There are many alternatives to streaming services of music most popular. One of them is Tidal, which I decided to try. How does it compare to my favorite app, Spotify? Here's everything you need to know. 🎧

Comparing Functions

Spotify and Tidal offer a wide range of features, with some marked similarities and differences.

Spotify, especially the Premium version, offers well-known features like Spotify Connect (one of the best, in my opinion), collaborative features like Blend and Jam, Spotify Wrapped, Smart Shuffle, an AI-powered DJ, and more. It's super easy to customize how you listen to music with Spotify, including EQ and crossfade controls, connection to CarPlay, and third-party navigation apps. Plus, there are plenty of third-party apps to make Spotify even better. 🚀

Tidal doesn't skimp on basic features, despite its focus on audio quality. Features like Live for streaming music, videos, and custom mixes are some of the features that hooked me on Tidal. It also has the Tidal Rising platform, which supports new and emerging artists. 🌍

Both applications offer listen offline with a subscription and different levels of sound quality.

And the Sound Quality?

Spotify offers different levels of sound quality in its desktop, mobile, and tablet apps.

• Low: Equivalent to 24 kbps
• Normal: Equivalent to 96 kbps
• High: Equivalent to 160 kbps
• Very High: Equivalent to 320 kbps (only for Spotify Premium users)

For the web player, you can stream in two quality levels: Free (AAC 128 kbps) and Premium (AAC 256 kbps). You can change the audio quality by setting it to the level you prefer (or choose Automatic, which adjusts the quality based on your network connection). 🌐

On the other hand, Tidal offers three levels of sound quality.

• Low: Up to 320 kbps
• High: Up to 1,411 kbps (16-bit, 44.1 kHz)
• Maximum: Up to 9.216 kbps (24-bit, 192 kHz)

Tidal's lowest quality setting matches Spotify's highest, at 320 kbps. Upgrading to "High" unlocks 110 million CD-quality songs, while "Maximum" uses HiRes FLAC files that surpass this level, achieving a bitrate more than 28 times higher than Spotify's best offering. 🎼

It's important to mention that many people have difficulty noticing the differences in sound quality at these bitrates. Even switching from "Low" to "High" on Tidal can be difficult for some, especially if they're not using high-end headphones or speakers. Additionally, only part of Tidal's music library is available at bitrates that take advantage of the "Maximum" setting.

The Battle of Interfaces

Both Spotify and Tidal offer clean interfaces that focus on simple visuals. Playlists and recommendations on both homepages are neatly categorized, with Spotify focusing more on personalized recommendations, while Tidal emphasizes new music discovery. 💡

While Tidal's web player is less cluttered than Spotify's, both the desktop and mobile apps have sleek interfaces that make it easy to navigate. 🚀

Tidal offers tabs like "Tracks," "Albums," and "Videos" to categorize your library (also known as Collections). Spotify's library is organized around playlists, making it easy to organize and find all the playlists you've created. Spotify also has podcasts within the app, something Tidal doesn't offer. 🎙️

Additionally, you'll notice that the Tidal app places a strong emphasis on videos (which have a separate tab), while Spotify's video element is mostly limited to visuals of current songs.

Musical Discovery

While Spotify offers many categories and genres on the Explore page, the preset options below your search bar are grouped into one long page. However, Tidal provides a less cluttered way to discover new music. The Explore tab has well-organized categories for more than just genres. You can browse tracks by mood and activity, recent releases, staff picks, and clean tracks. 🌈

You can also search for high-resolution songs, browse videos, and review your favorite songs, albums, and playlists. Tidal also has a feature called Tidal Rising, which highlights new and emerging artists from around the world. 🌍

Spotify and Tidal also offer mixes and radio stations, with Spotify having an edge in new music discovery through its Smart Shuffle button and AI-powered DJ. While Spotify offers more discovery features, exploring new music on Tidal is easier.

Which App Has the Best Playlists?

Both Spotify and Tidal are very evenly matched in terms of playlists. With both services, you can create playlists and playlist folders from scratch. However, I found Spotify's song recommendations for new playlists to be superior, with more options displayed compared to Tidal (which only shows six to seven songs before updating). 🎶

Spotify also has more customization options when it comes to creating playlist cover art, although Tidal's "Playlists" tab makes it easier to organize all your playlists more neatly.

With the new “Create” button on Spotify, you can also create AI playlists easily, saving time. Tidal's curated playlists, however, challenge Spotify. These personalized playlists are a true treasure trove of music discovery. 🎁

How Much Would You Be Willing to Pay?

Spotify offers a free version with ads. This option means you can't enjoy features like ultra-high-quality audio and offline listening, among others. Spotify Premium has four monthly plans to choose from.

• Individual ($11.99/month): One Premium account
• Student ($5.99/month): A verified Premium account for students
• Duo ($16.99/month): Two Premium accounts
• Family ($19.99/month): Up to six Premium or Kids accounts

Tidal offers similar plans and prices, with some variations in subscription levels. You can opt for a subscription after a 30-day free trial. 🎉

• Individual ($10.99/month): One account
• Student ($5.49/month): A verified student account
• DJ Extension ($9/month): This add-on can be purchased with an Individual or Student plan
• Family ($16.99/month): Up to six accounts

The DJ Extension unlocks stem separation for available tracks and integration with Tidal's DJ hardware and software partners.

The Final Verdict

Switching to Tidal for a while after being a long-time Spotify user taught me two things: Tidal is easy to use since its interface doesn't stray too far from Spotify's, and I'm overly dependent on Spotify for my daily music fix. This was evident by how I kept mentally comparing Tidal's features to Spotify's. As a loyal Spotify user, my answer to which streaming service is better remains a gray area. 🌓

This doesn't mean I was disappointed with Tidal at all. The service offered excellent music recommendations, discovery, and playlists. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the video feature, as I didn't see the need to watch videos through a music streaming platform when I primarily focus on audio. However, it was a good substitute for podcasts and integrates well with the rest of the service. ☁️

Audio quality was something Tidal absolutely dominated. If you care about high-resolution audio quality or just want to try something better without compromising your user experience, then Tidal is a must-try. Overall, Tidal is a music streaming service that allows you to listen to CD-quality music at a price comparable to Spotify, which is an extremely attractive alternative. 💸

While you might miss the Spotify Premium features you're used to, Tidal also fills gaps that Spotify doesn't, such as more options for music discovery and audio quality levels.