Mixcloud

What Is Mixcloud?

Mixcloud is a London audio platform built for the formats that mainstream streaming handles badly: DJ mixes, radio shows and long-form audio. It started in 2008, when a DJ who uploaded an hour-long mix to a general site could expect a takedown notice. Mixcloud's founders, Nico Perez and Nikhil Shah, built the opposite model. It signs licensing arrangements and pays royalties to rights holders, so a mix can stay online legally.

The legal entity is Mixcloud Ltd, registered at Companies House under number 06710137 and incorporated in September 2008. In 2018 it raised roughly $11.5M in a round led by WndrCo, the Los Angeles media and technology holding company. Mixcloud's latest accounts state there is no overall controlling party, and the company is controlled by its board. WndrCo is a minority investor, which we disclose because it is a US holder. Mixcloud Ltd is the parent of Mixcloud Inc in Delaware and Mixcloud Spain SL, so the US entity is a subsidiary.

The company is small. Its accounts report an average of 35 employees in 2025. Mixcloud sits in EuropeanStack as a UK company under the "European" tier rather than the EU tier, and in the Music Streaming category beside SoundCloud and Deezer. SoundCloud is built around songs and independent artists. Mixcloud is built around sets and shows.

Key Features

Licensed long-form audio

The core feature is legal clarity. Mixes, radio shows and podcasts are published with licensing handled by the platform, and royalties flow to artists and rights holders. Listeners get tracklists, and Premium shows each track ID before playback. For DJs who have lost mixes to takedowns elsewhere, this is the reason to use Mixcloud at all.

Licensed live streaming

Pro subscribers can broadcast live with music rights covered. Mixcloud's own pages say users can stream music without takedowns, and that track identification compensates artists. Fans can tip during streams. The live page lists channels across drum and bass, house, soul and other genres, with audiences ranging from a handful of listeners to a few hundred.

Select subscriptions and tips

Creators can charge followers a monthly subscription through Mixcloud Select and receive tips, with payments processed by Stripe. Pricing is set per creator. This is the monetisation layer that lets a regular show become income, though payout depends entirely on audience size. We did not find an official revenue-share percentage, so check the current terms.

Audio quality and analytics

High-quality 160 kbps Opus audio is available to Pro uploaders, compared with 64 kbps standard. Pro also includes listener analytics showing trends and demographics, show scheduling, host tagging and private sharing links. These are practical tools for a resident DJ or station.

Apps and listening controls

Free listeners can stream through iOS and Android apps with ads. Premium removes ads, adds offline listening and unlimited replay, skip and rewind, and syncs the queue across devices.

Community and discovery

Listeners follow a DJ or a station and receive new sets, which suits habits built around weekly shows. The flip side is reach. A new creator has few ways to be found beyond the platform's own pages and social sharing, and the live page shows audiences measured in tens or hundreds, not thousands.

How it differs from SoundCloud and Deezer

SoundCloud is oriented toward individual tracks and independent artists. Deezer is a conventional catalogue service for released music. Mixcloud sits between them and the radio world, with sets and shows as the unit of content. If you want a catalogue of released songs, use Deezer. For a home for mixes, use Mixcloud.

Pricing

Mixcloud has three consumer-facing price points. Free listening is supported by ads. Premium costs EUR 6.99 per month plus tax, with ad-free playback, offline downloads and unlimited rewind. Pro, for creators, costs EUR 11 per month or EUR 8.25 per month billed annually, a 25 percent saving. Students get 50 percent off Pro through UNiDAYS.

Brands and stations buy custom packages that Mixcloud lists as starting at EUR 3,000 per month. Prices are geo-localised, so the euro figures here reflect what a visitor in Europe sees, and other regions will see different amounts.

The free creator tier is the main complaint. Under a change that took effect on 1 December 2020, Mixcloud capped the Basic tier at 10 shows and 5 tracks in total, not per month, with tracks limited to 15 minutes. Existing content over the cap moves to drafts rather than being deleted. In its announcement, Mixcloud said the cap lets it "continue subsidising creators" by hosting their content and paying royalties, a fair argument but a poor result for hobbyists. Limits can change, so confirm the current allowance before relying on the free tier.

Compared with SoundCloud, Mixcloud's Pro price is modest for what it covers. A working DJ who streams weekly will likely find EUR 8.25 a month good value.

EU Compliance & Privacy

Mixcloud is not an EU company, and it is not EU-hosted. It is a UK controller, Mixcloud Limited, so UK GDPR applies, and UK transfers currently benefit from an EU adequacy decision, renewed in December 2025. That is the favourable side.

The less favourable side is the privacy policy. It states that EEA data is transferred to countries including the United States under Standard Contractual Clauses, and it does not name a hosting region. The policy page still carries a May 2018 effective date, so it has not been refreshed in years. We therefore mark EU hosting as false.

Financial resilience deserves a plain mention too. The FY2025 accounts show net assets of GBP 1.17M, but the prior year was restated at minus GBP 243,436. The swing came from a policy change that capitalises development costs, not from trading profit. Net current liabilities were GBP 2.85M. Cash stood at GBP 3.64 million, and the directors affirm going concern. The accounts are unaudited, as small-company rules allow. Mixcloud is a long-running independent, but this is not a balance sheet that guarantees stability.

Who It's Best For

DJs and mix-makers. If your mixes get pulled from YouTube or SoundCloud, Pro at EUR 8.25 a month gives a licensed home for them.

Independent radio shows and stations. If you publish scheduled shows and want listener data, Mixcloud's tooling fits that workflow well.

Listeners who follow DJs and radio. If you want ad-free sets offline, Premium at EUR 6.99 is reasonable.

Gamers and large-audience streamers. If you want big live audiences or chat-driven entertainment, stay on Twitch. This platform serves music-only sets, not general streaming.

The Verdict

Mixcloud does one job well: it gives long-form music a licensed home. Pro is fairly priced, licensed live streaming is valuable for DJs, and the independent ownership structure is clean. There are clear downsides. The free creator cap is tight, audiences are small, EEA data goes to the US, the privacy policy is dated, and the finances are thin. Choose it if licensing is your pain point. Pick another platform if reach or data residency matters more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mixcloud free to use?

Yes for listening, with ads. Free creators can publish up to 10 shows and 5 tracks in total. Premium at EUR 6.99 a month removes ads, and Pro at EUR 11 monthly or EUR 8.25 billed annually adds unlimited uploads.

Is Mixcloud legal for DJ mixes?

Yes. Mixcloud licenses its catalogue and pays royalties to rights holders and artists, which is why DJ mixes and live sets stay online without the takedowns seen on general video platforms.

Is Mixcloud a European company?

The company is registered in London as Mixcloud Ltd, so it counts as European rather than EU. Its latest accounts state there is no overall controlling party. A US media holding company, WndrCo, invested in 2018 as a minority holder.

Where does Mixcloud store my data?

Mixcloud does not name a hosting region. Its privacy policy states that EEA data is transferred to countries including the United States under Standard Contractual Clauses, so treat it as not EU-hosted.

Can Mixcloud replace Twitch for DJ streaming?

For music-only DJ and radio streams, yes, because Pro includes licensed live streaming. Games, chat-driven entertainment or large audiences are a no. Mixcloud's live pages show listener counts from single digits to a few hundred.