Free Spotify Alternative: Build Your Own Music and Radio Playlist With M3U

Spotify raised its prices again in 2026, and songs still vanish from playlists when licences run out - but a plain-text playlist format from the 1990s costs nothing and belongs to you.

Vintage hi-fi receiver and a laptop showing a playlist file on a wooden desk, with headphones in front

It is called an M3U file: a simple text list of songs and streams, one per line.

Radio stations, YouTube music, IPTV channels and your own MP3s can all sit in the same list.

Here is how to build one in an afternoon with five free tools, and which player to open it in.

The honest trade.

Spotify still wins on catalogue, offline downloads and discovery. An M3U playlist wins on price, privacy and control - no fee, no algorithm, and a list nobody can change behind your back.

You own the list, not the music. YouTube videos can be taken down and radio stations change their links, so a playlist needs a quick check now and then.

The Five Free Tools

Step	Tool	What it does
1. Find	M3U Finder or X Radio Stream Finder	Finds radio stations and public IPTV channels
2. Convert	YouTube to M3U	Turns YouTube playlists into M3U entries
3. Build	M3U Playlist Builder	Names, orders and groups everything
4. Check	M3U Checker	Finds and removes dead links
5. Play	mpv, VLC or Kodi	Plays the finished list

The four web tools run in your browser with no account, and nothing you add is uploaded.

Step 1 - Find the Streams

M3U Finder searches the Radio Browser community database of more than 30,000 stations by country, genre or language. Type jazz, BBC or your own city, then copy the stream link that comes back.

It also opens any public M3U playlist you paste in, including the popular iptv-org lists. Filter by group, then export only the channels you want.

On Windows, X Radio Stream Finder runs the same radio search as a desktop app, keeps a My Stations favourites list and exports straight to M3U8 or PLS. It also pulls out the direct stream link that many station websites hide inside their own player.

Step 2 - Add Music From YouTube

YouTube to M3U turns a YouTube playlist, Mix, channel or single video into an M3U file with titles, durations and thumbnails.

Nothing is downloaded - the file holds the YouTube links, and your player fetches each video when you press play. Channels bring in the latest 100 uploads, and very large playlists stop at about 200 entries.

VLC no longer plays YouTube links.

VLC's developers removed its built-in YouTube support in May 2026 because it had stopped working. For YouTube entries, use mpv with yt-dlp - Step 5 shows how.

Step 3 - Build and Organise

Paste everything you collected into the M3U Playlist Builder. Rename entries, drag them into order, add logo links and sort them into groups such as Morning Coffee, Late Night or News.

A built-in player lets you test each stream before you save. When you are done, export in the format your player prefers:

M3U - the most compatible choice for almost every player.
M3U8 - the same list saved as UTF-8, so Arabic, Cyrillic or Chinese station names stay readable.
PLS - for classic radio players such as Winamp.
XSPF - for VLC and Rhythmbox.

Step 4 - Check Every Link

Radio stations move their streams and videos get taken down, so every playlist decays a little over time. M3U Checker tests each link straight from your browser and marks it Online, Reachable, Timeout or Offline.

Reachable means the server answered but browser security hid the details, and those links usually play fine. Export Working M3U keeps only the good entries - run it again every few weeks.

Marked Offline but you think it works? Some servers block browser checks but accept media players, so paste the link into VLC under Media, Open Network Stream before you delete it.

Step 5 - Pick the Right Player

Which player to use depends on what is in your list.

Player	Radio, IPTV and local files	YouTube entries
mpv with yt-dlp	Yes	Yes
VLC	Yes	No, since May 2026
Kodi	Yes, as an IPTV source with channel logos	Only with a yt-dlp add-on
IPTV apps such as TiviMate	Yes	No

For a mixed list, mpv is the one player that plays every entry. Download yt-dlp, put yt-dlp.exe in the same folder as mpv, then open your playlist:

mpv playlist.m3u

YouTube changes often, so update yt-dlp now and then by running yt-dlp -U.

For radio, IPTV and your own music files, VLC is still the easiest choice - Media, Open File, and pick your playlist. On a TV, Kodi loads the same file as an IPTV source with channel logos.

What You Gain - and What You Give Up

No monthly fee. Price rises and family-plan rule changes stop being your problem.
No algorithm. You hear what you picked, in the order you picked it.
One list for everything. Radio, YouTube, IPTV and local MP3s side by side, which no subscription allows.
A file you keep. It is a few kilobytes of text that you can copy to any device or back up anywhere.
What you give up. Offline downloads, a huge catalogue with recommendations, and a guarantee that every link keeps working.

Quick questions

Is it legal to build a playlist like this?

Yes, as long as the links point at legal sources such as public radio streams, official YouTube uploads and free public IPTV channels. The playlist only stores links, much like a list of bookmarks.

Can VLC play a YouTube playlist?

Not any more. VLC's developers removed its YouTube support in May 2026 because it had stopped working, so use mpv with yt-dlp for YouTube entries.

What is the difference between M3U and M3U8?

M3U8 is the same format saved as UTF-8, which keeps station names in Arabic, Cyrillic or Chinese readable. Streaming video also uses .m3u8 files for HLS streams.

Do I need an account for these tools?

No. M3U Finder, YouTube to M3U, the Playlist Builder and M3U Checker all run in your browser, and X Radio Stream Finder is a free Windows app.

Will my playlist keep working forever?

The list will, but not every link in it. Stations change their streams and videos get removed, so run M3U Checker every few weeks and replace what has gone.

Can I play it on my phone or TV?

Radio and IPTV entries play in VLC on phones and in IPTV apps on smart TVs. YouTube entries are easiest on a computer with mpv and yt-dlp.

The bottom line

One afternoon and five free tools give you a music and radio playlist with no subscription, no account and no algorithm. Built one? Tell us what went into yours.