Tidal vs. Spotily: Which is Better for Music Lovers?

The wide variety of music services in streaming makes us ask which one is worth more when playing. There are lots of services, including Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more, that allows you to access various music resource. So, it is not easy to decide which one is better. But today, here we'll make a comparison between Spotify and Tidal.

Spotify is one of the undisputed kings of the sector. Especially if we take into accounts its extensive catalog with more 70 million songs and 3 million podcasts, or its clean and simple interface. However, the truth is that Tidal can rival Spotify's height, or overcome it on several points as we will see below.

Tidal, another global music streaming platform, brings fans closer to artists through unique experiences and the highest sound quality. Its key point that differentiates it greatly from Spotify is that it offers music to the same quality that we have in the CDs. That is at 44.1 kHz, 16 bits and a bit rate of 1,411 kbps, about four times that of Spotify.

If you are undecided and want to know if you prefer Tidal or Spotify, don't stop reading. We will compare detail in detail these two streaming music services in this post. Let's check out now!

Part 1. Spotify vs Tidal: Step-by-step Comparison

Here we'll compare Spotify and Tidal from varying sides, including the user interface, sound quality, music library, subscriptions plans, and compatibility.

Spotify vs Tidal: User Interface

Spotify and Tidal are very similar at the design level. It seems that Tidal is a clone of Spotify. The interface of both is very clean and invites you to start looking for music of all kinds right away. Both have tabs to explore, search, or library. What the latter lacks are a Radio tab. Here Spotify plays its cards very well, with different personalized lists with the music related to the one we listen to. Or different recommended stations with the artists that we usually click on the service.

As we find in Tidal, within Explore, artists or albums suggested based on our tastes. The truth is that in this section is something poorer than his rival, which is much faster and smarter in this regard. Also, both Spotify and Tidal can find music by genre or be depending on our mood. Of course, Spotify shows something more visual with music lists created for different times. Here you can also find news or videos.

It seems that Tidal gives more priority in genres and moods to recommendations, new songs and albums added to the service. Also, to those who have been in the history of music for a long time and who deserve a remember. In this sense, especially if you give more priority to find new music or remember old classics, Tidal takes the prize. If, on the other hand, you prefer a service that recommends music lists according to your tastes, Spotify is yours. We can say that Tidal is more worked on what to find new jewels.

Verdict: A draw

Spotify vs Tidal: Sound Quality

If you're worried about the sound quality and you want to enjoy the best, we must tell you that here Tidal wins by far. And it is that this service has a more expensive HiFi subscription based on FLAC, the same quality that we have in the CDs. This means that we can enjoy a song or album at 44.1 kHz, 16 bits and a bit rate of 1411 kbps. As we said at the beginning of the article, it is about four times the best quality of Spotify.

For the rest, and removing this HiFi subscription, Spotify and Tidal behave the same. Both have a normal quality at 96 kbit/s, a high quality at 160 kbit/s, or a maximum quality at 320 kbit/s. It can also be adjusted so that it becomes automatic, depending on the network to which we are connected.

Verdict: Tidal wins

Spotify vs Tidal: Music Library

It is true that Spotify is a great streaming music services with a large music library of more than 70 million songs and 2.6 million podcasts. However, Tidal, starting its career in 2014, currently has over 80 million songs. It is a very striking differences, which may end up convincing us if we opt for one or the other.

For the benefit of Tidal, we'll say, in addition, that it offers more than 350,000 videos in HD quality, as well as the exclusive content of different renowned artists. Since it is the first online music service owned by artists, we find content by Beyoncé, Kanye West, Rihanna, or Jay-Z. It is easy to find concerts and other videos in Tidal that cannot be seen on other platforms.

Verdict: Tidal wins

Spotify vs Tidal: Subscription Plans

When it comes to the subscription plan of Spotify and Tidal, it is easy to decide for users. Spotify offers its most of services to people for free. So, you can use a free version of Spotify to listen to music while you must have a premium account to access Tidal's music library on your device. In this aspect, Spotify would win.

Besides, Spotify launches different subscription plans for users. For its part, Spotify has several price plans tailored to each customer. It has a normal premium for 9.99 dollars per month, which is the same as Tidal. Another Family Member is also available for 15.99 dollars per month or Duo Member is for 12.99 dollars per month. But Tidal HiFi Plus is for 19.99 dollars per month.

Verdict: Spotify wins

Spotify vs Tidal: Compatibility

Both Spotify and Tidal are available on lots of devices like smartphone, computer, tablet, smartwatches and more. In addition, you can use Spotify with Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay, as well as Tidal. To play music in the car, you can also use both Spotify and Tidal with CarPlay and Android Auto.

With Spotify Connect, you can easily stream your favorites from Spotify to smart speakers like Sonos, Amazon Echo, and HomePod and smart TVs such as Apple TV, Amazon TV, and Samsung TV. But to hit back, Tidal also developed Tidal Connect. By using it, you can connect Tidal to various digital devices for playing music from Tidal.

Verdict: A draw

Part 2. Summary: Tidal vs Spotify Comparison Table

Part 3. Final Thoughts: Which Is Better for Music Lovers

This main option, perhaps less known, is one of the alternatives most valued by true lovers and purists of music. For starters, the sound quality is much higher than the mainstream platforms that we are used to consuming. On the other hand, and a very positive point in its favor is that it is created in its origins to defend the rights of artists and the industry that surrounds them.

In addition, it also has great privacy because it is not seen as a social application as they usually do this type of platforms. Perhaps its biggest disadvantage is in the price because you cannot enjoy Spotify and Tidal without paying since it does not have a version of its service for free.

As you can see, these are just some options with which you can enjoy all your favorite music. Go ahead and convert to the streaming world.

Part 4. More Tips: Download Music from Spotify to MP3

So, which one will you choose? For existing Spotify users who care more about the music quality, you may probably like to switch to Tidal due to the HiFi quality, though it was reported Spotify would release Hi-Fi music service soon. But before moving from Spotify to Tidal, you should take some time to transfer your songs and playlists from Spotify to Tidal if you have a large music collection. In this case, a Spotify music converter like ViWizard Spotify Downloader is highly recommended to help you convert Spotify music to AAC and FLAC that are compatible with Tidal.

Adam Gorden is an experienced writer of ViWizard who is obsessed about tech, movie and software.