MP3 Panda Review

MP3 Panda Screenshot

Our Rating:

Our Star Rating
Exceptional

User Rating:

User Star Rating
18 Reviews

Also Consider:

MP3Sale
MP3va
LegalSounds

The Scoop on MP3 Panda
MP3 Panda have been around since 2008 and are by far the most unusual site with their oriental site design, and who knew pandas liked mp3s? You learn something new everyday… The site is jazzy, colourful and full of music. The search box is easy to find and use, you can get to new releases, charts and genres all very easily. Our Verdict: The site is a breath of fresh air, something different with a nice design, it’s simple, does what you want it to and very easy to use. But best of all, it’s so cheap!

Signing Up
Signing up to MP3 Panda is very quick and easy, you just need an email address and a password and you can start downloading straight away. They do not offer newsletters or anything like that so you can’t be hassled too much like some mp3 sites do. MP3 Panda do not offer customers anything for signing up with them, just good old fashioned cheap mp3s! At 15¢ each, they are practically giving away their music anyway!

Payment Options and Offers
MP3 Panda take Visa as payment to your account. Their minimum top up varies on where you are, which is a little bit odd… If you are in the UK, you will see the minimum top up as $29.95, which is quite high, so you might be better off with a site like MP3va whose minimum top up is $14.95. If you are anywhere else, you will see the minimum as $20.00, so it’s a great deal, with songs being so cheap too! Either way, the minimum amount applies everytime you want to top up your account.

Prices
Track prices across the site are 15¢ each, making them one of the cheapest site out of all the sites we review! Most albums, however, are a set price at $1.49, so you can grab some real bargains!

Music Selection
MP3 Panda have over 2,485,700 tracks on the site to download; new, old, charts, rare, everything you can think of. MP3 Panda do not offer a music request service like other sites, but I’m sure if you asked they would do it! The site has extensive album art, some of the artist images are a bit wrong, but it always nice to have something to laugh at! The site allows previews of music to make sure you’re getting what you want. However, the preview is low quality, the actual download will be much better. MP3 Panda are one of the sites that offer ‘clean versions’ of tracks, so if you want clean tracks, MP3 Panda is the site for you.

Search Facility
MP3 Panda has a good search facility, the results are clear; it generally gives you what you searched for. It does seem to have trouble finding tracks, but as long as you know the artist or album it’s from it will more than likely find it for you. Once you have found what you want to download, you can buy individual tracks or the whole album. MP3 Panda do not offer an album discount, but they are very cheap so you’re not losing out.

Getting Tracks to your PC
MP3 Panda have a download manager that can help you with your downloads. Read about the manager, how to install it and how to use it here: MP3 Panda’s MP3 Downloader. You do not have to use their manager however. To get tracks from MP3 Panda to your pc, hit ‘download’ on the songs or album you want. As with most mp3 download websites, the mp3s you download are stored in your ‘Downloads’ section of your account which is found at the top of the site. From the downloads section, you need to click download again, this will save it to your pc. You will be asked where you want to save it to. It is best to save it either in ‘My Music’ or in ‘My Downloads’ on your pc. You can then use them as you would any other mp3 on your pc. They can be transferred to mp3 players, phones etc. Also, from the MP3 Panda ‘downloads’ section, you can see all your previously downloaded tracks, so you can re-download them if you lose the originals, or just see what you bought and when. However, albums only stay on your account for 48 hours, so make sure you download them from the site within this time, or you will need to re-download them.

File formats & Bitrates
Quality on MP3 Panda is varied, it goes up and down and there doesn’t seem to be a medium. One album may have qualities ranging from as low as 120kbps to 150kbps, other albums may be much better at 256kbps for each track. This doesn’t seem to match the age of the tracks or albums either, it’s not as if older albums are poor quality and all new ones are high, it is just completely random. So, be careful when you are downloading. Don’t just click ‘Download Album’ without having a quick scan of the qualities on the album, as 120kbps is low for an mp3 and you might be better off with a different mp3 site. See full descriptions of: DRM Free Music and Quality

Will it work with my iPod/iTunes?
Yes, downloads from MP3 Panda will work on your iTunes, iPod and anything else you have. All music is DRM free so it can be played on any mp3 device you have and there is no limit to how many copies you can keep lying around. Read how to put you’re downloads into your iTunes Library here: iTunes Guide.

Just music?
MP3 Panda lists audiobooks as well as mp3s.


Star Rating
Reviewed By: erbtx1
Date: 20th December 2009
Great site.
I was very sceptical at first and did as much research as I could on this site. After deciding it was safe and legal I went for it.
I am a rabid collector of music so I was like a kid in a candy store. Only hitch so far was when I hit 1000 downloads, the downloader seems to have stopped working.
I still have full access and don't get an error message but nothing happens when i try an download something.
I'm waiting on a response to fix this problem. But otherwise, even if I lose the $8 I have left it would be completely worth it. I've downloaded almost a 100 albums for $30.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Sophie
Date: 5th January 2010
I topped up $25 and got $25 free in their Christmas/new year offer. I've only managed to use about $10 so far though, it lasts forever and I've been downloading like mad :)

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Francisco
Date: 16th January 2010
I have been with MP3Panda for about a year and its a great service. I download about 1000 songs a week and they have a wide array of music. They also have many exclusives that you will not find any other place including retail stores. The only con is that they do not update every week. Sometimes 2 months go by without an update which for me is detrimental. If you want to build your collection, this is the place for you.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Greg
Date: 14th January 2010
MP3 panda its a great site. I've been using the site since October 2009. So far I ve downloaded 100's of albums. I recommend it.

Low lights:
Takes some few weeks before u get the newly released albums

Register now and enjoy downloading

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Kevin
Date: 13th February 2010
I just started a mp3Panda account from the US, and apparently now the min top up from the US is $29.95, not $20.00. Not complaining, just letting all know that mp3Obsession hasn't updated the new price in their review. Gonna rate mp3Panda a 3 star for now, just because I haven't begun to use it yet. A new rating will be coming soon.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Steve
Date: 7th February 2010
I just started with this website today and it is great! have downloaded about 4 albums and all are good quality. The only thing right now is I am not sure how to get to the free album download of the day as mentioned on this review website. Said can be found on home page but I cannot find it. Any advise would be appreciated. Definitely no complaints here :)


reply from mp3obsession.com:
The MP3 Panda free album of the day has been replaced by a current offer. As soon as the offer is over, the free album will be back as a regular feature. Find out more about the MP3 Panda Offer here.


Star Rating
Reviewed By: Brandon
Date: 13th March 2010
I didn't think it was legal at how cheap the songs were, but i couldn't find any review that said it was illegal so i tried it out.

So far i've spent about $8 and i got over 140 songs, even though the free album everyday isn't in effect right now. Your money lasts forever here.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: pommybob
Date: 24th April 2010
It started out OK, but the prices have doubled. Very slow with new releases compared with other sites, heaven help you if you like alternate music

Star Rating
Reviewed By: marty keegan
Date: 28th March 2010
I've been using this site for a while now, I used their predecessor mp3fiesta before, and I LOVE it.
With albums at between 50c and $1.50 I've downloaded all sorts of stuff that I would never have thought of listening to before, like musicals and country.


Star Rating
Reviewed By: jsand
Date: 30th March 2010
love it! its a must have

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Tony
Date: 12th April 2010
Absolutely love this site! Can't get enough of it and am really glad I do not have to use iTunes no More.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: LLagno
Date: 16th May 2010
Excellent website for their selection and ease of use. I am a lifetime member. My only issues are the amount of time between uploaded songs. Other sites like MP3va; Iomio and Millisong update six or seven times before MP3Panda updates. The only other thing is I have an iMac and cannot use the downloader. At one point I was downloading the maximum 500 songs per day and this was quite a headache. At this point, however, I'm not near that volume and can deal with the extra work. Overall....hooray for all of these websites!

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Michael
Date: 14th May 2010
The routine for adding funds did not work at all, nor did it "re-direct to your bank" like it said it would. I'll be watching my credit card bill for unauthorised payments.

(follow up)

I complained on their support page about the problem I had making payment and they responded in under and hour to tell me that they had "done something to" my account and I should try again.

Well I logged in again and it worked! Cheap and good quality mp3s, so I can't complain now.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Sash
Date: 19th February 2010
Heard about this from a friend and was happy with the reviews I had been reading so went for it and am so happy now! Love the Panda.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Panda Bear
Date: 21st April 2010
Songs seem to take a while to come out on this site, maybe a few days late but apart from that am a avid user.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Lady Lisa
Date: 28th March 2010
Switch from GoMusicNow and I have to say! Thanks god!

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Tina
Date: 16th March 2010
Can't seem to find the free album of the day but albums are near as free :) No complaints and very happy.

Star Rating
Reviewed By: Tim B
Date: 20th April 2010
My favorite site here because of their downloader, this makes downloading hundreds of songs viable and fun.

Used to be with GoMusic but am a well kept happy customer now.

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Summary:

Track Price:
Min Top Up:

Album Discount:
Registration Bonus:
Music Library:
Payment Methods:
0.15¢
$20.00

20%
None
2,485,700
Visa

The Good:

MP3 Panda is a cheap music download site. They also have a lot of good offers where you can get lots of great freebies.

The Bad:

The minimum top up is higher than other sites and they recently removed the 'Free Daily Album' feature, but this has been replaced with other offers.