Apple Music vs Tidal
Complete comparison of plans, pricing, features, and our recommendation to help you pick the right music subscription.
🎵
Apple Music
Music
Starting from
$5.99/mo
Individual$10.99/mo
Family$16.99/mo
Student$5.99/mo
🎵
Tidal
Music
Starting from
$10.99/mo
Individual$10.99/mo
Family$16.99/mo
HiFi Plus$19.99/mo
Quick Comparison
| Apple Music | Tidal | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest Plan | $5.99/mo ✓ | $10.99/mo |
| Plans Available | 3 | 3 |
| Annual Cost (cheapest) | $71.88/yr | $131.88/yr |
| Cancellation | medium | easy |
| subscribers | 88M+ | 5M+ |
| countries | 167 | 60+ |
| songs | 100M+ | 100M+ |
| founded | 2015 | 2014 |
Key Features
Apple Music
- 100M+ songs
- Lossless & Spatial Audio
- Music videos
- Apple ecosystem integration
- Live radio stations
- Collaborative playlists
Tidal
- HiFi & Master quality audio
- 100M+ songs
- Music videos
- Artist-owned platform
- Offline downloads
- DJ integration
Apple Music
PROS
+Lossless audio at no extra cost
+Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
+Clean interface
+Better artist payouts than Spotify
CONS
−No free tier
−Weaker podcast integration
−Discovery algorithm not as strong
−Android app less polished
Tidal
PROS
+Best audio quality available
+Higher artist payouts
+Exclusive releases
+DJ/production tool integration
CONS
−Smaller user base = less social features
−Higher price for HiFi Plus
−Fewer podcasts
−Algorithm not as refined
Our Take
🎵
Apple Music
Best for audiophiles and Apple ecosystem users who want lossless quality.
🎵
Tidal
Best for audiophiles who want the highest quality audio and support fair artist pay.
✂️
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