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Should I Use Tidal?

tidal.com·Analyzed 23 hours ago··Based on 12 sources

Depends

Depends

Buy if hi-res sound and artist-first streaming matter more to you than price and polish.

Superb hi-res audio for audiophiles; everyone else gets bugs, no free tier, and rising prices.

Confidence: Medium

$11.99/mo

Starting price

Individual plan, Tidal's most popular

None

Free tier

Removed in 2024 plan overhaul

3M+

Claimed users

Wikipedia; ~721K US-based per SoundGuys

$19.99/mo

Hi-res tier price

User-reported high-res plan price

Value for money3

Price hikes; $19.99 hi-res tier questioned

Ease of use3

Clumsy Connect, broken features reported

Feature depth4

Hi-res audio, DJ use, developer API

Pros

  • High-quality and hi-res audio is the headline feature⁷
  • Free playlist transfer from rival services³
  • Users praise the library and recommendations⁴
  • One switcher reported no noticeable audio downside

Cons

  • Users report broken features and inconsistent reliability
  • Subscribers report a 2026 price increase⁵
  • No free tier since the 2024 overhaul⁸
  • Tidal Connect called clumsy and battery-draining10

Gotchas

  • mediumFree tier removed in 2024 — no costless way to test it long-term⁸
  • mediumHi-res plan reportedly $19.99/mo, double the base price; users question the value⁹
  • mediumExperience is polarized: users say it is 'either great or it's' broken
  • lowDJ community has organized in protest of fee increases

Best for

  • Audiophiles with hi-fi gear
  • Spotify switchers chasing better sound
  • DJs needing high-quality streaming
  • Listeners who prioritize artist payouts

Not for

  • Casual background-music listeners — pure overkill
  • Anyone wanting a free tier
  • Budget streamers after the 2026 price hikes
  • People who prize playlist organization — reviewers call it weak

Pricing

Individual

$11.99/mo

  • Full catalog
  • High-quality audio
  • Most popular plan

Security

No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Switchers praise sound quality and the library but report inconsistent app reliability, weak organization, and rising prices.

“Tidal hasva good library, decent algorithm”
— Reddit, r/TIdaL (Worth it?)
“Tidal: too many broken features”
— Reddit, r/TIdaL
“Tidal connect very clumsy”
— Trustpilot reviewer

Alternatives

Compare Tidal with each alternative.

Full analysis

Based on ~15 public sources; unrelated companies named 'Tidal' (Cyber, Software, Audio speakers, Cloud) excluded.

Sources

  1. Subscription Types - TIDAL Supportsupport.tidal.com
    official
  2. TIDAL pricing pagetidal.com
    official
  3. TIDAL homepage (free transfer)tidal.com
    official
  4. Worth it? : r/TIdaLreddit.com
    review
  5. Price increase announcement : r/TIdaLreddit.com
    review
  6. I love Tidal's high-quality audio, but I'm still going back to Spotify - What Hi-Fi?whathifi.com
    review
  7. TIDAL Music: HiFi Sound - Google Playplay.google.com
    review
  8. Tidal overhauls plans, removes free tier - HardwareZonehardwarezone.com.sg
    news
  9. How does Tidal justify the $19.99/month price for high res? - Roon Communitycommunity.roonlabs.com
    review
  10. Read Customer Service Reviews of tidal.com - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  11. Tidal (service) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    news
  12. Is this the end of Tidal? - SoundGuyssoundguys.com
    news

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