while on the go, Deezer also has dozens of cool music quizzes. These are a fun way to unwind and pass time with either a solo player, multiplayer, or party format.

Deezer Is Versatile for Imports and Offline Listening

One area where Deezer truly shines is its versatility, especially when it comes to importing your own music and offline listening. If you’ve already spent years building up a music collection, Deezer makes it very easy to upload your personal library, so you can access all your tracks in one place alongside the songs you stream.

The process is seamless and I’ve found it to be very useful, especially as I have digitized music from vinyl that is rare or isn’t commercially available anymore.

Deezer also offers offline listening, an indispensable feature for me, as internet connectivity can be spotty where I live. You can download entire albums, playlists, or even your custom Flow station, which allows you to listen to music anytime, anywhere, without worrying about data usage or connectivity issues.

With Deezer’s intuitive interface, I find it’s easier to manage storage compared to Spotify and Apple Music. You can choose which songs to keep available offline, ensuring you don’t overload your device.

Who Should Subscribe to Deezer?

Deezer might attract more users if it was more affordable than the competition, as a single-user premium plan currently costs a dollar more per month than Spotify and Tidal at $11.99. However, I do think it’s an excellent choice for certain types of listeners, including audiophiles, obscure music fans, and people who want flexibility.

If you care about sound quality, Deezer HiFi is up there with the best streaming services, and high-resolution streaming does make a discernible difference when used with quality equipment. The lossless FLAC streaming option makes it ideal for anyone who wants to experience music at its most detailed.

Deezer’s international catalog makes it a top choice for those who love discovering diverse music from around the world. The platform is ideally suited to anyone who wants to explore genres that aren’t always well-represented on other services.

Whether you’re importing your own music or downloading it for offline listening, Deezer offers excellent flexibility that helps ensure that your entire music collection is available, even when internet service is not.

While Deezer may not be as popular as Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music, it’s an incredibly robust platform with features that rival—and in some cases, surpass—those offered by its bigger competitors. Whether it’s the vast catalog, high-quality audio, or the extra features that make music discovery more enjoyable, Deezer is a service that deserves far more attention than it gets. If you value variety, quality, and flexibility in your music streaming, I believe it’s worth giving Deezer a try.