Tidal and Spotify Side by Side Comparison

Tidal and Spotify, as the subscription-based music streaming services, have their own strong points and receive much popularity from users. Different people have different impressions towards Tidal and Spotify and have their reasons to choose Tidal or Spotify as the fixed subscription service. This article will make simple comparisons between Tidal and Spotify in each side, and share the useful tips to use these 2 streaming services.

Firstly, let's look at the quick guide for the basic differences and similarities between Tidal and Spotify.

Founded	October 2014, UK, US, and Canada	October 2006, Stolkholm
Monthly fee	Tidal Individual $11.99/month	Spotify Premium $12.99
Family plan	Family plan available for up to 6 members	$21.99 for 6 family members
Student plan	Discounted Student plan available	$6.99 per month
Military plan	Not available	/
Free trial period	30 days	3 months
Availblility	60+ countries	180 + countires & regions
Number of users	over 5 million subscribers	777 million monthly active users
Music library	over 180 million	over 100 million
Sound quality (Paid)	Lossless and Hi-Res FLAC up to 24-bit/192kHz	320 Kbps in Ogg for Premium
Offline listening	Yes, with paid subscription	Yes, with paid subscription

Tidal no longer offers an ad-supported free tier. It currently provides Individual ($11.99/month), Family, and discounted Student subscriptions, all of which include lossless and Hi-Res FLAC audio.

Spotify provides users with two types of subscription – Spotify Free & Spotify Premium ($12.99/month). In addition, it offers special discounts for a couple, a family and students – Duo ($18.99/month), Family Plan ($21.99/month) and Student Plan ($6.99/month).

Verdict: Tidal Individual costs $11.99/month, one dollar less than Spotify Premium at $12.99/month. Tidal also includes lossless and Hi-Res FLAC at that price, while Spotify retains the advantage of an ongoing ad-supported free plan. Family and Student plan pricing should be compared based on eligibility and region.

Tidal's paid plans provide lossless and Hi-Res FLAC audio up to 24-bit/192kHz, while Spotify Free provides lower-bitrate, ad-supported streaming.

Tidal includes lossless and Hi-Res FLAC up to 24-bit/192kHz, plus Dolby Atmos, in its current paid plans. Spotify's lossless streaming reaches approximately CD quality.

Verdict: Tidal offers the higher maximum audio resolution and is the stronger option for listeners with compatible equipment who prioritize Hi-Res playback. Spotify remains competitive for everyday listening and users who value its discovery and social features.

The feature of discovering new music is also an important factor you should take into consideration when choosing a music subscription service. It includes music library, recommendation, radio, podcast, etc.

Music Library: Spotify offers over 100 million songs, while Tidal offers over 180 million tracks. Catalog size matters most when your favorite artists or releases are missing.

Recommendation: "Discover Weekly" playlist on Spotify is really worth mentioning here. This is an awesome way to discover new music. But it seems that there is nothing similar in Tidal. Spotify remember the information each time you listen to a track, try a new artist, skip a song, repeat a song, or do anything else while using the service, in this way it quantifies the new music and a playlist with 30 new tracks that you might love will be refreshed every Monday morning. In addition, Release Radar, which works differently from Discover Weeklya and updates in each Friday, is a great place to discover new music. And another music discovery feature - Daily Mix is a good way to find more music.

But Tidal also has its own way to work out. It provides curated playlists, tracks, recommended hi-fi albums as well as top 20 charts and staff picks based on editorial slant. You can't search music by genre, but there is a Genres button you can press on in the sidebar which will take you to curated areas with playlists and recommended albums. In general, Tidal acts this feature simply and directly. And this all depends on what music you’re looking for and which way you really like.

Exclusive: Both Spotify and Tidal has its own exclusives, but Tidal may works most prominently. It has deals for exclusive content from major artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj etc.

Music Videos: More than 650K+ high-quality videos built-in Tidal, including music videos, original contents, exclusive livestreams and events, is another factor that no rival can compare. Spotify now also offers some music videos in app and users can watch HD music videos on YouTube.

Good social features make music service special. You can connect Tidal to Facebook which will allows you to share music with your friends or extract a URL if you want to link someone to any album, playlist or track. But the social features are not as mature as the ones in Spotify. It'll take a lot of work to catch up with it, but it should be expected.

Tidal and Spotify share many features, but only Spotify offers an ongoing ad-supported free plan. Tidal may provide a free trial for new paid subscribers. With a paid membership, both services provide large music catalogs, ad-free playback, and offline listening; Tidal's catalog includes over 180 million tracks.

Choose Tidal if you want a lower-priced individual plan, a larger stated catalog, and Hi-Res FLAC. Choose Spotify if an ongoing free tier, social listening, and mature playlist discovery matter more. The better service depends on the features you use rather than whether you can afford Tidal.