Qobuz Vs Tidal: The Ultimate Sound Quality Comparison

Today’s comparison is special because we’re about to dive into a side-by-side comparison of two of the best streaming services for audiophiles – Qobuz vs Tidal.

We’ll discuss price, music selection, user interface, playlist creation options, collaboration/sharing, and – yes – sound quality! We’ll even offer you some friendly tips on how to transfer your music between music platforms. Let’s dive in!

Qobuz Vs Tidal: TL;DR

Overall, Tidal is better than Qobuz. It has a better price tag that packs more value for money, offers Hi-Res FLAC format, and is available in more countries. Still, Qobuz offers better social features by supporting collaborative playlists.

Tidal Vs Qobuz: Pricing Plans

Winner: Tidal

Let’s talk about pricing first. For the best side-by-side comparison here, we’ll list all the relevant information in this category in a handy chart for your viewing pleasure. 

	Qobuz	Tidal
Free Trial	1 month	1 month
Yearly Subscription Discount	Yes	No
Student Discount	$4.99/month	50% off – $5.49/month
Basic Individual Account	$12.99/month, $129.99/year ($10.83/month)	$10.99/month
Upgraded Individual Account*	$179.99/year ($14.99/month)	/
Basic Duo Accuont	$17.99/month or $179.88/year ($14.99/month)	NO
Upgraded Duo Account*	$269.89/year ($22.49/month)	NO
Basic Family Account	$17.99/month	$16.99/month
Upgraded Family Account*	$349.99/year ($29.17/month)	/

Qobuz Pricing

• • Studio (Basic) Plan – This plan allows you to stream and download Hi-Res music. Included in this plan is FLAC 24-Bit up to 192 kHz. You’ll also receive access to their music library containing over 100 million tracks, original editorial content and offline listening ability. 

1. 1. Individual (1 account) – $12.99/month (monthly) or $129.99 yearly ($10.83/month).
2. 2. Duo (2 accounts)- $17.99/month or $179.88 yearly ($14.99/month).
3. 3. Family (up to 6 accounts) – $17.99/month (monthly). Yearly not available.

• • Sublime (Upgraded) Plan – This plan will give you the same features as the Studio Plan. The only difference is that the Sublime Plan allows you to have up to 60% OFF of the music you purchase. Everyone loves a good discount, right?! 

1. 1. Individual (1 account) – $14.99/month (yearly) @ $179.99. Monthly not available. 
2. 2. Duo (2 accounts) – $22.49/month (yearly) @ $269.89. Monthly not available. 
3. 3. Family (up to 6 accounts) – $29.17/month (yearly) @ $349.99. 

In October 2024, Qobuz introduced the Student Plan, offering all the perks of the Individual premium plan at a discounted price.

Tidal Pricing

• • HiFi Plan – As of April 2024, this is the only Tidal plan, basically. This plan offers 24-bit, 192 kHz (Hi-Res FLAC, Dolby Atmos, FLAC) audio quality. You’ll have access to over 100 million songs, 650k + videos, and you’ll get to enjoy them with no ads interrupting your jam sessions.

1. 1. Individual (1 account) – $10.99/month (monthly). Yearly not available. 
2. 2. Family (up to 6 accounts) – $16.99/month (monthly). Yearly not available. 
3. 3. Student (1 account) – $5.49/month (monthly). Yearly not available.

Some things these two platforms have in common are that they both offer family discounts with up to 6 accounts, and they both offer your first 30 days for free.

Tidal has to win this round because of its more affordable price while still offering needed plan options like individual and family accounts. Basically, Tidal is catering to everyone, and we’re totally here for it!

Tidal Vs Qobuz: Music Selection

Winner: Tidal

Now, let’s talk about music selection. It is all about the music, after all, so song selection really matters here.

Qobuz Music Library

Qobuz counts over 100 million songs – all in lossless audio quality. The music library is as diverse as any major streaming service, but it’s how widespread the top-tier quality is – that’s what makes Qobuz stand out.

A Qobuz subscription will grant you access to exclusive music releases and even give you early access to some songs. Now you can be among the first to hear the hottest hits, at the sound quality you deserve.

Tidal Music Library

Tidal, on the other hand, offers over 100 million songs and expert-curated playlists. With your Tidal subscription, you’ll also enjoy more exclusive content such as music videos, behind-the-scenes footage – even concerts.

Between the sound quality and the concert footage, you can feel like you’re actually at the concert, from the comfort of your own home.

With a Tidal HiFi subscription, you’ll get access to lossless audio quality. Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) files were also an option but they were completely removed from the platform in July 2024 and replaced with FLAC tracks.

So, it’s close, but Tidal wins this round thanks to the vast behind-the-scenes content and exclusives for some interesting new artists.

Qobuz Vs. Tidal: Sound Quality

Winner: Tidal

Qobuz Audio Quality

Qobuz offers two different streaming quality options: HiFi (16-bit/44.1kHz or 24-bit/96kHz) and Hi-Res (24-bit/192kHz). HiFi offers CD-quality audio, while Hi-Res offers higher-resolution audio that can provide a more detailed and immersive listening experience.

Qobuz’s audio quality is generally considered to be among the best in the streaming industry. The company uses a lossless compression format called FLAC, which means that no data is lost during the streaming process. This results in a sound that is very close to the original recording.

Tidal Audio Quality

Tidal offers three different streaming quality options: Low (up to 320 kbps), High (16-bit, 44.1 kHz), and Max (up to 24-bit, 192 kHz). Low is the only option in the free tier and is not recommended for listening to music with high-quality audio equipment.

High offers CD-quality audio and is a good choice for most people. HiFi offers lossless audio, meaning no data is lost during the streaming process. This is the best option for audiophiles and those who want the best possible sound quality.

Tidal also offered a Master Quality (MQA) streaming option, which was available on the Max plan. MQA was a proprietary format that used a specific folding process for audio compression so the tracks retain the original recording’s details with a significantly smaller size overall. In late July 2024, Tidal replaced all MQA files with FLAC versions.

Overall, Tidal offers excellent sound quality. Whether you are a casual listener or an audiophile, you are sure to appreciate the difference in sound quality between Tidal and other streaming services.

So when it comes to Qobuz vs Tidal sound quality overall, both platforms will give you the FLAC lossless audio format, but only Tidal offers the Hi-Res FLAC format. Both of these music streaming services will deliver the sound quality that all you audiophiles seek. They’re both pretty neck-and-neck in this category, but with the right hardware, Tidal stands out.

Tidal Vs Qobuz: User Interface

Winner: Tie

Let’s face it, learning to navigate a new platform is not always fun. We all go into these new platforms understanding that there’s a learning period, but we don’t want to waste too much of our precious time learning everything.

With that said, let’s see what each platform has to offer, this time in terms of its user interface. 

Tidal Interface

In terms of first impressions, Tidal is said to be beautiful in appearance and has a clean aesthetic, with focus more on accessibility rather than bells and whistles. In other words, you won’t find yourself getting lost in unnecessary frills while trying to just find some amazing music. 

Tidal is pretty easily accessible on its web player, desktop, and mobile app. Good stuff! It’s also compatible with other devices like smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, voice assistants, car systems, streaming devices, gaming consoles, and smart TVs. 

Regardless of how you use Tidal, you should have no issues finding exactly what you’re looking for. Here are some of the features you’ll come across while exploring Tidal: 

• – Home Screen – First impressions are important. This is true of music streaming services, as well. Tidals’ home screen is simple yet elegant and gives you everything you need without the distractions. 
• – Navigation Menu – You’ll find the navigation menu in convenient places, like the top left or top right of the screen, depending on which device you’re using. 
• – Search – Perhaps the most important feature you’ll find in a music streaming service, the search bar is a vital function for music lovers, especially audiophiles. Type in the name of any artist or album you’re searching for and you’ll enter a realm of musical possibilities. It’s like the musical wardrobe to Narnia. 
• – Playlist Creation/Discovery – Everyone loves being introduced to new music, which is what makes this feature so worthwhile. In addition to discovering new music, you can create and edit your own playlists whenever you want. 
• – My Collection – The home of all your favorites. This is where you’ll find all your saved songs, albums, playlists, and artists. 
• – Artist Pages – This is where you’ll find info about… you guessed it… artists! You can learn all about their singles, albums, music videos, and see when they have new releases. 
• – Album Pages – Click on an album of your choosing and you’ll be directed to the album page, where you’ll find all the information and visual art pertaining to that particular album. 
• – Audio Quality Settings – Here, you can adjust the settings of the audio quality, according to your preferences. Check here to find that lossless audio!

Qobuz Interface

Qobuz’s user interface is not to be outdone by Tidal’s. Qobuz focuses on a clean design with clarity for its users. This is a relief, right? No one wants to be confused when trying to locate a certain function while streaming music. 

This minimalistic approach to design is one you’ll surely appreciate, as it still gives you everything you’ll need during your music searches. 

For added convenience, you can access Qobuz on many devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, streaming devices, smart TVs, car systems, wearable devices, voice assistants, and web browsers. 

When you use Qobuz, here are some of the features you can enjoy: 

• – Home Screen – This is generally the screen that will greet you as you enter into the world of Qobuz. Here, you’ll find things like new releases, curated playlists, and recommended content based on your user history. 
• – Navigation Menu – Usually located in the top left corner or the top right corner, the navigation menu will guide you to convenient places like Home, Search, My Library, and Playlists. 
• – Search – Use this to find content quickly. You can search by artist, song title, or album. 
• – Playlist Creation/Discovery – Discovering new music is wonderful, especially when you come across songs that you fall in love with. When you find songs that you love, simply add them to a playlist, and you can easily listen to them whenever you desire. 
• – My Library – This is where you’ll manage all of your favorite content, such as artists, songs, albums, and playlists. 
• – Artist Pages – Qobuz’s artist pages are more in depth than that of Tidal. This is because they provide comprehensive information about the artists, such as biographical details and discography. 
• – Album Pages – Click on an album that interests you and you’ll learn about its details and be offered with options such as adding it to a playlist. 
• – Audio Quality Settings – You can toggle between standard quality audio and Hi-Res audio, depending on your mood. 

So, in our battle of Tidal vs Qobuz, we’re declaring this user interface category a tie because they both have rather similar user interfaces, appearances, and features for their users.

Playlist Creation Options

Winner: Qobuz

When it comes to playlists, the possibilities are endless. Let’s take a look at what options are offered in terms of playlist creation by both Qobuz and Tidal.

We’ll list the most important features you’ll want to consider when creating your next playlist so you can make sure your streaming service of choice offers it or not. 

Here are some of the features you’ll want when creating a playlist: 

	Qobuz	Tidal
Title	Yes	Yes
Description	Yes	Yes
Add Songs	Yes	Yes
Remove Songs	Yes	Yes
Rearrange Songs	Yes	Yes
Collaborative Playlists	Yes	No
Sharing Playlists	Yes	Yes
Public Playlists	Yes	Yes
Private Playlists	Yes	Yes
Curated Playlists	Yes	Yes

Qobuz wins this round, since it answers “Yes” in every category. Tidal wasn’t far behind, though, as it only had to answer “No” in one category – Collaborative Playlists.

Don’t worry, though, you can still share your favorite playlists from Tidal using the TuneMyMusic Transfer feature.

Qobuz Vs Tidal: Social Aspects

Winner: Tie

We all love social media and getting to interact with others through all of our apps, including our music streaming services.

Qobuz fans used to complain about the lack of social interaction available to them. For this reason, Qobuz launched their feature “Qobuz Club” in 2023.

This allows Qobuz subscribers to interact, bringing music lovers and audiophiles together. With this social feature, you can share your musical likes/loves with others, discover new music and recommendations, and get advice about hi-fi and hardware. 

Tidal launched a new social feature in 2023 as well, called Tidal Live. With this one, you’re be able to act as a DJ and create your own musical content to share with others.

When you’re listening to a song you like, you can click the “Live” button in the top right corner and create your own musical session. From there, you can give your session a name and share the link with your friends.

Whatever songs you put in your “Now Playing” queue will become part of your session. As the initiator of your DJ session, you are the only person allowed to change the song lineup.

A plus for Tidal is that you can also share the songs you are listening to on social media, which makes it fun to express yourself musically as a Tidal user.

So, the winner of this round is… both! We will call it tight, considering that Qobuz has an internal social media-like feature covering so many different topics, and Tidal can share songs you’re listening to on multiple social media. 

Tidal Vs Qobuz: Unique Features

Winner: Tidal

While these two music platforms have many similarities, let’s discuss a little bit about what makes each of them unique. 

Qobuz is unique in the fact that it gives you the exact quality specs of each song as you play it. They were also the first music streaming service to offer users the ability to both download and stream music.

 

Tidal is unique in the fact that it elevates the overall sound quality of music as you listen to it. For example, Tidal was optimized for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio platform but replaced the files with FLAC options in July 2024.

So we’ve got to give this category win to Tidal, as it seems to be more suited towards the full audiophile experience, focusing on every single sound being elevated, rather than just the lyrics. 

Transfer Playlists between Tidal and Qobuz

TuneMyMusic is the answer to all of your problems when it comes to playlist transfer and management. 

Whether you’re trying to share your playlists with a friend, transfer your playlist between music streaming services, sync two different playlists that are on different music streaming services, upload songs from your music library to a file, or backup your playlists so you’ll never lose them, TuneMyMusic can help you!

With TuneMyMusic, it’s possible to transfer playlists from Qobuz to Tidal or from Tidal to Qobuz. Not just that, but you can also transfer entire music libraries from any other service, including Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and many others.

Conclusion: Qobuz vs Tidal – Which is Better?

Now for the fun part… let’s see who wins the battle between Qobuz and Tidal and sum it up in a clean little table.

Qobuz vs Tidal Comparison Score Table
Price	89	97
Music Selection + Sound Quality	95	98
User Interface	92	92
Playlist Creation Options	100	91
Social Aspects	98	98
Unique Features	92	98
Average	94	95.5

What Is Qobuz?

Qobuz is a French service for streaming and downloading music. Since first launching in 2013, Qobuz has accumulated a following of around 200,000 users.

Sure, this may not seem like a large following when comparing this number to that of other music streaming services. This is because Qobuz launched with a specific focus in mind – audiophiles. Qobuz was the trailblazer of music streaming services focused on delivering high-resolution audio. 

What Is Tidal?

Tidal entered the entertainment game a little later than Qobuz; it was launched in 2014 by the Norwegian company Aspiro. In 2015, the famous recording artist Jay-Z bought Tidal (Jay-Z recently sold 80% of the company, but Tidal’s popularity is still growing, thanks to his endorsement).

If you think this likely caused an increase in popularity for this music streaming service, you’re correct! Today, Tidal has over 5 million paying subscribers. It obviously pays to have a celebrity endorsement, right?

That’s not all Tidal has going for it, though. Tidal prides itself on its focus on artist ownership and ensuring the artists receive fair compensation for sharing their music with all of us. Let’s face it, for such high-quality audio, it’s totally worth paying for!

This vast difference in the number of listeners between Qobuz and Tidal likely has something to do with its availability, as well. While Qobuz is available in twenty-five countries, Tidal is available in over s-i-x-t-y countries… sixty!

Qobuz Vs Tidal: Summary

And the winner is… Tidal! Tidal slightly edged ahead of Qobuz in our side-by-side comparison. Next time you’re looking for a place to stream your favorite songs at a high audio quality, give Tidal a try… or Qobuz. They’re really both great in their own right. Honestly, it just depends on what you’re looking for.

If you are still deciding which streaming service is the best for you, check out our Comparisons page, which has excellent comparison articles for most music streaming platforms available today.