Four tools cover almost every "what song is this?" moment in 2026: Shazam, SoundHound, Google (Hum to Search, Circle to Search and YouTube Music) and AHA Music. They all identify a recording that is playing nearby. Where they differ is everything else: humming, cover versions, songs inside a YouTube or TikTok link, audio on a desktop computer, and long files with several tracks.
This comparison was reviewed on 24 October 2026. Prices and limits are the ones published on each product's own pages on that date.
Summary
- Shazam is the quickest app for a song playing out loud, and its Chrome extension identifies audio in a browser tab. It cannot identify humming, and it only matches the original recording, so covers and live versions usually fail.
- SoundHound is the long-standing choice for humming or singing a melody on a phone. It is an app, not a website, and the free version shows ads.
- Google is the most convenient option if you already have an Android phone: Circle to Search identifies playing or hummed songs with a long press, and the Google app and YouTube Music accept humming too. There is no desktop or file-upload path.
- AHA Music is the only one of the four that runs as a website: it records, accepts humming, identifies cover and live versions, scans uploaded files and YouTube / TikTok / Instagram / X links with timestamps, and has a Chrome and Edge extension. It is free with daily limits and a paid Pro tier.
Comparison table
| Feature | Shazam | SoundHound | AHA Music | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identify a song playing nearby | Yes | Yes | Yes (Circle to Search, Google app, Pixel Now Playing) | Yes |
| Hum, whistle or sing | No | Yes | Yes (Hum to Search) | Yes |
| Cover or live version → original song | No (fingerprint only) | Partly (via melody matching) | Partly (via melody matching) | Yes (cover song engine) |
| Paste a YouTube / TikTok / Instagram / X link | No | No | No | Yes, every song with timestamps |
| Upload an audio or video file | No | No | No | Yes, up to 2 GB, Full File Scan |
| Desktop / browser audio | Chrome extension, macOS app | No | No | Website plus Chrome and Edge extension |
| Works without installing anything | No (app or extension) | No (app) | Needs the Google app or an Android phone | Yes, in any browser |
| AI-generated music detection | No | No | No | Yes |
| BPM and key | No | No | No | Yes, on-device |
| Price | Free, no ads | Free with ads; paid tier removes them | Free | Free with ads and daily limits; Pro $4.99/month or $39.99/year |
| Recognition engine | Shazam (Apple) | SoundHound | ACRCloud, 100M+ tracks |
"Partly" for covers means the tool may find a cover if you hum the melody yourself, but it has no mode that listens to a cover recording and returns the original.
Shazam
Shazam, owned by Apple, is the default answer for a song playing on a speaker, in a shop or on TV. Tap once, wait a few seconds, get the title and an Apple Music link. It is free and has no ads. The Chrome extension "Shazam: Find song names from your browser" identifies audio playing in the current tab, which covers Netflix, YouTube and Twitch on a computer.
Where it stops: Shazam uses audio fingerprinting only. It needs the actual recording, so humming does nothing and a cover, live or karaoke version usually returns "No result". There is no way to give it a video link or a file.
Best for: iPhone users who want one tap for music playing out loud, and desktop users who are happy with a tab-audio extension.
SoundHound
SoundHound built its reputation on one feature Shazam never added: identifying a song you hum, sing or whistle. It runs a fingerprint match for playing music and a second engine that compares your melody against a catalogue of vocal lines. The app also shows live lyrics and accepts voice commands.
Where it stops: SoundHound is a phone app. The web version at midomi.com was retired in February 2025, so there is no browser path and nothing for desktop audio, links or files. The free app shows ads between searches.
Best for: People who mostly need humming on a phone and do not mind installing an app.
Google: Hum to Search, Circle to Search and YouTube Music
Google has folded song identification into tools most Android users already have. In the Google app, tap the microphone and choose "Search a song", then play, hum or sing it for 10–15 seconds. Circle to Search adds a music button that identifies what is playing on or around the phone with a long press of the navigation bar, and the same hum-to-search flow has been in YouTube Music since July 2024. Pixel phones go further with Now Playing, which recognises nearby music offline.
Where it stops: Everything is built around the phone. There is no website, no file upload, no video-link scanning and no desktop version. Google's humming catalogue is also separate from a full fingerprint database: at launch Google described it as covering over half a million songs, and it does not publish a current figure.
Best for: Android users who want zero extra apps, and anyone whose question is "what song is this on my phone right now?".
AHA Music
AHA Music is the browser-first option. Open aha-music.com, tap Record for a song playing nearby or switch to Hum / Cover mode to hum it. The same Hum / Cover mode is what sets it apart from the other three: play a cover, live or karaoke recording to it and the cover song engine recognises the composition and returns the original title and artist, which fingerprint-only tools cannot do.
Beyond live audio, it takes the two inputs none of the others accept: a file (up to 2 GB, with a Full File Scan that lists every song and its position in a DJ mix or podcast) and a video link from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or X, returning every track with a clickable timestamp. The Chrome and Edge extension identifies audio in any tab and falls back to cover-song identification automatically. Two extra tools, an AI Music Detector and an on-device BPM & Key Finder, have no equivalent in Shazam, SoundHound or Google.
Where it stops: Free use is ad-supported and metered. Site recognition (microphone, humming, file) is free for everyone with a daily fair-use limit; extension scans, AI detections and video-link minutes have smaller daily allowances for guests, larger ones with a free account, and monthly allowances on Pro ($4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, no ads). There is no native phone app; it runs in the mobile browser instead. Current limits are listed on the pricing page.
Best for: Desktop users, anyone with a link or a file rather than live audio, and anyone trying to name the original behind a cover.
Which one should you use?
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| A song is playing in a café and you have an iPhone | Shazam |
| A song is playing and you have an Android phone | Circle to Search (Google) |
| You can only hum it, on a phone | SoundHound, Google Hum to Search or AHA Music in the mobile browser |
| You can only hum it, on a computer | AHA Music |
| You heard a cover or live version and want the original | AHA Music (Hum / Cover mode) |
| The song is in a YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or X video | AHA Music (paste the link) |
| You have an MP3 or a recorded mix with several songs | AHA Music (upload, Full File Scan) |
| Music is playing in a browser tab on your computer | AHA Music extension or Shazam Chrome extension |
| You want to know whether a track was made by AI | AHA Music (AI Music Detector) |
Q&A
Can Shazam identify a song by humming?
No. Shazam matches audio fingerprints of the original recording. For humming, use SoundHound, Google Hum to Search or AHA Music.
Which song identifier works on a PC without an app?
AHA Music runs as a website in any browser and also offers a Chrome and Edge extension for tab audio. Shazam has a Chrome extension but no website; SoundHound and Google's hum tools are phone-only.
Which tool finds the original song from a cover?
AHA Music's Hum / Cover mode listens to the cover and returns the original composition. SoundHound and Google can sometimes get there if you hum the melody yourself; Shazam cannot.
Can any of these find a song inside a YouTube or TikTok video from the link?
Only AHA Music. Paste the URL and it lists every song in the video with timestamps. The others need the audio to be playing out loud or in a browser tab.
Are they free?
Shazam and Google are free. SoundHound is free with ads and sells an ad-free tier. AHA Music is free with ads and daily limits, with a Pro plan at $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year.
Which has the biggest music database?
None of the four publishes a directly comparable number. AHA Music uses ACRCloud's catalogue of more than 100 million fingerprinted tracks; Shazam, SoundHound and Google describe their catalogues as covering tens of millions of songs or more without giving exact figures.