A seemingly endless number of audio and video streaming services cater to pop music lovers. But if you’re a fan of Bach, Bartok, and Beethoven, you have far fewer options. Thankfully, classical streaming services do exist for your listening and viewing pleasure. Among those, Medici.tv (for video streaming) and Qobuz (for music streaming) stand out for their expansive libraries and top-notch streaming quality. Still, you should read about all of our other top picks, followed by what to consider when choosing the best classical music streaming service for your enjoyment.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
November 9, 2025: With this update, we added audio-only streaming services to this list of formerly video-only classical music streaming services. We also vetted the existing picks for currency and availability.
- Large catalog
- High-res audio
- Classical-specific search and browse
- iPhone-only for now
- No booklet viewing
- Hidden audio quality settings
For $10.99 per month, Apple Music provides a huge catalog, high-resolution audio, and Dolby Atmos surround sound content. But you also get the company’s Classical offering as part of your subscription. Dedicated apps for Apple Music Classical are available for Android, iOS, iPadOS, and the web. The classical-specific features include not only composer collections, but also themed playlists (Bach & the Baroque, Classical Kids) and categories (Classical Top 100, Music by Mood, New Releases). I enjoy its Listening Guides, which display informative text while music is playing. These features are only available on the mobile apps, not the web version, and the same applies to viewing album booklets. The service also suggests music for you based on your listening history.
If you already subscribe to Apple Music, then using Apple Classical Music is a no-brainer. It’s also a good choice if you have a Dolby Atmos setup. Just keep in mind that Apple Classical Music doesn’t offer any video content or live events like Idagio and medici.tv, and that it pays musicians per stream, rather than per minute (which is more equitable, given how long classical tracks can be).
Learn More
Apple Music Classical Review
Best Free Classical Music Streaming Service
Idagio
Idagio is the last dedicated classical music service standing, and it serves its audience well, with search by composer, conductor, performer, soloist, and more. Not only do you get a full catalog of classical releases, but Idagio also offers video broadcasts of ballets, concerts, and operas. A magazine on the site lets you keep up with the latest happenings in classical, and live interactive courses taught by prominent artists can take you deeper into the genres of your choice. Yet another unique feature is the ability to explore a subgenre, such as Sacred Vocal. Speaking of artists, Idagio’s payments to them are based on time of play rather than number of streams, which is fairer to classical performers.
If you don’t want to pay for your classical fix, Idagio’s free (ad-supported) account level lets you stream in Radio mode (select a song and similar music plays) at decent 192kbps quality. A Basic Audio level ($9.99 per month) adds on-demand streaming and removes the ads. The $12.99-per-month Premium Audio level upgrades you to lossless, CD-quality FLAC sound, and the $16.67-per-month Premium Audio + Video account provides access to all Idagio concert streams.
Marquee TV offers the widest range of genre categories (ballet, jazz, opera, orchestral, and theater) and the smallest number of available streams among the services we tested. It’s a good choice for cultured viewers who want a smattering of this and that in high-performance art. You get some excellent performers, such as La Scala Opera, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
If you’re really into Shakespeare, Marquee TV has the goods, along with a limited selection of ballet, opera, and orchestra. At $9.99 per month, the service costs less than its rivals. It offers apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple devices, Google TV, Roku, and other platforms.
Best for a Large Library and Live Performances
medici.tv
Of the services here, medici.tv offers the largest on-demand classical video catalog. It also lets you stream live concerts, particularly from notable festivals like Salzburg and Verbier. Those qualities justify its slightly high cost ($179 per year). The site and app also include ballet, classic jazz, and opera performances, with excellent audio and video quality in testing. In addition, the medici.tv player is more informative than rival offerings, showing dates, pieces, and movement names as you view.
If you want the largest library of streaming classical music, including ballet, opera, and symphonies, and the idea of live festival broadcasts charms you, then medici.tv is a good fit. Thankfully, the service now streams some 4K content. It’s available for Android, iOS, and Roku, but still not on Amazon Fire TV.
Best for High-Resolution Music Streaming and Downloads
Qobuz
- High-quality lossless and studio-quality audio streaming
- Streaming and purchasing options
- Includes album liner notes in PDF form
- Background articles, guest playlists, and Interviews
- Well-designed apps for all platforms with Qobuz Connect multi-device control
- No free account level
- Lacks social components
- Missing live stations and podcasts
- Doesn’t support smart speakers
Qobuz not only offers the highest-resolution audio quality (above even lossless CD-quality) for streaming but also a download store for purchasing music. And that store offers the option to purchase even higher-resolution DSD format files. However, the reason Qobuz earns a spot in this roundup is that it’s eminently suited for listeners of classical music. On most other services, you don’t find all the parameters of a classical track—composer, conductor, performance group, soloist, and so on. Qobuz provides all of this and allows you to browse the CD booklet, where available, on both desktop and mobile. The Qobuz desktop app offers detailed output options, such as WASAPI Exclusive Mode, which is not available with most alternatives.
Qobuz is a good choice if you are interested in the highest available audio quality, whether for downloading or streaming. Its interface is also more conducive to classical listening than other high-resolution services such as Tidal. The platform works directly with a lot of high-end gear, including streamers, too. If you need Dolby Atmos tracks, you’re better off with Apple Music Classical.
Best for Audio and Videos From a Top Label
Stage+
Deutsche Grammophon is an archetypal name in classical music. The label has produced historic recordings from the most prominent classical musicians for more than 100 years, and Stage+ is a platform for enjoying them all. The service features an exclusive catalog of high-quality videos, including 394 minutes of Nézet-Séguin conducting all of the Beethoven Symphonies. In addition, the site offers new weekly live streams, curated video, and audio releases. It also has documentaries and interviews. The sound and video quality are excellent, with some 4K and Dolby Atmos content available. An annual subscription costs $149 per year.
If you want access to its exclusive library of audio and video performances and are willing to pay for the privilege, Stage+ is worth a look. Other services may offer even better streaming quality or a wider selection of labels, but Stage+ remains great for experiencing the music of legendary performers and ensembles, as well as that of new artists. You can access Stage+ via mobile apps, on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, and the web.
Symphony.live has one purpose, as its name implies: to offer video streams of orchestral music. It has an excellent catalog (though not as extensive as medici.tv’s) with contributions from esteemed groups such as the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig, the LA Phil, and the London Symphony Orchestra. We even found some 4K content. At $6.99 per month, Symphony.live costs less than most services here.
If you’re all about the symphonic repertoire and don’t care so much about opera and ballet, Symphony.live is a good choice. But if your classical needs extend to opera and ballet, or even to jazz or theater, you should look elsewhere. The service is available on all major platforms, including Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple, LG, Roku, and Samsung; however, it does not support Dolby Atmos content.
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Buying Guide: The Best Streaming Services for Classical Music in 2025
What Do Classical Music Video Streaming Services Offer?
A few services include classical concerts in the strictest sense, while others incorporate ballet, drama, opera, and even jazz performances. Some have live content, while others are strictly on-demand offerings. The sites generally cost less than Netflix, ranging from $6.99 to $12.99 per month. They also vary in terms of the platforms they support. So, if you’re intent on using a Fire TV app, that will affect your options.
Several orchestras and opera companies have dedicated on-demand or streaming sites, such as the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall ($195 per year), the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (free), and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (also free). For opera, check out Met Opera on Demand ($14.99 per month), OperaVision (free), and Staatsoper.TV from Munich (free).
If you’re more into jazz than classical, you can check out a couple of other sites. Jazz Live ($99.99 per year), despite its name, also has a healthy library of concerts from the vault. Another option is Oh! Jazz (200 euros per year).
Which Music Streaming Service Is Best for Classical?
You can get a bigger catalog and higher-resolution sound quality in your classical music if you forego the video. Since there are more factors to consider when choosing a piece of classical music to listen to than with popular music, these apps and services let you filter by composer, conductor, performer, soloist, and so on.
Idagio offers a free level, allowing anyone to enjoy its repertoire. Its $12.99-per-month Premium subscription gets you on-demand, ad-free listening at lossless CD quality. The service actually includes live video performances. You can pay for each concert separately or subscribe to the Premium Audio + Video plan for unlimited access. Qobuz doesn’t just offer classical music, but it also provides excellent tools for discovering the latest new recordings and streaming them in the highest audio quality available—even surpassing lossless CD quality. It also allows you to view the entire CD booklet in PDF format. Both Qobuz and Idagio pay performers based on the time spent listening, rather than streaming statistics.
Recommended by Our Editors
Apple bought and shut down Primephonic to use it as a starting point for the Apple Music Classical ($10.99 per month) service. Apple pays artists based on the number of streams rather than time, so performers of a symphony movement that lasts 40 minutes lose out on that platform compared with others.
