Tidal GUI/DL Review and Best Alternatives

By Adam Gorden Posted on December 8, 2023

Tidal is one of the leading platforms in global streaming music. It offers approximately 100 million and 650,000 videos for its users. With the Tidal HiFi and Tidal HiFi Plus subscription plans, users can enjoy the music in HiFi, Master, Dolby Atmos, and Sony 360 Audio formats. However, it is recognized that subscribers who download Tidal music can only get temporary cache files. Therefore, many Tidal users are looking for an effective tool to save Tidal music as local files. Fortunately, the advent of Tidal-DL and Tidal-GUI has brought a wave of excitement to them.

Tidal-DL and Tidal-GUI are two different versions of Tidal Media Downloader. They are designed to help users download Tidal music to local files for offline listening and use. In the following post, you can get a comprehensive review of Tidal DL and Tidal GUI, including their features and how to use them to enrich your Tidal listening journey. Plus, we will show you a better alternative way to download Tidal music. Let's read on.

github tidal downloader gui dl

Part 1. Basic Information of GitHub Tidal Downloader GUI/DL

GitHub is the largest and most advanced development platform. The Tidal Dl and Tidal GUI, also known as Tidal-Media-Downloader, is an open-source program provided by GitHub. They allow users to download music and videos from Tidal. Tidal-DL is a command-line interface tool that works well on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. While Tidal-GUI is a graphical user interface tool, it is only available for Windows. Both the tools are not affiliated with Tidal or its parent company and were independently developed in Python by different creators.

Since many users are newcomers to Tidal Media Downloader, we detail their various features below. Read on to learn more about both versions.

Tidal DL

Price: free

Support system: Windows, Mac, Android, Linux

Output format: MP3

Conversion speed:

Output quality: Normal, High, HiFi, Master

Pros
It can download multiple tracks in a batch at once.
Multi-platform support makes it easy for the users of Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus to access
It offers users an ad-free experience.
Free to use
You can download multiple tracks with just one command.
Cons
You have to subscribe to the Tidal HiFi or Tidal HiFi Plus plans to use it.
You are required to master technical knowledge to use it and Python is required.
With a command-line interface, it is less user-friendly.
If Tidal updates its security measures and changes its API, Tidal DL may stop working.

Tidal GUI

Price: free

Support system: Windows only

Output format: MP3, FLAC, AAC

Conversion speed:

Output quality: Normal, High, HiFi, Master

Pros
It enables you to search and browse Tidal music within it.
It can download multiple tracks in one batch.
It supports multi-language.
Free to use
With a graphical interface, it is easier to use.
Cons
It is only available for Windows.
A Tidal subscription is required to use the app.
It sometimes fails to download Tidal tracks.
Users are required to have Python on their computers.
It requires users to enter their Tidal login credentials which can give rise to privacy concerns.

Part 2. How to Download Tidal Music via Tidal GUI/DL

After going through the basics information of Tidal Media Downloader, in this part we talk about how to download Tidal tracks using Tidal DL and Tidal GUI on GitHub. The following steps indicate the detailed user guidance to obtain and use them.

2.1 How to get Tidal DL and Tidal GUI from GitHub

To get Tidal DL and Tidal GUI from the GitHub repository, you can follow the steps below.

  1. Head and navigate to the relevant web pages for Tidal DL and Tidal GUI
  2. Click 'Code' and then hit on the “Download ZIP' button to directly get the source code or the .exe file icon.
  3. Extract the zip file to your local folder or open the downloaded .exe files to get the program directly.
  4. If you have downloaded the zip file, open the 'TIDALDL-PY' and then run the program by double-clicking on the 'tidal-dl.exe' file from the extracted folder.

2.2 How to use Tidal Downloader GitHub

To download Tidal music by using Tidal DL and Tidal GUI, make sure you have a Tidal HiFi or HiFi Plus subscription. Then you can do as per the instructions below.

2.2.1 How to Download Tidal Music via Tidal GUI

  1. To launch Tidal GUI, click the downloaded 'tidal-gui.exe' file and you will receive a Tidal GUI device code.
  2. Log in to your Tidal account and enter the device code. After that, you can use the software to browse Tidal music within it, just as you would with the Tidal app.
  3. tidal gui device code

  4. Search for the tracks that you want to download and choose them.
  5. search tidal music tidal gui

  6. Hit on the 'download' tab to select the download format and quality you like, and choose the download location.
  7. Click the 'Download' button again to start the download.
  8. download tidal music tidal gui

Note

    Tidal Downloader GUI is only available for Windows and is not officially supported by Tidal. On account of privacy concerns, it's best to use a responsible and legal downloader.

2.2.2 How to Download Tidal Music via Tidal DL

To download music from Tidal via Tidal DL, you can follow these simple steps.

tidal dl command

  1. . Launch the Tidal DL by opening the 'tidal-dl.exe' files from the folder.
  2. On the command-line interface, follow its prompts by entering specific numbers to set up the configuration as you wish.
  3. On the Tidal DL command prompt, run the 'tidal-dl [URL]' command. Then replace [URL] with the shared URL you copied from the Tidal app.
  4. Then you can click the 'Download' button to start the download.

Part 3. Best Alternative to GitHub Tidal Downloader

3.1 Review of ViWizard Tidal Music Downloader

While Tidal Media Downloader is a powerful tool for downloading Tidal tracks, the process can put users at risk for privacy. Plus, Tidal DL and Tidal GUI give users a complicated interface that is hard to handle. Many people want to get a more practical way to download Tidal tracks. If you are also looking for a more effective tool, then the best alternative to GitHub Tidal downloader is here - you can try ViWizard Tidal Music Converter.

ViWizard Tidal Music Converter is an all-in-one tool available for Windows and Mac. It allows Tidal free users and paid subscribers to download and convert Tidal tracks to common formats like MP3, M4A, AAC, etc. This converter can maintain the original sound quality and ID3 tags while downloading at five times the speed (quintuple speed is for Windows, but the Mac is also fast). It is worth mentioning that this downloader enables you to personalize the output parameters and manage your output library easily by album, artists, or album/artists. It is optional to set the output format, bit rate, channel, and sample rate as desired. In a word, ViWizard Tidal Music Converter is undoubtedly one of the best alternatives to Tidal DL and Tidal GUI.

tidal music converter

Key Features of ViWizard Tidal Music Converter

Free Trial Free Trial

* Security verified. 5, 481,347 people have downloaded it.

  • Download any Tidal content, including songs, albums, playlists, and artists
  • Support exporting Tidal music to MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, and M4B
  • Preserve a whole set of ID3 tag information in the downloaded Tidal songs
  • Handle the conversion of Tidal music up to 5× faster speed and in batch

3.2 ViWizard Tidal Downloader VS GitHub Tidal Downloader

To help you make a quick decision to choose a suitable downloader, we prapare a overview chart to compare GitHub Tidal Media Downloder and its alternative. You can see their strengths and weaknesses clearly below.

GitHub Tidal Downloader ViWizard Tidal Music Converter
Output sound quality lossy lossless
Download Content Tidal songs, playlists, and albums Tidal songs, albums, playlists, artists, and podcasts
Output Format MP3/FLAC/AAC MP3/AAC/WAV/M4A/M4B/FLAC
Download Speed 5× for Windows/1× for Mac
Tidal Subscriptions ×
Ratings ☆☆☆ ☆☆☆☆☆

3.3 How to Download Tidal Music without Premium

If you think the ViWizard Tidal Music Converter stands out in most aspects compared with Tidal DL and Tidal GUI downloader, you can learn how to download Tidal Music without a subscription in this part. Here is a how-to guide to download your favorite Tidal music with ViWizard program. Please read on.

Step 1Enter Tidal tracks to ViWizard

Make sure the ViWizard Tidal Music Converter and Tidal app are installed on your computer. When you open the ViWizard program, you will see the Tidal app automatically launch at the same time. After logging in to your account, you can head to your Tidal music library to find some tracks that you want to download. Then you can enter the tracks to ViWizard by directly dragging and dropping them into the main interface. Or you can copy and paste the shared links in to the search box of ViWizard and click the 'Plus' icon.

add tidal music

Step 2Adjust output parameters

Now head to the menu bar in the program and click the 'Preferences' button. A new window will pop up and you should click the 'Convert' tab to adjust the output parameters as you want. The converter allows the users to select the output format, channel, sample rate, and bit rate. After adjusting, don't forget to hit the 'OK' button to save your settings.

select output format

Step 3Download and convert Tidal Music

Click the 'Convert' icon button in the bottom right corner of the ViWizard program to start the download and conversion process. After a while, this converter will export Tidal tracks to your targeted format and save them as local audio files. Please click the 'Converted' button to locate and view your downloaded Tidal tracks.

conversion

Part 4. Other Alternatives to GitHub Tidal Downloader

In addition to ViWizard Tidal Music Converter, we list other free alternatives for you. These downloaders also can help you download Tidal music without premium accounts. After viewing this part, you can easily make your decision.

No.1 Apowersoft Online Audio Record

Apowersoft Online Audio Record is a user-friendly and practical online tool that works on Windows and Mac. It allows you to record multiple audio content for free. It can be used as an online downloader if you want to record Tidal music online. This tool has an impressive list of file formats you can export to, including MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, and OGG. Also, you can add ID3 tags and artwork to organize your tracks on your computer after recording. However, there is no option for audio editing. The output audio quality is also poor. You can get it at the Appowersoft online audio recorder site.

telegram tidal bot

  1. Go to the official website of Apowersoft Audio Recorder.
  2. Hit on the 'Start Recording' button and choose 'System Audio'.
  3. Click the 'Start Recording' button again to choose 'Enter Screen'.
  4. Head to Tidal Web Plyaer to play your favorite songs, then the music will be recorded.
  5. To end the process of recording, click the Stop icon.

No.2 Tidal Downloader Telegram Bot

Tidal Downloader Telegram Bot was developed for downloading music from Tidal. It is provided by the Telegram app, an almighty application available for iOS and Android users. You can use it to download Tidal music to your mobile phone for free. But there also are some drawbacks you will face. It is unable to download some Tidal songs for unknown reasons. It has a low download speed and poor output audio quality. You can go to the Telegram app to get it.

apowersoft grabar audio

  1. Launch the Tidal app and find the music you want to download.
  2. Copy the shared music link.
  3. Search for the Tidal music downloading tool in Telegram and click 'Start' to paste the music link.
  4. Check the music information and hit on the 'Download' button to save Tidal tracks.
download music from tidal
How to Download Tidal Tracks/Playlists/Albums on Phone/Computer

Wanna download music from Tidal to your devices? This post is introducing how you can download Tidal music to phones, computers, and more.

Conclusion

This post gives you a comprehensive review of Tidal DL and Tidal GUI and the best alternatives for downloading Tidal music. For a better Tidal listening experience, you can choose the tool that works best for you. On account of privacy concerns, you are recommended to try ViWizard Tidal Music Converter. It is the best tool to get your favorite Tidal songs for offline listening without a subscription. With it, you can keep your local Tidal files forever and use them as you like.

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