Tidal vs Qobuz: Which Is The Best Music Streaming Service?

In today’s digital landscape, music streaming services have become the primary way millions of people worldwide discover, access, and enjoy their favorite tracks. As we navigate through 2025, there are two main music streaming services that audiophiles love, Tidal and Qobuz. Even though they are not as popular as Apple Music or Spotify, both platforms deliver the best sound quality you can get. Many professionals recommend one of the two, and both services are very similar, but which one is actually better? In this article, we will go into the details of the Tidal vs Qobuz debate, and find out which is the best for audiophiles. 

Tidal Overview

Tidal was launched in 2014 by Norwegian company Aspiro before being acquired by Jay-Z and other artists in 2015, positioning itself as the first artist-owned streaming service with a focus on fair compensation for musicians. Now owned by Block (formerly Square), Tidal differentiates itself with premium sound quality, offering lossless audio and hi-res streaming through its MQA technology, while maintaining a strong emphasis on exclusive content and artist collaborations across diverse genres.

Qobuz Overview

Qobuz, founded in France in 2007, stands as one of the earliest hi-res streaming platforms, originally starting as a download store before expanding into streaming services. With deep roots in audiophile culture, Qobuz distinguishes itself through its dedication to sound quality without compression algorithms, comprehensive classical music metadata, and its unique hybrid model that allows users to both stream and purchase hi-res albums for permanent ownership, catering particularly to jazz and classical enthusiasts with its meticulously curated catalog.

Tidal vs Qobuz: Side By Side Comparison

Price

Image Credit: Qobuz

Qobuz has two tiers you can choose from. Qobuz Studio subscribers get access to stream and download hi-res music with original editorial content and offline listening. Qobuz Sublime subscribers get access to stream and download albums in Hi-Res and CD quality with original editorial content, offline listening, and discounts on Hi-Res purchases up to 60%. 

You can pay for the Studio plan monthly or yearly, with the monthly payment being $12.99. If you choose to pay yearly, you will have to pay $129 annually, which brings the monthly payment to $10.83, which is cheaper in the long run. The Sublime plan can only be paid for yearly, and it will cost you $179.99 for the year. 

You can also get different bundles with Qobuz. There are Duo and Family bundles for multiple listening accounts, and you can also get a student account which will bring your monthly payment to $4.99, which is one of the cheapest music streaming options you can get. 

Image Credit: Tidal

If you want to stream high-res music for the cheapest price, then Tidal is for you. An individual membership plan costs $10.99 per month, which is two dollars cheaper than Qobuz. 

The Family plan will give you six listening accounts and will cost you $16.99. It also has family-friendly features with clean playlists of popular tracks with the swear words taken out. The student plan will cost you $5.49 per month, and you will have to show some credentials to prove you’re a student, just like Spotify. 

In the price category, Tidal comes out on top. While Tidal is cheaper per month, Qobuz has more flexible pricing options, but you have to pay for the whole year to get the lowest prices. 

Availability

You can get the Qobuz and Tidal apps on almost every device. There are apps for iPhones, and iPads, and apps for MacOS. There are also apps for Windows and Android devices. The apps are free to download, and you only need to sign in with your account.

Both music streaming services are compatible with Apple Airplay, and they also have their own “connect” options. Tidal Connect is more popular and is supported by a lot of devices. Qobuz Connect is newer and more reliable, but it will take a while for devices to start supporting it. 

Music Library

Both Tidal and Qobuz have a large collection of tracks. Tidal offers a library of over 110 million tracks, while Qobuz also has a large library of over 70 million tracks. Tidal has almost all of the songs you would want, of course, this varies with each person but I found all of the tracks I listen to on Tidal. Qobuz also has quite a large variety of songs, and I was able to find my favorite tracks here as well.

In this category, Tidal wins with a more expansive music library. But this doesn’t mean that Qobuz won’t have your favorite tracks, my advice would be to get the free trial of Qobuz and then check if it has the tracks you listen to. 

Features

Both music streaming services offer great features, and it is up to you to decide what features you want. Tidal has spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for spatial mixes, however, many popular devices don’t support Tidal’s mixes. The Sonos Ace headphones only support spatial music from Apple Music and Amazon Music and don’t support Tidal for spatial audio. You can share your tracks and playlists with other people, and they can view them even in other streaming apps. Tracks and playlists also get recommended to you based on your music tastes, and you can find new music in the explore tab. 

Image Credit: Tidal

In Qobuz, you can look at a lot of information about the music you’re listening to. It has articles from the internet and from the Qobuz platform itself that explain the music. There is also a magazine section in the Qobuz app so that you can see what journalists are writing about. You can make your playlists, and share them with other users. 

Image Credit: Qobuz

In the Qobuz store, you can also buy hi-res music. The higher-quality tracks are a little expensive, but if you have the Sublime plan you can get up to 60% off on these tracks. 

Sound Quality

Both Tidal and Qobuz offer lossless streaming, which means that the audio you are hearing isn’t compressed. Both music streaming services offer hi-res audio at 24-bit 192 kHz. Both services have FLAC streams, but not all FLACs are the same, and audio quality will depend on the listening devices you are using. 

Image Credit: Tidal

On iOS, both services offer lossless audio, but Android devices resample all incoming audio to 44 kHz, which means that Qobuz won’t offer lossless audio. Tidal on the other hand can bypass this resampling with a USB driver or a DAC, and you will be able to play lossless audio on an Android device. 

In my opinion, Qobuz has better sound quality. The sound is richer and better in every way, and you can also buy the tracks from the Qobuz store, some tracks even have DSD and DXD streams. 

Which Music Streaming Service Should You Get?

In the end, you should choose Tidal if you prioritize affordability ($10.99/month vs Qobuz’s $12.99/month), desire a larger music library (110 million tracks compared to Qobuz’s 70 million), or want access to Dolby Atmos and spatial audio features. Opt for Qobuz if you value superior sound quality with richer FLAC streams, appreciate comprehensive editorial content and detailed track information, require offline listening capabilities, or want the flexibility to purchase high-resolution music for permanent ownership with up to 60% discounts through the Sublime plan. For Android users seeking lossless audio, Tidal offers better compatibility with USB drivers and DACs to bypass Android’s resampling limitations, while iOS users will find comparable lossless performance on both platforms. Your choice ultimately depends on which specific features align with your listening priorities and equipment setup.