Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Music Distribution Platforms

RouteNote vs Horus Music

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 3 checks side by side
Higher score RouteNote #3 in Music Distribution Platforms 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit RouteNote

RouteNote leads on 1 check, Horus Music on 0, and 2 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 3 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreRouteNote · 9.1/10
  • Free planonly RouteNote

RouteNote scores higher on our rubric for music distribution platforms: 9.1 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #5.

RouteNote offers free plan; Horus Music doesn't. On release limit, Horus Music gives you Unlimited where RouteNote offers Per_release. On royalty model, RouteNote gives you Mixed where Horus Music offers Full.

RouteNote is the better fit for budget-conscious artists testing distribution. Horus Music is the better fit for artists and small labels wanting full royalties.

  • RouteNote fits best

    Budget-conscious artists testing distribution

  • Horus Music fits best

    Artists and small labels wanting full royalties

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature RouteNote 9.1/10 Visit ↗ Horus Music 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.1 8.9
Ranking #3 in Music Distribution Platforms #5 in Music Distribution Platforms
Best for Budget-conscious artists testing distribution Artists and small labels wanting full royalties
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price — £20/yr
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web
Support Email, Tickets, Docs Email, Phone
Integrations 17 integrations 7 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features RouteNote 2/2 · Horus Music 2/2
Publishing administration ✓ ✓
YouTube Content ID ✓ ✓
Specs
Artist limit Not checked yet One
Release limit Per_release Unlimited
Royalty model Mixed Full
Store count Not checked yet 100 stores
Payout schedule Monthly Monthly
Our review
Pros
  • Free plan with no upfront distribution fee
  • Distributes to stores, social platforms, and YouTube
  • Content ID, publishing administration, and monthly payouts
  • 100% royalties on the artist distribution package
  • Unlimited releases with delivery to more than 150 platforms
  • Royalty splits, label profiles, publishing and sync licensing
Cons
  • Free plan keeps 15% of net revenue
  • Premium releases have annual renewal fees from the following year
  • Access is limited to the web
  • No free plan; annual and one-time paid options only
  • Artist & Label Services is invite-only with bespoke revenue sharing
  • The service is available through the web platform
Our verdict

RouteNote is a digital music distribution service for independent artists and labels. It lets users upload releases, select stores and territories, and distribute music to streaming services, download stores, social platforms, and YouTube.…

Read the review →

Horus Music is a paid music distribution, publishing and label-services company for independent artists, bands, DJs, producers, songwriters and record labels. Its distribution offering covers unlimited singles, EPs and albums, with…

Read the review →
  1. RouteNoteMusic Distribution Platforms 9.1Free plan
  2. Horus MusicMusic Distribution Platforms 8.9Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • RouteNote — where it wins

    • Free plan with no upfront distribution fee
    • Distributes to stores, social platforms, and YouTube
    • Content ID, publishing administration, and monthly payouts

    Where it doesn't

    • Free plan keeps 15% of net revenue
    • Premium releases have annual renewal fees from the following year
    • Access is limited to the web
  • Horus Music — where it wins

    • 100% royalties on the artist distribution package
    • Unlimited releases with delivery to more than 150 platforms
    • Royalty splits, label profiles, publishing and sync licensing

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan; annual and one-time paid options only
    • Artist & Label Services is invite-only with bespoke revenue sharing
    • The service is available through the web platform

More comparisons

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update