Tidal and Amazon Music, as mainstream music platforms in the market, sometimes leave users unsure about how to choose the most suitable platform for them. But don't worry! In this Tidal vs Amazon Music review, we will compare from six aspects: price, sound quality, compatibility, user interface, catalog, and offline listening. At the end of the article, we have also prepared a comprehensive table for you, summarizing all the comparative information and details together, aimed at helping you make the final choice between the two.
Part 1. Tidal vs Amazon Music: A Brief Overview
What Is Tidal?
Tidal is a Norwegian-American music streaming service with audiophile-friendly audio, a large catalog, and excellent curated content. It is a digital music streaming service that gives you access to 100 million songs and 650,000 videos from music artists all over the world. As many other streaming services, Tidal is accessible on a wide variety of devices like smart speakers, smartphones, tablets, desktops, and more. However, Tidal stands out among all streaming services with its outstanding HiRes FLAC sound quality and artist centered principles.
- Pros
- Offer excellent sound quality: lossless, HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos.
- Support playing many videos and music-focused podcasts.
- Access exclusive backstage content, live streams, and concerts.
- Compatible with several DJ software like Serato DJ.
- Cons
- Free trial version with ads.
- Mobile offline playback only.
What Is Amazon Music?
Amazon Music is a music streaming platform and online music operated by Amazon. There are 100 million songs and a wide range of popular podcasts for you to listen to. It also offers recommendations according to your listening habits. Additionally, Alexa voice control is provided for you to do some voice commands like skip tracks, pause, and ask it to play something easily.
- Pros
- Offer high audio quality like HD and Ultra HD.
- Interface and controls are easy to use.
- Work with Alexa voice control on the interface.
- Cons
- Absence of Internet radio.
- Listen to lossless and ultra-high audio tracks on the app only.
- Not available around the world.
Part 2. Tidal vs Amazon Music: Comparison in Detail
After roughly understanding the two music streaming services, this section will take you a look at the detailed comparison of them in various aspects. You can learn about both streaming services in terms of subscription price, music library, sound quality, device compatibility, and interface design.
2.1 Tidal vs Amazon Music: Subscriptions and Price
In terms of subscription plans, Tidal has merged the previous Tidal HiFi and Tidal HiFi Plus into one and named it the TIDAL Plan. Amazon Music's individual subscription plans also have different prices for those who are Prime members or not.
On April 10, 2024, Tidal updated their subscription and pricing globally.
- The new TIDAL plan gives every member high-res audio and Dolby Atmos for the lower $10.99 per month.
- DJ integrations is available as a new add-on (to the individual TIDAL subscription) for $9 USD a month.
- Military, First Responder and free plans are retired.
This updating means that the HiFi and HiFi Plus plan are rolling into a single subscription tier, giving every user high-res audio and Dolby Atmos for the lower $10.99 per month. At the same time, there is no Free Plan anymore, meaning users who were on the Tidal Free tier need to switch to a paid subscription to continue enjoying Tidal's service. But you can still get free trial if you are a new customer.
| Type | TIDAL | Amazon Music Prime | Amazon Music Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | $10.99/month | Free for Amazon Prime members (the Prime is $14.99/month or $139/year) | Prime member: $10.99/month Non-prime member: $11.99/month |
| Family (Up to 6) | $16.99/month | / | $19.99/month or $199/year |
| Student | $5.49/month | / | $5.99/month |
| Extra Plan | DJ Extension can be attached to the Individual and Student Plan for extra $9/month | / | Single Device Plan: $4.99/month |
Note: Amazon Music offers an ad-supported free plan that allows users to access 100 million songs and play them at random, but not download any of the music.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
If you just want to listen to music for free, Amazon Music is more inclusive than Tidal, especially for Prime members who can directly enjoy ad free playback without additional fees.
But if you want to upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited, even Prime users need to pay $10.99/month, the same price as Tidal's individual plan. So in terms of value for money, Tidal is the better deal. Especially if you're looking for high quality music, or if you're planning to go for a family or student subscription, Tidal is definitely the better choice.
Read More : Amazon Music Prime vs Unlimited
2.2 Tidal vs Amazon Music: Music Library
Tidal Music Library
Tidal's music catalog is more focused on the music itself, with over 110 million songs and 650,000 videos. On Tidal's Explore page, music is categorized by genres, moods/activities, and decades, suggesting that its library is not only vast, but also well-categorized and comprehensive.
Amazon Music Library
In contrast, Amazon Music may have slightly fewer music libraries and less detailed categorization than Tidal. But its advantage lies in its diverse content, in addition to music, there are also various types such as radio stations and podcasts, suitable for users who enjoy listening to various content.
The specific music content included in Tidal and Amazon Music can refer to the following table.
| Music Content | Tidal | Amazon Music |
|---|---|---|
| Tracks | 110+ million | 100+ million |
| Music Videos | 650,000+ | Limited selection |
| Podcasts/Audiobooks | Limited | Many podcasts, some audiobooks |
| Exclusive Content | Tidal Rising, early releases, artist collabs | Amazon Originals, exclusive podcasts |
🏆 Winner: Depends on your music content preferences
If you want access to more music tracks, albums, song lists, different genres, Tidal will obviously give you a more comprehensive music library. If you want access to a TV show's music, podcasts, audiobooks, Amazon Music will be a better fit for you than Tidal. So the winner of this round of the competition is based on your own needs for music content.
2.3 Tidal vs Amazon Music: Audio Quality
Now this section will talk about the audio quality that is essential for music lovers. You can get specific information from the following comparison.
| Feature | TIDAL Plan | Amazon Music Free/Prime | Amazon Music Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Quality | Max: 24-bit, 192 kHz High: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz Low: 320 kbps |
SD: Up to 320 kbps | Ultra HD: 24-bit, 192 kHz HD: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz |
| Bitrate Range | 96 kbps – 9,216 kbps | / | 256 kbps – 3,730 kbps |
| Available Format | HiRes FLAC, FLAC, ACC | AAC, FLAC | AAC, FLAC |
| Immersive Audio | Dolby Atmos | / | Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio |
🏆 Winnere: Tidal
It's also worth noting that Tidal and Amazon Music Unlimited support Dolby Atmos and 24-bit, 192 kHz max audio quality. But as far as I can tell from my own listening, Tidal's highest sound quality is slightly better than Amazon Music, especially when Tidal works with some DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) devices. However, you'd better to take a free trial of the both to test the audio quality on your devices. Here we provide you with a specific tutorial on how to get it, even if you are not a new user.
Discover how to enjoy Tidal's premium music experience without cost. Learn how to access Tidal HiFi and HiFi Plus trials through partnerships and deals.
Searching for how to get Amazon Music Unlimited for free? This article will show you methods to get Amazon Music free trial for 1/3/4 months.
➡️ See Also: How to Download FLAC from Tidal [PC & Mobile]
➡️ See Also: Amazon Music 360 Reality Audio: What It Is & How to Use It [2025 Guide]
2.4 Tidal vs Amazon Music: Availability and Compatibility
You can enjoy Tidal Music and Amazon Music on almost all your devices like iPhone, desktop, Apple TV, Android devices, and more. Just take the following content as a reference. You can check more Tidal support devices at Tidal Support.
Tidal
- Desktop & Mobile: MacOS and Windows, iOS, Android
- Smart Speakers: Sonos, Google Nest, Google Home, Denon, Yamaha, Roon and Amazon Echo (limited functionality).
- Streaming Devices: Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast and more.
- Wearables: Apple Watch, Samsung Gear, Garmin Watch, Pixel Watch
- Auto: Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto
- Game Consoles: So far, no devices are authorized by the Tidal official for directly listening. If you want to play Tidal on consoles like PlayStation and Xbox, we recommend you to use a dedicated Converter—ViWizard Tidal Music Converter.
- DJ Software: Denon DJ, djay Pro, Pioneer DJ, Serato DJ, Tractor DJ, Virtual DJ, DJ it, DJUCED
Amazon Music
- Desktop & Mobile: MacOS and Windows, iOS, Android
- Smart Speakers: Amazon Echo devices, Sonos, HomePod
- Streaming Devices: Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Samsung TV, Sony TV and more.
- Wearables: Apple Watch, Huawei Watch, Google Wear OS
- Auto: Tesla, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
- Game Consoles: PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One
- DJ Software: Denon DJ, Numark Mixstream Pro+
🏆 Winner: Tidal
While Amazon Music is well integrated with Amazon Echo speakers, if you're looking to play music on a wider variety of devices and are looking for greater compatibility, Tidal has a wider range of options overall, not to mention the Tidal Connect, which makes it even more flexible and convenient to use.
➡️ See Also: asy Guide to Use Tidal Connect
2.5 Tidal vs Amazon Music: UI Design
The user interfaces of both Tidal and Amazon Music are relatively simple and easy to use. The picture below (left for Tidal, right for Amazon Music) shows the main interface of their mobile apps.
In the main interface, you can use the bottom navigation bar to enter the "Library" to play songs, and you can also click the "Search" or "Find" button to discover new music. The main difference between the two is that Amazon Music offers an additional Alexa voice button to control playback by voice.
Of course, besides the mobile apps, the desktop interfaces of Tidal and Amazon Music also differ in some details. The image below shows the main interface of both desktop apps (Tidal on the left, Amazon Music on the right).
The biggest difference is the location of the navigation bar: Amazon Music has it at the top, while Tidal has it on the left. In addition, Amazon Music's homepage has more features, such as the inclusion of a podcast section for more comprehensive content.
🏆 Winner: Tie
Both apps have a dark theme to their interfaces, giving you a visually pleasing and smooth app experience. It's hard to say which one is better. If you prefer a music-focused interface, then Tidal is better for you; if you're looking for quick access to Alexa and voice-controlled playback, Amazon Music would be a better choice.
2.6 Tidal vs Amazon Music: Offline Mode
Tidal and Amazon Music allow downloading of music at the highest sound quality (24-bit, 192 kHz), but Tidal Music only allows music to be downloaded in its mobile app. As for Amazon Music, users can download any music in both the mobile and desktop apps. However, only Unlimited plan subscribers can unlock the offline mode, meaning that if you're a Prime subscriber, only All-Access playlists are available for download.
➡️ See Also: How to Download and Save Tidal Music to Computer
➡️ See Also: How to Download Amazon Music to PC
| Feature | Tidal | Amazon Music |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Downloads on Mobile | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Downloads on Desktop | No | Yes |
| Required Subscription Tier | TIDAL plan (Individual, Family, Student) | Amazon Unlimited Plan (Individual, Family, Student), Amazon Prime Plan (limited to download the All-Access playlists) |
| Download Quality | Max: 24-bit, 192 kHz High: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz Low: 320 kbps |
SD: Up to 320 kbps Ultra HD: 24-bit, 192 kHz HD: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz |
| Playback Restrictions | In Tidal app with an active subscription | In Amazon app with an active subscription |
🏆 Winner: Amazon Music
Amazon Music allows more users and more devices to have a download option rather than limiting the offline mode to mobile apps. This makes Amazon Music ideal for offline playback.
Bonus Tip: Download Music from Tidal and Amazon Music without Limits
Do you want to download music on Tidal or Amazon Music and keep the songs forever without renewing your subscription? Then you can't miss ViWizard Streaming Audio Recorder!
It's a powerful all-in-one music downloader that supports downloading tracks, playlists, albums, and even entire music libraries from Tidal, Amazon Music, and other music streaming platforms, and saving them to common audio formats such as MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, and M4B while preserving the original high-quality sound effects.
A versatile all-in-one streaming music recorder to extract songs, albums, playlists, and exclusive content from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora, SoundCloud, Qobuz and LINE MUSIC into popular formats like MP3 — with support for original sound quality, fast batch conversion, and built-in music management to help you save, organize, and enjoy your favorite tracks anytime, anywhere.
Once downloaded, you are free to import the music to any device, such as mobile phones, computers, cars, MP3 players, etc., and you don't need to pay the subscription fee all the time, which saves you money.
If you only want to download music from a certain platform, such as Tidal or Amazon Music, you can also choose ViWizard Tidal Music Converter or ViWizard Amazon Music Converter, which support lossless downloading of any music content, as well as converting files to open formats for long-term storage and cross platform playback.
A splendid Tidal downloader for both free and paid users that downloads full songs, albums, playlists, artists, and audiobooks to MP3, FLAC, WAV, and more while keeping the original lossless audio and ID3 tags so you can save Tidal music offline on Windows, Mac, or any device without streaming restrictions.
A well-rounded Amazon Music converter that downloads and converts on-demand music from Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Music Free, and personal purchases to MP3, WAV, M4A, M4B, AIFF, and FLAC while preserving the original sound quality and ID3 tags to take your Amazon Music library offline without limitations.
Part 3. Tidal vs Amazon Music: An Overall Comparison Table
Now, you may have a full understanding of Tidal and Amazon Music service. To help you make a more comprehensive comparison, we provide you with an overall table for your reference.
| Tidal | Amazon Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Plans | Individual, Family and Student Plan with DJ extension as an add-on service | Amazon Music Prime or Amazon Music Unlimited |
| Available Titles | Songs, podcasts, videos, FM radio stations, backstage content, live streams and concerts | Songs, playlists, podcasts, and radio stations |
| Audio Quality | Maximum in Max option of 192kHz | Maximum in Ultra HD of 192kHz |
| Free Plan | No | Yes, with ads |
| Offline Listening | On mobile only | Mobile and desktop |
| Number of Tracks | 110+ million | 100+ million |
| Music Videos | 650,000 videos | Limited |
| Supported Formats | HiRes FLAC, FLAC, AAC | FLAC, AAC |
| Compatibility | Universal with Tidal Connect | Broad with Alexa-enabled devices |
By the above comparison and analysis, you will find that both Tidal and Amazon have their own shining points, so if you are going to choose the best, or the most suitable music platform for you from among them, you need to think about what exactly you want to get from the music streaming service.
Choose Tidal if you:
- value the sound quality and want to enjoy Hi Res lossless music streaming.
- want to watch music videos, live performances, and exclusive artist content.
- prefer a simple and music-centric interface.
- are a audiophile or use high-end audio equipment for listening.
Choosing Amazon Music if you:
- seek a seamless voice control experience with Amazon Echo speakers or Alexa devices.
- want to listen to podcasts, radio stations, and a variety of playlist content.
- prefer more flexible subscription plans such as the single-device plan or Prime member discounts.
- want to be able to play offline on both phone and computer.
Part 4. Conclusion
After reading this article, you may learn more about Tidal and Amazon Music. We're sure you've already made your own decision about which is better, Amazon Music or Tidal. No matter which one you choose, use it wisely! Take advantage of the free trial and use ViWizard's music converter to download your favorite music from Tidal and Amazon Music if you want to keep it forever after your subscription ends.
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Adam Gorden, the digital media specialist at ViWizard, is dedicated to providing the best solutions for digital media management, including audio and video conversion, file optimization, and media workflow enhancements.
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