After being a Spotify subscriber for years, I finally gave Deezer a shot. If you’re looking to switch to Deezer, here are the standout features I love.

7

Flow: The Infinite Personalized Mix

Deezer’s Flow is like having a personal DJ who knows your taste better than you do. It’s an endless, auto-updating mix based on your listening habits and liked songs. What I love about it is that it’s not just a random shuffle. It blends your favorites with fresh discoveries.

Thanks to Flow, I’ve discovered tracks that match my taste to a T and have been out for years. Whenever I’m in the mood for comfortable listening and music exploration, Flow has been the perfect solution.

6

Sleep Timer

I love dozing off to music, audiobooks, or ambient sounds. Deezer’s Sleep timer might seem minor, but it makes a huge difference. It allows you to set a timer to stop playback after a specified duration. It’s perfect for winding down without worrying about your phone playing all night or draining your battery.

I usually set it for 30 minutes before I go to bed. Still, Deezer has other options, ranging from five to 60 minutes, or at the end of the currently playing track or podcast episode.

You can find it on the player screen by tapping the three dots in the top right and selecting Sleep timer.

After that, you can choose the period after which Deezer will automatically pause whatever is playing.

5

Universal Music Sharing

Universal music sharing is another favorite feature on Deezer. It solves a common frustration of sharing a song with a friend, but you can only share the track’s name and artist because you don’t use the same platform. This feature eliminates that problem.

When you share a track, album, or playlist, Deezer generates a universal sharing link that works across platforms. When your friends open the link, they are taken to a special page where they can tap to listen directly on Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music.

While only three external platforms are supported in a market full of options, this is better than most services, which often prioritize their interests.

To share a song from Deezer, tap the Share icon on the player screen and select one of the provided shortcuts to various apps, or tap Copy to clipboard​​​​​​ to get a shareable link. If you want to share with another Deezer user, the Send to a Deezer user option is the best.

4

SongCatcher

Deezer’s built-in SongCatcher is a feature I constantly use. We’ve all had those moments—you’re in a café or watching a show and a song grabs your attention, but you don’t know what it is. SongCatcher solves that.

If you’ve used music recognition apps like Shazam, SongCatcher is similar, but it’s built right into the app. You tap the button, and it will identify the track playing around you within seconds.

You can find SongCatcher by going to the Search tab. Below the search bar, tap What’s this song to launch the feature. Once it recognizes a song, you can add it directly to your library or playlist without switching apps.

You can share the identified song with another Deezer user or send a universal link to friends on other music platforms. I’ve used it while watching TV, shopping in stores, and even during car rides, and it hasn’t let me down yet.

3

Deezer Shaker

Deezer Shaker allows multiple users to create a collaborative music playlist from everyone’s favorite tracks, with no manual song-picking required. It blends everyone’s tastes into one mix, making group listening more inclusive and spontaneous.

It supports up to 14 people, and the best thing is that your friends don’t need to have Deezer. You can invite friends from other streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.

To use Shaker, follow these steps:

• Tap Favorites and scroll down.
• Select Shaker groups > Create a group.
• Use the auto-generated group name or make your own, then tap Validate.
• Tap Invite friends, and share the link or let them scan the QR code.

Once your friend or friends join in, Deezer creates a group mix that blends top songs and similar picks from each user.

2

Deezer Connect

Deezer Connect works much like Spotify Connect if you’re a Spotify user. It lets you control music playing on one device from another. No more walking across the room or fumbling with a remote.

Related

Here’s Why Spotify Connect Makes Multi-Device Streaming So Effortless

I’ve used heaps of other music streaming services, but I always come back to Spotify.

It can be a bit buggy at times, likely because it’s still new. However, when it works, it’s seamless, responsive, and works across a range of devices as long as you’re logged into the same account.

To use the feature, tap the speaker icon in the bottom left corner of the player and select Deezer Connect. On the follow-up screen, Deezer will display all the currently connected devices—tap one to switch playback.

1

Hi-Fi Audio Quality

Almost every mainstream music streaming platform offers a robust catalog, but not all provide high-resolution audio playback. Yet, this is one of the key features to consider when choosing a music streaming service. As a long-time Spotify subscriber, one of the first things that impressed me about Deezer was its high-quality audio.

Deezer supports playback of up to 16-bit 1,411 kbps, allowing you to stream your favorite tracks in CD-quality sound. That’s a significant upgrade over Spotify’s 320 kbps MP3 quality. As a bonus, it includes a versatile equalizer that you can tweak to get the best sound quality out of your headphones or speakers.

Hi-Fi quality has been a game-changer, particularly for genres such as jazz, classical, and acoustic tracks, where detail is crucial. Even better, all Deezer paid plans include HiFi, so you won’t be forced to pay more to enjoy tracks in a lossless format.

Deezer may not be the first service you think of when looking for alternatives to popular options, but it’s a solid music streaming service. Since subscribing, I’ve enjoyed Deezer’s Shaker and Connect features, as well as its excellent audio quality, built-in music recognition tool, and more.