Spotify VS Tidal is debatable, as each has independent features and services. While Tidal is one of the newest digital service companies, Spotify has comparatively set up a strong foothold for a long time. Even though both Swedish digital music companies offer good music-listening experiences, some things create a few distinctions between the two.
Users of both platforms have found specific differences in sound quality, pay for artists, range of music categories, user interface, user experience, and many more. This article will provide an in-depth comparison between Spotify and Tidal.
Spotify VS Tidal | Who’s Winning The Race?
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Spotify is a 17-year-old audio and media services provider. The platform offers millions of songs from almost every known and famous artist worldwide.
Spotify users have grown significantly over the past few years, with around 226 million premium users globally as of the third quarter of 2023. Spotify’s premium customers were found to be from the US and Europe, which helped the company earn around 67% of its revenue.
Spotify started advertising its product aggressively, and with a few notable company partnerships, its popularity soared. This easy-to-use platform has been running its business via paid subscriptions. While its basic services are free, users who wish to opt for additional features must be paid users.
Aspiro, a Swedish public company, launched Tidal, a music streaming service company, back in 2014. The growth of Tidal has been a significant journey. This is because, in the initial stages, Tidal was launched only in the United States, Canada, and the UK, and within a year, it was launched in five more European countries.
Tidal immediately stood out from its competitors because of its’ platform exclusivity’. Certain reputed artists co-own Tidal, and playlists here are curated by Jay-Z, Beyonce, Arcade Fire, and Coldplay.
Artists like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Calvin Harris, and a handful of others were introduced as ‘the owners of Tidal,’ this was enough for the company to market itself to the world. A fun fact about Tidal is that Jay-Z’s catalog was available exclusively on Tidal and nowhere else.
Spotify VS Tidal: Sound Quality
Spotify may be one of the most downloaded digital music service apps in the world, but it has failed in certain areas compared to Tidal. For a start, Spotify does not match audiophile standards, and with Spotify’s highest settings at 320 kbps, the platform fails to impress its users.
Tidal, on the other hand, has provided high-fidelity sound, therefore somewhat leading the race against Spotify. All in all, both Spotify and Tidal aim to offer excellent music quality, but it is Tidal that, according to users, provides the best sound quality with diverse yet engaging music content.
Spotify VS Tidal: Streaming Experience
Both Spotify and Tidal have always offered a variety of music from different artists and their albums. Spotify stands out in its playlist options because it gives its users various options. Conversely, Tidal offers hi-fi and master-quality tracks, which are much better than Spotify.
Spotify using AAC lossy format is why the quality of music and the streaming experience degrade. Tidal uses lossless files and thus maintains the originality of the audio files, which, in turn, enhances the music quality and streaming experience.
Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis format, and the maximum sound quality delivered is 320 kbps, whereas Tidal offers up to Hi-Res FLAC 192 kHz. Users of Tidal experience every little detail of audio, which boosts up the music streaming experience altogether.
Spotify and Tidal have set their own formats for delivering audio. Spotify’s audio quality is decent enough if you are a casual listener, but if you want an in-depth music streaming experience without losing any information, then Tidal stands out from Spotify.
Spotify VS Tidal: Library
The music content on the two platforms is similar, offering millions of tracks from its library. However, Tidal offers video content, which has helped it become a bit more of a preferred platform than Spotify. Music listeners feel that this adds value to the overall listening experience.
Spotify is clearly the leader when it comes to offering podcasts and audiobooks. Music videos can likely be streamed for free on YouTube as well. Spotify just focused on providing a range of audio, not just music content but millions of podcasts and audiobooks. Tidal has extended its reach to album documentaries, music videos, and original content.
Clearly, both of these platforms have different focuses. Tidal users wanting to hear a particular podcast would have to open the Spotify app or any other app to enjoy podcast listening. Spotify’s broader 67 music genres beat Tidal’s 25 music genres.
Spotify VS Tidal: Artist Pay
Both Tidal and Spotify have their own payout rate for artists. Spotify has made specific changes to count streams this year. Tracks must reach a minimum of 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months. Additionally, artists need to gain unique listeners to make their tracks eligible for royal payments. If you are an artist on Spotify, check out their new policies.
Tidal offers one of the highest streaming rates. However, increasing the number of streams on Tidal is much more difficult because of its presence in fewer countries than Spotify. As of 2024, Tidal offers $0.013 per stream on average, whereas Spotify offers $0.003 – $0.005 per stream. Therefore, it is clear that Tidal offers higher pay to its artists than Spotify.
Spotify may have a lower payout rate than Tidal, but its reach is enormous. Its availability in 184 countries all across the globe is one of the reasons artists will have the opportunity for a higher number of streams compared to Tidal.
Spotify VS Tidal: User Interface
Spotify and Tidal have an easy-to-use interface. Navigation buttons, search bar, and all other things are super easy to use in their respective functionality. Tidal, on the other hand, has a simple interface as well. There is a ‘Featured’ section and a ‘Videos’ section. The navigation is straightforward in Tidal as well.
However, Spotify has received mixed reviews from users. People have complained about the application performance being laggy and difficulty accessing songs. On the other hand, Spotify received some positive reviews that appreciated its suggestions and vast music library. Tidal offers a powerful and terrific user experience.
Spotify VS Tidal: Pricing
Both of these digital music streaming platforms offer various subscription plans. Interestingly, free trial on both of these platforms is one common thing. Let us look at the types of subscriptions and their pricing from the table below.
Spotify Pricing
| Plan Type/Name | Pricing |
| Premium Individual | Free (1 month) $10.99 per month after |
| Premium Student | Free (1 month) $5.99 per month after |
| Premium Duo Plan | $14.99 per month |
| Premium Family Plan | $16.99 per month |
Tidal Pricing
| Plan Type/Name | Pricing |
| Tidal Free | Free |
| Tidal HiFi | $9.99/month (individual) |
| Tidal HiFi Plus | $19.99/month (individual) |
Frequently Asked Questions | Spotify VS Tidal
What’s better, Spotify or Tidal?
Both Spotify and Tidal offer similar music content. Spotify leads when it comes to providing category playlists, but Tidal offers lossless audio, giving the listeners enhanced output.
Is Tidal better than Spotify?
Tidal is better than Spotify in some areas. For example, its lossless audio format gives a brilliant music listening/streaming experience. Tidal offers streaming of music videos, documentaries, and other exclusive content on its platform. Moreover, Tidal’s music playlist is curated by a list of renowned artists from across the globe.
Does Tidal pay more to artists than Spotify?
Yes, Tidal does pay more to artists than Spotify per stream. The payout rate at Tidal is $0.013 per stream, whereas Spotify’s payout rate is around $0.003 – $0.005 per stream.
Conclusion
Both Spotify and Tidal have gained a lot of popularity over the years. The quantity of music these two platforms share is almost similar, but there is a massive difference in their quality. The lossy format used by Spotify is a reason why the sound quality is of low quality as compared to Tidal. If you are an artist, you may use Tidal because of its higher payout rate, but if you are just a casual listener, then Spotify can do the job.
