Not all music streaming services are alike. The various features they offer differ in some ways. In some cases, they exhibit stark differences. If you’re torn between Tidal vs Spotify, well, this article is for you. It aims to compare the two leading music streaming services which are Tidal vs Spotify.
You get to see both of these music streaming services up close so that you could make a smart choice after. Keep on reading and make sure to read until the end to see how you can use one of Tidal vs Spotify services for free.
Contents Guide Part 1. A Close Look at Tidal and SpotifyPart 2. Tidal vs Spotify: Pros and Cons of ThemPart 3. Bonus: Listen to Spotify Offline with the DumpMediaPart 4. Conclusion
Let’s take a close look at both Tidal vs Spotify. Let’s break them down in terms of cost, quality of sound, music selections, social features, offline listening, and navigation.
Let’s talk about Tidal first. Tidal is a Canadian-based music subscription service for audio and video files. It was developed in 2014 and went under Jay-z's ownership at the cost of 56 million dollars. Take a closer look at Tidal below.
In terms of cost, Tidal charges $9.99 per month for basic unlimited streaming. It offers no free option only a short free trial. What sets Tidal apart is its premium option. For an extra ten dollars per month, it promises to deliver high-quality audio or as they call it lossless high-fidelity sound.
If you pay the extra ten dollars a month, you’re guaranteed high-quality audio. This comes in the form of flack files. That means your audio plays at a higher bit rate specifically 1411 kilobits per second, giving CD-quality sound.
The Tidal Music Library offers a selection of 48.5 million songs. That’s a lot of songs for you. You also get curated playlists, recommended hi-fi albums, and more tracks. You also get exclusive content from artists like Beyonce, Kanye West; to mention a few.
With Tidal you can share audio and video content on your Instagram stories. Tidal has also expanded its social features to Facebook Stories. As you can see, the social features of Tidal are dependent on social media platforms.
You can also enjoy offline listening with Tidal. As long as you pay for your account, you will be able to download songs for offline listening.
The steps below will show you how to get Tidal on your mobile phone.
You have to download Tidal first. Go to the App Store. On the Search field, type in Tidal. When Tidal shows up on your screen, download it. Wait for it to install.
Open the app and select the Sign up option. You can either sign up using your Facebook or Twitter credentials. You can also opt to use your email address.
You can choose between Tidal Premium or Tidal HIFI PLEX PASS. You can also opt for their 90-day free trial. It’s up to you.
Once the sign up is complete, you will be taken to their What’s New page where you will see the latest videos. If you click on the See more tab and scroll down the page, you will see the latest albums.
Now, let’s take a good look at the Swedish-owned Spotify. This particular music streaming company started around 2008. It offers about 40 million licensed tracks. Take a closer look at Spotify below.
Cost
Spotify has an actual free version. So, if you don't pay for Spotify at all you'll just have to bear all the ads that come out. If you want to unlock the premium features of Spotify, you can pay for a family plan that goes for about $15 a month. If you’re a student, there’s a plan that goes for about five to six dollars a month. This plan gives you an option to incorporate Hulu. Of course, Spotify offers its standard plan that goes for about ten dollars per month.
Sound Quality
Spotify’s premium service streams most of its current content at 320 kilobits per second. However, there is some older content on there that's still at 160. If you’re on a free account, your music is streamed at 160.
Music Library
When it comes to Music Library, Spotify boasts of about forty million songs.
Social Features
Spotify is considered to be a social media network. It’s integrated with both Twitter and Facebook. Their newest social feature is called Listen Together. This is their latest and trendiest way to enjoy the same music your friends are listening to in real-time.
Offline Listening
As long as you’re a premium Spotify subscriber, you can download songs and playlist for offline listening.
The steps below will show you how you can get started with Spotify.
The first thing you'll want to do is make a Spotify account. You can opt for a free trial first since it’s pretty easy to switch to premium. Go to Spotify. Click on get Spotify free to sign up for a free account.
Create your username and password. Then enter your email address and birth date. When you're done, click sign up.
Now that you have a Spotify account, you can start streaming music for free. Log in to sign in to your account. If there's a specific song or artist you want to listen to, click in the search and select what you're looking for from the search results. When you see a song you want to listen to, tap on it to play it.
Just like any music streaming service, there are advantages and disadvantages in Tidal vs Spotify. Below are the advantages and disadvantages of using Tidal.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to numbers. It’s a no-brainer that Spotify is a lot cheaper than Tidal. It’s available in more countries and you get superior sound quality without having to pay more.
There is no doubt that Spotify is the more affordable music streaming app. You get superior audio quality at a very affordable price. Here’s a bonus for you. There’s no need for you to upgrade to a paid plan on Spotify if you use the DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter. You can just stick to your free Spotify plan.
You can use the DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter to download your songs. Then you can save them on your computer so that you can listen to them offline. This program only downloads and converts the songs. They leave the ads on the app. That means, you not only get to listen to your songs offline, but you get to listen to them ad-free.
Ads aren’t the only annoying things that the DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter removes. It also removes the Digital Rights Management or DRM of the songs. Once the songs are stripped off their DRM, they can be transferred and played on any devices.
Given the flexibility of Spotify, it makes more sense to choose it over Tidal. Just think about it. With Spotify, you can just settle for their free version since you can use the DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter to convert and download your favorite songs.
Even if the DumpMedia is a paid program, it only requires a one-time payment. Unlike the monthly and yearly subscription of Spotify. So, in choosing between Tidal vs Spotify, it’s hands down the latter.
Would you go for Spotify as well? If yes, would you be willing to try out the DumpMedia Spotify Music Converter? Feel free to share your thoughts.
