Apple Music Vs Tidal: Which Is Better Music Service?

Music has been a very essential part of everyone’s lives. It is literally everywhere, in everything that you do and in any place that you go, you can always hear one. Each one of us has our own taste and preference in music, which shows on the different services that we use. Since each platform offers different features and different sets of music collection, you must be wondering what are you missing from other catalogues.

In today’s post, we will cover all about the differences between Apple Music vs Tidal. These two platforms are very known for giving HiFi services that are far from others if seen based on results. To make sure that you’ve got the right decision to switch, here is the detailed guide about Apple Music and Tidal comparison.

Contents Guide Part 1. Short Overview About Apple Music and TidalPart 2. Differences Between Apple Music and TidalPart 3. Bonus Tip: Download Apple Music to Play on Different DevicesPart 4. Summary

Part 1. Short Overview About Apple Music and Tidal

To give you a basic background about Apple Music vs Tidal, here is the brief overview of the two services.

Tidal Music

Tidal Music is the perfect platform to visit if you are looking for audios that sound like the original recording. This service aims to give the users a music that comes straight from the artists directly to them. Apart from millions of music on its collection, which amounts to about 80 million in total, you’ll also get to enjoy videos, podcasts, live concert audios and more.

In order to enjoy Tidal Music to the fullest, you may get either one of its subscription plans offered. Rest assured that the quality of the music is high resolution and CD-like.

Apple Music

Apple Music is more popular than Tidal. The fact that it is run by Apple Inc. and a lot of users are now switching to iOS devices, makes a big impact in here. All of Apple Music subscribers have the access to its huge library that is about 90 million if summed up. This service is also famous for the music recommendations that it shows the subscribers.

Apple Music also comes with multiple radio stations that air on up to 200 countries in all corners of the globe. Syncing and backing up of music is also secured in this service through the iCloud Music library.

Part 2. Differences Between Apple Music and Tidal

Let us have a more detailed comparison between Apple Music vs Tidal by tackling the most important aspects one by one.

Subscription Plans

Apple Music offers three different monthly plans. You can choose among the Individual plan ($10.99), Student ($5.99) and Family ($16.99) as you need. Apple Music Voice plan ($4.99) is the cheaper on among of them but Apple Music has stopped offering it. If you wish to start on trying the service first, you can have the free subscription which would last for 3 months, at the longest period possible, depending on your region.

Tidal Music, on the other hand, offers three different plans. The standard Individual plan costs $10.99 per month. You can also add DJ Extension at $9.00 a month to have catalog access and stem separation via select DJ partners. The other plans offered which are Family and Student costs $16.99 and $5.49 each month, respectively. Tidal Music also offers free trial for new customers.

Apple Music vs Tidal, what should I choose? There is not much difference in price between the two. If you are a student, you can choose Tidal Music.

Availability

Apple Music is now available in over 160 countries around the world, you can head to the page of Availability of Apple Media Services to check if you can install and use the Apple Music app in your country or region. You can play Apple Music using iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, Chrome OS, smart speakers, smart TVs, smartwatches, and web browsers. You can even find Apple Music on game consoles, such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. With Apple's CarPlay, you can play audio content from Apple Music on car, such as music or podcasts.

You may be interested: How To Play Apple Music On PS5 Consoles

Tidal is easily accessible via a web browser, iOS and Android devices, as well as Mac and Windows computers. It is also compatible with third-party audio system, smart TVs and streamer, including Denon, Onkyo, Sonos, Roku, Vizio, Samsung TV, Apple TV, etc. You can also use Tidal Connect to play music on your car like Tesla or Mercedes-Benz. As we mentiond on subscription plans above, you can pay an additional fee for the DJ Extension, so you can to mix your tracks and playlists on DJ software like djay Pro or DJUCED.

Music Collection

When we talk about Apple Music vs Tidal, the two huge online streaming sites in the world so we are also talking about the huge catalogue of music these two can offer.

Apple Music has a wide range of music collection. It got millions of music, including albums, playlists and exclusive releases from multiple famous artists. Although the catalogue is too big to get all you want, every user is made limited to download up to 100, 000 tracks for offline playback.

These downloaded songs you got from its library can be streamed on other authorized devices as well. This is possible via the iCloud integration feature of Apple. So, by using the same Apple ID, you’ll be able to play the same library on another selected player.

Tidal, on the other hand, is believed to have more tracks in its library. It will also allow you to download even the highest quality of audio, which is the MQA standard. Aside from the songs, there is also a collection of music videos, performances and movies in Tidal which you can enjoy.

Sound Quality

Another good factor to determine which is better between Apple Music vs Tidal is the audio quality that they let you stream.

Apple Music streams content at 256kbps utilizing Advanced Audio Codec (AAC). Apple also has developed its lossless audio compression technology called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). The resolutions of ALAC range from 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD Quality) up to 24-bit/192 kHz. If you own specific AirPods and Beats models, you can also enjoy Apple's spatial audio, which can create a more three-dimensional sound experience. All audio options are free for Apple Music subscribers.

Tips: It’s worth noting that this lossless codec won’t work over Bluetooth. For more details, check our explanation about What Is Apple Lossless And How It Works.

All current Tidal plans feature Max sound quality formats such as full lossless, HiRes FLAC, and Dolby Atmos (up to 24-bit, 192 kHz). It sounds that it is significantly higher quality than standard definition MP3s or the basic, compressed streams of most rivals.

Tidal Music vs Apple Music, which is more worth it? If you just want to hear music and don’t care much for its quality, especially for the average music listener, selecting Apple Music should be fine. Audiophiles with more discerning ears may want to check out Tidal for master-quality sound. After all, high audio quality requires serious audio equipment.

Part 3. Bonus Tip: Download Apple Music to Play on Different Devices

In the discussion above, we have learned about Apple Music vs Tidal comparison. Both Tidal and Apple Music have their own list of authorized devices that can play their collection. In this part, we will focus on how to convert the Apple Music tracks into accessible audio formats to enjoy a lot more devices in playing them.

To make that possible, you first have to know some alternative ways on how to convert Apple Music into a different format. That would be a little hard because the DRM must be removed as well in order to proceed. To lessen your burden of searching, I’ll suggest using AMusicSoft Apple Music Converter to make this goal into reality. AMusicSoft is capable of making Apple Music tracks free from any kind of protection like DRM, and it can convert Apple Music files to MP3, MP4, FLAC, M4A, WAV, and other common audio formats on your local computer.

After securing the downloaded copies, you may then be able to transfer the copies into multiple devices whether they are authorized or not by the system. Apart from that, you can surely enjoy a high quality of streaming. It is also good to note that all the significant information of the music is kept untouched upon conversion which includes both the ID tags and Metadata info. Lastly, it has a 5x faster working speed that can finish all procedures in the shortest time it can.

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Step 1. Launch AMusicSoft Apple Music Converter on your computer. Sign in to your account on built-in Apple Music web player. After logging in, you can see all your music library. Now, you can pick out the song you want to convert directly from AMusicSoft Apple Music Converter.

Step 2. Select the output format that is compatible with the PS4 formats. Then choose the output folder on your computer.

Step 3. Navigate to the bottom of the page and click on the convert button then wait for the process to complete.

Part 4. Summary

Through the aspects that are tackled above about Apple Music vs Tidal, I hope that you already have the decision which to utilize between the two. Both services will surely give you the best experience but you still have to consider all the factors to make your time and money worthy. Moreover, if you’ve decided to use the Apple Music service, you should try utilizing AMusicSoft Apple Music Converter in getting the accessible copies of the music files. In this way, playing them anywhere you want would be easily possible.

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