Best music streaming services 2023: free streams to hi-res audio

Streaming services have transformed the way we consume music and even audiophiles with a stubborn fondness for physical formats have to admit that it’s hard to fully resist the allure of online platforms when it comes to getting your music fix – especially now that the quality of streaming is getting better and better.

With the entire history of music collapsed into the modern streaming era and access to tens of millions of tracks at the tap of a touchscreen, it has never been easier to hunt down old favourites or discover brand-new bands and artists.

Here at What Hi-FI?, we’re not only concerned with the physical hardware that goes into a great listening experience, we’re also here to help you decide which less tangible formats will really help the music you love to shine. We’ve spent time with the streaming scene’s major players to assess each brand’s strengths, weaknesses and unique selling points to give you the most coherent picture possible when choosing to whom to pledge your allegiance. Choose wisely…

How to choose the right music streaming service for you

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi?
Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

There’s a wide range of streaming services to choose from, offering unlimited access to vast catalogues of music, which can be streamed over the internet or a mobile network or downloaded directly to your device for offline listening.

The good news is that most services offer new users free trials – typically a month but sometimes up to three – and some, like Spotify, have a free tier (supported by adverts with limited playback options) so you can try out a services interface and curation before you buy. You can also check out the best free music apps if you’re tight on budget.

Once you decide to pay, it’s usually by way of a set monthly subscription fee, though some services, such as Qobuz, offer a reduction if you sign up for a full year. There are also discounts to be had for students, as well as savings if you share your account with another person or your household.

The audio quality of these streams varies between services. Those concerned less by the outright quality and more with getting bang for your buck can listen to compressed streams at 320kbps from the likes of Spotify. But you don’t have to sacrifice quality; Tidal, Apple, Amazon and Qobuz all have subscription tiers that allow you to access CD-quality and even hi-res streams.

As paid-for access to music takes over from outright ownership, users are likely to be signed up to one service or another for decades to come, so it makes sense to fully investigate what’s out there before blindly committing to a rolling subscription for the rest of your life. After all, when your playlists are set up and your listening habits are learned by a certain service, it’s harder to decide to switch.

So if you’re looking to try something new, which is the best music streaming service for you? Read on to find out.

Best music streaming services: Tidal

Tidal has been our favorite hi-fi streaming service for some time, offering up a big library and high-quality streams. (Image credit: Apple / Tidal)

The best music service for streaming-savvy audiophiles, with high quality audio and wide range of content.

Specifications

Cost: from £10/$10/AU$12 to £20/$20/AU$24 per month

Quality: 160kbps (free), 1411kbps, CD-quality streaming, 24-bit/96kHz

Files: FLAC, AAC

Library size: 100m+ songs, 350K+ videos

Platforms: iOS and Android apps, desktop app, web player

Reasons to buy

Great sound quality

Hi-res Masters tracks

Intuitive interface

Reasons to avoid

–

Hi-res available for less elsewhere

Tidal has long been at the forefront of high-quality streaming, but the service has recently made several changes to its pricing structure that sees it becoming more accessible with the inclusion of lossless 16-bit 44.1kHz audio streams in its standard plan. Now, you can sign up starting at just £10 /$10 / AU$12.

Subscribers to the newly rebranded ‘Tidal HiFi’ plan get interruption-free access to audio at up to CD quality. However, there are still some perks that are reserved for Tidal’s top tier. Besides CD-quality streams, ‘Tidal HiFi Plus’ affords its subscribers access to millions of hi-res audio tracks that are typically 24-bit/96kHz but do go up to 24-bit/192kHz. Called ‘Tidal Masters’, these music files are encoded using MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) technology, which the company says allows for more efficient packing of the hi-res data, though it has its detractors. It also includes tracks mixed in immersive sound formats (Dolby Atmos Music and Sony 360 Audio recordings).

But hi-res and CD-quality streams aren’t the be-all and end-all of Tidal’s offering. Customers in the US can take advantage of the service’s first-ever free plan, called ‘Tidal Free’, which offers the company’s complete library of 100 million tracks at 160kbps with “limited interruptions” from Tidal that will “aim to educate consumers on the music industry.”

You can access Tidal through iOS, Android, desktop – all of which offer hi-res streams – as well as a browser-based player and a good spread of other platforms, such as Sonos. Tidal Connect also now allows you to connect via wi-fi to a growing list of products from manufacturers including NAD, Naim, KEF, Bluesound, Dali, Cambridge Audio, McIntosh and more.

It may have the priciest premium account tier on our list, but Tidal’s ease of use is exemplary, and sound quality is exceptional across the board. The CD-quality streams display excellent levels of detail and expression, and hi-res recordings take this up a level. Sonically Tidal still has the edge over almost all the competition, although Apple Music’s ALAC streams manage to match it for openness and subtlety.

Tidal is also now distinguishing itself from the rest of the pack by introducing initiatives designed to provide artists with direct payments (from HiFi Plus subscribers only) that represent each user’s listening habits rather than being attributed by aggregation.

If you’re a conscientious music fan looking for the best high-quality streaming experience, with an extensive catalogue, immersive content, broad device support, and improved discovery features (and you aren’t already tied into the Apple ecosystem), Tidal is unquestionably it.

Read the full review: Tidal

Spotify Screenshot

Spotify is perhaps the biggest streaming platform ever, bringing industry-defining music recommendations to the forefront. (Image credit: What Hi-FI?)

The best service for ease of use, discovery and a whole host of fun features – if not for best sound.