Spotify is undoubtedly one of the best audio streaming platforms as it offers a wide range of music and podcast discovery. Although Spotify has captured most of the market, Tidal Music has extra features like video content. Are you confused between these two music streaming platforms? We will discuss Spotify vs Tidal Music in this post.
Spotify is quite old compared to Tidal Music. But over the years, Tidal Music has evolved a lot compared to Spotify. You will find different artists and genres on both apps. Both offer features like offline listening, creating playlists, and more. Let’s compare each feature and see who wins the battle between Spotify and Tidal Music.
Spotify vs Tidal Music
It’s always difficult to choose between these two platforms. Let’s compare aspects such as price, content, quality and many other aspects of music streaming platforms. Let the battle between Spotify and Tidal Music begin:
Price and plans:
Spotify and Tidal have similar pricing and plans, but there is a slight difference. If you look at the graph below, you will have a clear understanding.
| platform | Free Plan | Individual | Family |
| Spotify | Yes | $9.99/month | $15.99/month |
| Tidal HiFi | Yes | $9.99/month | $14.99/month |
| Tidal HiFi Plus | At the | $19.99/month | $29.99/month |
You will get these features on both platforms:
- 30 days free trial.
- Ad-free music experience.
- Uninterrupted music.
- Access to all premium content.
- Download to listen offline.
Spotify charges $9.99/month for one person and $15.99/month for up to six people. On the other hand, Tidal offers two types of premium plans: Tidal HiFi and Tidal HiFi Plus. If you choose Tidal HiFi just for yourself, you will have to pay $9.99/month, similar to Spotify’s individual premium plan, and for the family plan, you will have to pay $14.99 monthly. The Tidal HiFi Plus plan is a little more expensive as you need to pay $19.99 per month for individuals and families; that price increases to $29.99 per month.
Spotify offers free music streaming feature although it has ads. Tidal doesn’t have certain types of features.
Spotify Premium offers a 320 kbps streaming experience, while Tidal supports 9216 kbps high-resolution audio. Here Tidal has a slight advantage.
Spotify allows you to import local files into your Spotify dashboard. However, you cannot do this on Tidal.
After analyzing all these facts, I can say that Spotify is a good option for free listening, and Tidal offers value for the subscription.
Content
Although Spotify is older than Tidal, both platforms have more than 85 million audios. These numbers are increasing every day.
The availability of Tidal’s high-resolution top tracks is increasing every day. It offers Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio technologies. On the other hand, Spotify has a non-stop supply of excellent podcasts with some content sponsored by Spotify.
Both platforms have almost all artists covered; It would be better to check the availability of your favorite artist on the specific platform.
Quality
Spotify has five audio quality settings:
- Automatic – depends on your internet speed.
- Low – 24 kbps
- Normal – 96 kbps
- High – 160 kbps
- Very high – 320 kbps
Tidal is one step ahead in this regard and offers:
- Normal – 96 kbps
- High – 320 kbps
- HiFi – 1411 kbps
- Master – up to 9216 kbps
- The main aspect of the audio streaming platform is the quality of the music, and Tidal undoubtedly wins this battle.
Discovery
Spotify is known for its good music recommendations. Artificial intelligence generated “Weekly Discovery” based on your recent listening activity. This playlist contains almost 30 songs. Spotify releases a playlist of new releases every week on Friday. With daily mixes and trending playlists, it’s safe to say that Spotify has great music discovery.
Tidal has been improving its music discovery. It creates playlists like My Mixes based on your listening habits. In the future it will provide more recommendations for sure. For now, Spotify is ahead of Tidal in music discovery.
User Interface
Both platforms have a very similar interface. The app and desktop versions have a good-looking dark theme. Easy navigation options help users to easily access all features.
You have a sidebar on the desktop version and the same feature on the mobile app below the screen. You can create playlists, listen to playlists, and do everything else it offers. To create a playlist, simply drag and drop the songs.
Spotify has a Your Library section; you can filter content by playlist, artist and album. Tidal offers the same functionality using a My Collection button.
Social sharing
Social sharing is an indispensable feature as everyone wants to share their favorite music. Spotify offers several ways to share a playlist with your friends. You can share the playlist or a song directly on Facebook or Instagram, and you can also copy the link and share it on other social networking sites. A listening party can also be organized on Spotify. You and your friends can contribute to creating a playlist.
On the other hand, Tidal has limited sharing features. You can only share music on Facebook and Instagram. There’s no option to create a playlist with your friends or organize a listening party.
Additional Resources
- Spotify has a sleep timer feature. It allows you to set the timer, and the songs will stop playing after that specific time. Tidal Music does not have this type of feature.
- You can use Spotify while browsing Google Maps or Waze. There is no need to turn off the music. Tidal is not compatible with Google Maps, but it is compatible with Waze.
- Spotify provides limited information about a song, while Tidal shows detailed descriptions. This feature can be useful if you want to know more about your favorite music.
- Spotify has a good AI-based search system. It will still produce results if you misspell the name of any song or artist. On the other hand, Tidal will not provide any results in this case.
- Availability is also a concern. Spotify is available in more countries than Tidal.
Spotify vs Tidal Music – Which one to choose?
Both apps are good in different aspects. Everything will depend on your needs. Tidal is, without a doubt, the best option if you want to listen to good quality music.
If you want to discover good music and some additional content, you can opt for Spotify.
If your budget is tight, the free version of Spotify will suit you. Tidal’s HiFi plus plan is a little pricey, but it’s worth it.
Spotify offers some additional features like importing local music and hosting a listening party, while Tidal doesn’t have that.
Conclusion
This was a detailed analysis of Spotify vs. TidalMusic. I covered all the different aspects in this post; the choice is now yours. I hope all your doubts have been clarified. Still, if you have any questions, leave a comment below.