SiriusXM 2025 Review: Is satellite radio worth it?

Let’s talk about SiriusXM Radio.

If you aren’t aware, SiriusXM Radio is a satellite radio service that provides a wide variety of audio entertainment, including music, talk shows, news, sports, and exclusive content, to subscribers across North America.

Unlike traditional radio, which relies on local broadcast towers, SiriusXM broadcasts its signals from satellites, allowing for a much broader coverage area and a more consistent listening experience.

Most cars that have been manufactured in the last 15 years actually have a built-in receiver for SiriusXM. That means you could be listening to it in your car right now. But, there’s a catch. Unlike traditional radio, satellite radio is a paid service.

SiriusXM began operating its satellite radio service in the early 2000s, and despite being at risk of going out of business at times, it has found its foothold in the music and radio industry over the last few years.

And in the last few years, they’ve taken their radio service beyond just satellites and have gone to the internet to offer radio, podcasts, and even video.

One of the questions that comes up is whether satellite radio is worth it when most people already have a subscription to a music streaming service. Like, when we have Spotify and Apple Music, does it make sense to have SiriusXM?

Let’s explore that concept with a look at SiriusXM.

Pricing

Let’s start with the brass tax, which is pricing. I think anyone who wants to explore adding satellite radio is going to want to know what it costs.

I’m going to break down pricing for both the US and Canada since the service is available in both places.

The base plan is the All Music plan, at about $9.99 in the US. In this plan, you get 80 channels in the car, and about 100 in total, including app-only channels. In Canada, the plan is slightly different, as it includes some news and talk radio, and it runs for $16.80. 

If you want more news, talk shows, comedy, and sports talk, you can get the More Than Music plan in the US, which runs between $14.99 and $22.99 per month, depending on which add-ons you select. With this plan, you’re getting roughly 155 channels in the car, and 400 in total, including the app-only channels. In Canada, it’s called the Music & Entertainment plan, and it runs for $22.80 per month. 

If you want access to everything, consider All Access in the US for $24.98 per month. This will give you roughly 160 channels in the car and a total of 425, including app-only channels. In Canada, the plan is called Platinum, and it runs for $28.80 per month.

Now I know it’s called Satellite radio, but as it turns out, you can get a streaming-only plan, meaning you can access the SiriusXM service on your phone or computer, but not in the car. In both Canada and the US, the All Access streaming-only plan comes in at $9.99 per month.

Satellite Radio vs Streaming Music

So right off the bat, SiriusXM has a tough hill to climb, given that you can get a Spotify plan for $11.99. I mean, Spotify works in your car. Just connect your phone to Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and you’re in business, right?

Well, not quite.  There are two key differentiators when it comes to satellite radio. One is the keyword, satellite. Satellite radio works even when you don’t have cell coverage, meaning you can continue to listen to your music even when driving through vast mountain ranges or desolate rural areas. The other advantage of satellite radio is that it offers a radio service rather than a playlist or song service. There’s a certain ease to simply selecting a radio station and just enjoying what’s on, or at least browsing channels until you find something you like. There’s a decent amount of effort required to decide what you want to listen to on services like Spotify or Apple Music, especially in the car. You’re driving, so you often don’t want to spend a lot of time figuring out your music or entertainment. And that’s exactly why I think these services are not necessarily competitors, but in some cases, complementary. Many people, including myself, have both satellite radio and a music streaming service.

In-Car Experience

So, since it works so well in the car, let’s take a look at the in-car experience.

In your car, you’ll probably notice the satellite source option. That’s SiriusXM. You’ll need to be subscribed to browse any channels, but if you’re not subscribed, you’ll be able to see and pick the SiriusXM Preview channel, which is channel 1. It essentially serves as a constant advertisement for you to purchase SiriusXM. But since I’m subscribed, I can see the entire channel list.

You can browse through all the channels by simply scrolling through them. With so many channels, that might be a bit tiresome, though, so you can also browse by category. In the category list, I’ve got

• Pop

• Rock

• Hip-Hop

• R&B

• Dance

• Electronic

• Country

• Christian

• Jazz

• Latino

• Family

• Sports

• MLB

• NHL

• College Sports

• Comedy

• Entertainment

• News

• Politics

• Religion

• Canadian (since I'm in Canada)

Within each category, you can view the channels that fall under it.

Just like normal radio, you can also have presets or favourites. That allows you to quickly select or flip through your favourite channels. In my particular vehicle, I can select up to 36 presets. If I’m listening to a station I want to keep in rotation, I can select Presets, choose the preset number I want, and then hold it down to lock it in.

Some vehicles also offer advanced features like the ability to save favourite artists and songs. This allows you to receive alerts when those artists or songs are playing on any SiriusXM channel, making it easier to catch your preferred content without constantly scanning channels. I’m showing this footage from my previous vehicle since my latest one doesn’t support this function. You’ll need to see for yourself whether this feature is available in your car. 

If your vehicle doesn’t have a built-in SiriusXM receiver, you can still get the service in your car by purchasing a vehicle kit. This kit typically includes a dedicated satellite radio receiver and an interface that connects to your car's sound system, often through the auxiliary port. This allows you to listen to SiriusXM through your car's speakers, even without a factory-installed unit.

The In-App Experience

So that’s how it works in the car, but as I mentioned off the top, the satellite radio company has now moved onto the internet. Sirius has an app for smartphones and tablets, and it also works on your computer through your browser. Plus, it has direct integration with your smart home speakers.

Within the app, there are several ways to navigate around. There’s a Discover tab, a Channels tab, as well as a search and a library. Within Discover, there are categories on the top like For You, Music, Talk & Podcasts, Sports, and Howard, as in Howard Stern, Sirius’s exclusive talk radio host who’s massively popular. The For You tab provides you with recommendations for channels, music, and even talk show episodes.

One of the interesting things about the app is that you can listen to past episodes of prominent talk shows, such as those from sports and news channels. They label it as shows and podcasts, which are available on demand. But essentially, you can browse through the recommended listening, channels, recents, shows and podcasts, and explore the different categories.

The channels tab is pretty much the same as browsing through the channels in the car, allowing you to browse all channels or channels within certain categories. Though in the app, remember there are hundreds more channels available. The additional channels are usually even more niche than what’s in the car, which means there’s something for everybody. Like you can listen to Alt Nation in the car, but in the app, you can listen to Alt Nation Advanced Placement, Alt2K, Dad Rock, Happy Rock, and a bunch more.

Most of the additional channels in the app are called Xtra channels, which are easy enough for Sirius to spin up. They’re essentially automated channels that are programmed but not hosted. They’re actually a great choice if you want just music and no hosts interrupting the tunes.

In the app, just like in the car, you can browse the channel categories, but there are even more available to pick from, with options like 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, Classical, Deep Cuts, Focus, Global, Happy, Instrumentals, New Music Discovery, Party, Relax, Sleep, Workout, and more. Within each category, there are several channels, sometimes more than two dozen. It’s truly staggering, really.

In the Library tab, you can save your favourite channels, shows, artists, and sports teams. You can even download talk shows and podcasts and keep them in your library for offline use.

But you’re not limited to the app. You can also use SiriusXM with your Google Home or Amazon Echo devices. All you have to do is link your account. Once linked, you can use voice commands to control SiriusXM playback on your smart speaker or smart display. You can ask the Assistant to play a specific channel by name, for example: "Play Pop2K on SiriusXM." On smart displays, there’s usually a visual interface that shows you what’s playing and provides a few other channel recommendations. This is a really great feature because most of us have some kind of smart speaker in our house. It’s definitely a big additional bonus included in the service.

So, what do I think of SiriusXM?

Honestly, I actually think it's a great service. I think it's often overlooked by people because they already have Spotify or Apple Music, or because they just listen to FM radio in their car. But I also know most people who end up taking the service really enjoy it. You just get a different experience from your standard radio station, and a lot more selection. Plus, it's easier than finding something to listen to on your music streaming service. When you’re in the car, you just want a hassle-free experience. On top of all that, you get the added benefit of listening to your satellite radio almost anywhere in North America, even in places where cell service doesn’t work and no standard radio stations are available.. And if that’s not enough, you can also listen online, through the app, or on your smart speakers.

The one caveat to my assessment is just that it is priced a little high, especially for the higher-tier packages, which are north of $20. I do know that Sirius often will give out introductory offers or even loyalty offers if you ask, so it might be worth looking into. I believe they also have free trials if you’ve never used it before. But I’m not a SiriusXM salesperson, I’m just a reviewer who thinks it's a solid overall service.

Exploring Tech together,

Paul