Tidal’s incoming HiFi price cut makes it an even better Spotify alternative

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Across the streaming business, prices only seem to be going in one direction, so credit to Tidal for just cutting its monthly fees: the music platform’s HiFi Plus plan is being rolled into the standard HiFi plan, so there will just be one single Tidal tier.

If you’re already paying for HiFi for $10.99 / £10.99 / AU$12.99 a month, then you get the audio upgrade from 16-bit, 44.1 kHz to 24-bit, 192 kHz for free. If you’re already paying for HiFi Plus for $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$23.99, then your Tidal subscription is about to get quite a bit cheaper.

The HiFi Plus tier comes with a few other extras, like a broader selection of FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) tracks, and support for formats like Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio. All these perks are being added to the new, single tier.

According to Tidal (via The Verge), the change is coming on April 10, 2024. Tidal is also retiring the free access tier, and the discounted tier that was previously offered to first responders and those in the military.

Families and students

The family and student plans are staying (Image credit: Tidal)

A few more details: the current Family plan ($16.99 / £16.99 / AU$19.99) is getting the HiFi Plus upgrade as well, for no extra charge. The student discount plan – $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$5.99 – is staying as it is, with no upgrade in quality.

Tidal also offers DJ integrations, which are now becoming the DJ Extension package – this costs extra, so if you make use of these tools, you’re still going to be paying the existing HiFi Plus fee every month.

The welcome move puts Tidal on an even footing with Apple Music and Amazon Music, which also offer lossless music quality for the same price a month. Spotify is the odd one out, as even its Premium tier uses lossy audio compression.

Spotify has been promising a lossless audio tier since 2021, but it hasn’t shown up yet – though recent leaks suggest it’s still on the way, and might be called Spotify Supremium. If it does eventually see the light of day, Tidal’s now ready for it.

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