"To those who tried both Tidal and Deezer, which service's sound quality did you like more and why? Which service did you choose?" - post from Reddit.
Deezer and Tidal are both globally known music streaming services. Tidal now has become one of the most affordable high-resolution services on the market, while Deezer focuses on podcasts integrated and unique 'Flow' moods. So, which is better, Deezer or Tidal?
In this review, we will discuss the basic facts of Tidal vs Deezerto help you choose the service that deserves your monthly subscription.
Part 1. Overview of Tidal and Deezer
Before comparing Tidal vs Deezer, let's take a glance at these two music platforms.
What Is Deezer?
As a French music service, Deezer provides an easy-to-use option for music addicts. It allows users to listen to over 120 million songs, 160,000 podcasts, and over 32,000 radio stations. Users can enjoy Deezer music online on many devices via its app or web player. Its music comes from the following famous record labels, including Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group. As for Deezer's plan, there are more options for you to choose from than Tidal. It offers Free, Premium, Duo, Family, and Student.
What Is Tidal?
Tidal is famous for its music quality, including lossless CD quality and Hi-Res quality. Nowadays, it has changed its subscription which does not provide a free option for users to listen to music online. To play its tracks, you have to subscribe to the 'TIDAL' plan for $10.99/month. Tidal provides access to over 110 million music tracks and 650,000 music videos. It delivers lossless audio quality, making it a popular choice for audiophiles. Also, it offers exclusive content, such as album releases and live performances.
View also: Comparison of Beatport and Tidal
Part 2. Deezer vs Tidal: Comparison Table
Here are the main differences comparison between Deezer and Tidal, which hopefully will give you a clear answer to the question, Which is better, Tidal or Deezer?
| Feature | Deezer | Tidal | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Library | 120+ million songs | 110 million songs | Tie |
| Availability | 188+ countries | 61+ countries | Deezer |
| Max Audio Quality | 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC (CD Quality) | 24-bit/192kHz FLAC (Hi-Res) | Tidal |
| Monthly Price | $11.99 (Individual) | $10.99/month (Individual) | Tidal |
| Free Plan | ✅ (Ad-supported) | ❌ (30-day trial only) | Deezer |
| Pay for Artist | $0.0064/stream | $0.013/stream | Tidal |
| Top Feature | Flow Tuner (AI + Moods) | Tidal Live & Uploads | Tie |
| Best For | Discovery & Radio | Audiophiles & Video | Tie |
Quick Verdict:
Choose Tidal if you use a high-end DAC and want the best price-to-quality ratio;
Choose Deezer if you want a free plan and better discovery for indie/international artists.
Part 3. Detailed Comparison of Deezer vs Tidal
After a concise understanding and comparison of Tidal and Deezer, we'll compare them in different aspects below. Let's take a deeper look!
1. Tidal vs Deezer Sound Quality
| Deezer Mobile Audio Quality | Basic: 64kb/s in MP3 Standard: 128kb/s in MP3 High quality: 320kb/s in MP3 High Fidelity: 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC |
| Deezer Desktop Audio Quality |
Standard: 128kb/s in MP3 Better: 320kb/s in MP3 High Fidelity: 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC |
| Tidal |
Standard: 320 Kbps in AAC HiFi: 1411 Kbps in FLAC Max: 24-bit/192kHz in FLAC |
🎵 Deezer HiFi vs Tidal Max
Deezer's HiFi CD quality has gone to a higher note. It has been upgraded from the 'Better' option which allows it to deliver exclusive results. It has landed on a 'HiFi' better offer at 16-bit/44.1kHz.
FYI: Deezer Audio Quality
When it comes to Tidal Max, it proves to be better than Deezer in terms of sound quality. Not only does it deliver tracks at up to 9216 kbps, but it also has Tidal Dolby Atmos and Sony Reality Audio effect. All of these help users get the most out of their streaming quality.
Both Deezer HiFi and Tidal Max offer uncompressed audio files encoded in FLAC format.
🎵 Deezer HiFi vs Tidal HiFi
Tidal users can subscribe to a paid 'TIDAL' plan to enjoy and download HiFi music at speeds up to 1411 kbps. This is up to CD quality in FLAC format based on 16-bit/44.1 kHz. Also, Deezer Premium users can stream and enjoy HiFi sound at 1411 kbps on their devices.
🎵 Deezer Free vs Tidal Free
Deezer Free streams at 128 kbps and the files are encoded in MP3 format. Tidal Free streams at 96 kbp.
The Verdict: If you are more concerned about the quality of music, Tidal should be your first choice. This is best for users who use a high-end Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). If you are a casual listener, you can choose Deezer, which allows free users to play music online at normal audio quality.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
2. Deezer vs Tidal Price and Plans
| Plan | Deezer | Tidal |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ✅ | ❌ |
| Individual | $11.99/month | $10.99/month; Individual + DJ Extension: $19.99/month |
| Duo | $15.99/month | ❌ |
| Family | $19.99/month | $16.99/month |
| Student | $5.99/month | $5.49/month; Family + DJ Extension: $14.49/month |
Deezer Price Plans
Deezer Premium costs $11.99 per month. The Deezer Duo costs $15.99/month. There is also an option for Deezer Family, which costs $19.99 per month. This option covers up to 6 profiles and allows for pairing 13 devices. If you meet its requirements, you can get 50% off with Deezer Student. In some countries, you can subscribe to an independent Deezer HiFi plan, which allows you to enjoy High Quality (320kbps) audio.
You can find another way to get Deezer plans by spending less money. Simply go to the Deezer offers page and hit the 'Annual' tab. On this Annual subscription page, you can get different discounts for each plan.
Also, you can access and play Deezer music with ads for free. But the Deezer free plan has many limits, including in audio quality.
FYI: Deezer Free Plan
With the free Deezer plan, you can only listen to Deezer songs and playlists online. If you want to play them offline, you'd better upgrade to Deezer Premium subscriptions. Or, you'd better use a professional tool like AudFree Deezer Music Downloader to download music from Deezer for offline playback anywhere.
Tidal Price Plans
Tidal knows how to lock in its subscribers. A move evidenced by its discount for students. All you need is a valid college email account to take advantage of this great discount. To get the Tidal family plan, you need to pay $14.99/month. If you wish to use the add-on DJ extension, you can pay $10.99 per month to get an individual subscription or pay $5.49 per month to get a student subscription. The DJ extension costs $9.00/month additionally. With a subscription, users can enjoy full 24-bit Hi-Res FLAC and Dolby Atmos.
Tidal doesn't offer a permanent free tier to users anymore, though it provides a 30-day trial for new users.
View also: How to Get Tidal Free Trial 6 Months
Similarly, you can't listen to Tidal music offline without a paid subscription. But you can take advantage of AudFree Tidal Music Converter. It allows you to download music from Tidal to MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, Lossless, M4A, and M4B in lossless quality locally.
The Verdict: Deezer provides more functions for its free users. However, other plans of Deezer are more expensive than Tidal's. And Tidal provides a unique DJ extension, while Deezer does not.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
3. Deezer vs Tidal: Music Library
When it comes to Deezer and Tidal's music libraries, both have millions of available tracks. Official figures show that Tidal offers more than 110 million songs and 650,000 music videos. Although Deezer cleaned up over 20 million audio tracks this year, it still has more than 100 million tracks, playlists, and podcasts. However, Deezer only offers audio content and songs, not videos.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
4. Tidal vs Deezer: Devices Compatibility
Tidal Compatibility
The Tidal music streaming service can be accessed through its desktop app, mobile app, and web player. In addition to that, Tidal has expanded to the TV app, Apple CarPlay, and iTunes. Other connected Hi-Fi products are among them, including Bluesound, Sonos, Cyrus Player, and Google Chromecast. Please note that Tidal has strict copyright protection, so you cannot listen to Tidal music on unsupported devices.
View also: How to Play Tidal on Multiple Devices
If you want to play Tidal music on an incompatible device, you can use the AudFree Tidal Music Converter. It allows you to convert Tidal music as local files. Then you can transfer the converted Tidal files to any device to listen to them anywhere without Tidal Connect.
Deezer Compatibility
Deezer is also compatible with many devices, such as Android, iOS, Windows phones, Apple Watch, etc. It has a web player for Chrome, IE, Safari, and Firefox. Not only that, it also runs on Apple TV, Android TV, and other smart TVs. In addition, you can play Deezer music on Xbox and HiFi devices. Similarly, if you want to enjoy Deezer music on other incompatible devices, try AudFree Deezer Music Downloader.
The Verdict: We cannot give an answer in this Deezer vs. Tidal battle. No matter whether you use Deezer or Tidal, you can use music converters to settle the compatibility issue.
🏆 Winner: Tie
If you choose both services, you can use AudFree Streaming Audio Recorder to download music from Tidal and Deezer. Also, this program supports to download music from YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, SoundCloud, etc.
5. Deezer vs Tidal: Availability Countries
In terms of applicability, Deezer has an all-inclusive portfolio that makes it available in 188+ countries. This is a huge number and means that Deezer is available in almost every country.
✨ List Of Countries Deezer Is Available In
Tidal has been on the rise, especially after it relaunched three years ago amid a flurry of celebrities. It is now available in 61+ countries. While Tidal is on par with Deezer in this regard, Tidal intends to further expand its international presence in the near future.
✨ Tidal Availability by Country
🏆 Winner: Deezer
6. Tidal vs Deezer: Music Discovery
Similar to Tidal's distinctive high-resolution music, its feature of discovering new music is equally impressive. It comes with a "What's New" section containing expertly curated playlists, albums, artists, podcasts, Tidal videos, etc., which are categorized by genres, moods, events, and more. Also, it suggests tracks and playlists according to your preferences and usual practices. Besides, there is a Uploads, which displays independent tracks selected by Tidal's editorial team for you to stream.
With a music library of 100+ million tracks, Deezer designs channels, playlists, shows, and the search to explore music. It leads with technical precision through its Flow Tuner and rigorous AI Detection to keep recommendations human-centric. Also, you can go to channels for curated content based on your taste. As for the playlists and shows, the former is designed to automatically divide songs that you play into appropriate playlists, and the latter is for daily recommendations.
🏆 Winner: Tie
7. Deezer vs Tidal: UI Interface
Even though these two streaming music services are among the highly rated, Tidal vs Deezer has something different when it comes to usability.
Deezer has an easy-to-navigate interface, inclusive of a lyrics feature. This lets you see the lyrics whenever you select a track to play. Furthermore, its appearance and interface are pretty clean with lots of space to make any good moves.
Besides, you can select Deezer Dark mode or Light mode to use. It is a special function compared with Tidal.
When it comes to Tidal, the flow functionality acts like an aiding agent that finds any genre of music to fit your mood at the moment. It can further play random music depending on your favorites or suggest new music for you. The Tidal UI is designed to provide a seamless and visually appealing experience for users.
View also: Does Tidal Have Lyrics
🏆 Winner: Deezer
8. How Much Do Tidal and Deezer Pay for Artists
If you have favorite artists and want them to earn more, you'd better know the remuneration of Tidal and Deezer for artists.
When it comes to the benefits for artists, Tidal can be judged as one platform with the best performance since it has the highest payout rates for its users. It is known that Tidal is partly owned by artists such as Jay-Z, so its artists get the most compared with other music streaming services, for example, when comparing Tidal versus Spotify versus Deezer. And Tidal even adopts the Direct Artist Payment (DAP) program, which makes 10% of users' payments directly flow into the pockets of artists. Generally speaking, Tidal gives $0.013 per stream.
Resemble Tidal, Deezer also applies a User-Centric Payment System (UCPS), which distributes your subscription payment to the artists you stream most. However, it pays only $0.0064/stream, which is less than Tidal.
The Verdict: Obviously, Tidal is your best choice if you want your favorite artists to earn more.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
9. Deezer vs Tidal: Podcasts
Deezer and Tidal offer different features and advantages when it comes to podcasts. Deezer boasts a vast podcast library covering a wide range of topics and genres such as news, entertainment, technology, culture, and more. Its podcast recommendation algorithm is quite accurate, providing users with relevant podcast programs based on their preferences. Additionally, Deezer regularly updates its original podcast content, spanning multiple fields and offering users a diverse auditory experience.
On the other hand, Tidal focuses more on music and high-quality audio content, resulting in a relatively smaller podcast catalog. Despite the fewer number of podcasts, Tidal maintains a high standard of content quality, covering music, arts, culture, and more. This makes it suitable for users who appreciate high-quality audio experiences.
If you prioritize music and high-quality audio, Tidal may be the better choice, whereas if you're interested in a wide range of podcast content and advanced recommendation algorithms, Deezer is a solid option.
🏆 Winner: Deezer
10. Tidal vs Deezer: Content Sharing
Both Deezer and Tidal allow users to share their favorite music tracks on mainstream social media platforms. However, if you are not a Premium subscriber, you are only allowed to share your playlists, albums, etc. Paid subscribers can share single tracks. It is worth mentioning that Tidal recently added a new function. You can use Tidal universal links to share Tidal audio to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
11. Deezer vs Tidal: Original Content
Tidal and Deezer both offer original content to enhance their music streaming services, but they differ in their approach and offerings.
Tidal, known for its focus on high-quality audio, also features exclusive content such as music videos, concerts, and interviews with popular artists. This includes Tidal-exclusive albums and tracks, as well as behind-the-scenes content that gives users a deeper look into the music industry.
On the other hand, Deezer's original content strategy includes curated playlists, podcasts, and radio shows tailored to different genres and moods. Deezer Originals, including podcasts and artist-curated playlists, aim to provide users with unique listening experiences beyond just music.
The Verdict: Tidal emphasizes exclusive music content and high-quality audio, while Deezer offers a diverse range of original content including playlists, podcasts, and radio shows to cater to varied musical tastes and preferences.
🏆 Winner: Tidal
Part 4. Simple Comparison of Deezer vs Spotify vs Tidal
Deezer, Spotify, and Tidal, which is better. These services are all popular music streaming platforms with their unique features and offerings.
Deezer offers a vast catalog of music tracks and podcasts, with a strong emphasis on discovery and personalized recommendations. It has a user-friendly interface and supports high-quality audio streaming. It has a free plan for people to listen to music online.
Spotify is known for its extensive music library, including rare tracks and exclusive content. It also excels in personalized playlists and algorithm-based recommendations, making it a favorite among music enthusiasts. Besides, it offers social sharing feature, allowing users to create/listen to music together. Spotify also offers a free tier with ads.
Tidal stands out for its focus on high-fidelity audio quality, offering lossless streaming and HiFi audio options. It has a strong emphasis on exclusive content, including artist-curated playlists and live performances. Tidal has a growing catalog of music videos.
The Verdict: Deezer is great for discovery and podcasts, Spotify offers a vast music library with personalized playlists, and Tidal is ideal for audiophiles seeking high-fidelity audio and exclusive content.
View also: Deezer vs Spotify: Which is Better
Part 5. Which Is Better: Deezer or Tidal
Is Deezer better than Tidal? The answer depends on the aspects you consider.
Tidal offers higher sound quality, more diverse content and is cheaper than Deezer, making it best suited for users owning a high-end device and want more exclusive content.
Deezer offers a free plan, more accessible and podcasts/indie music, which is better for users with limited budget and live outside the US/UK.
It doesn't matter if you choose Deezer or Tidal, you can use AudFree tool to help you enjoy offline playback outside the music platforms.
Miley Swift
Staff Editor
