Tidal is raising its subscription price for the first time in three years. Starting on the first billing date on or after August 3, 2026, the standard Individual plan in the United States climbs from $10.99 to $11.99 a month, the company confirmed on its official support page and in emails sent to subscribers this week.
The Tidal price increase narrows a gap that used to work in the service’s favor, though it does not close it completely. At $11.99, Tidal will cost the same as Deezer and what Amazon charges Prime members for Music Unlimited, while still landing a dollar under Spotify Premium’s $12.99 and Amazon’s standalone price. Only Apple Music stays cheaper across the board.
TL;DR: Tidal’s Individual plan rises from $10.99 to $11.99 a month in the US starting August 3, 2026, its first base plan change in three years. The new price matches Deezer and Amazon Music Unlimited for Prime members, but Tidal still undercuts Spotify Premium’s $12.99 and Amazon’s standalone price by a dollar. Apple Music remains the cheapest lossless option at $10.99. Existing subscribers keep their current rate until their next billing cycle after the change takes effect.
What the Tidal price increase actually changes
Tidal confirmed the update through an official support notice and a direct email to subscribers, which stated pricing would increase “starting on your first billing date on or after August 3rd.”
In the US, the Individual HiFi plan moves from $10.99 to $11.99 a month. UK subscribers go from £10.99 to £12.99, and Australian users move from AU$12.99 to AU$15.99. Family plans, which cover up to six members, are increasing too, though Tidal had not published every regional figure at the time of writing.
Nothing changes before your next billing date. Tidal says current subscribers keep paying the old price until their first renewal on or after August 3, and anyone signing up new can still lock in a 30 day free trial before the new pricing applies.
Why Tidal says it needs the extra dollar
Tidal frames this as routine maintenance, not a warning sign. A company spokesperson said the change reflects the platform’s first base plan adjustment in three years and is meant to keep fairly supporting the artists and rightsholders behind the music people listen to.
That explanation lines up with a pattern across the music streaming category. Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer have all raised prices over the past two years, while Apple Music has held its $10.99 price since October 2022. Tidal now joins that broader trend instead of standing apart from it.
This is not Tidal’s first pricing shake-up either. Until April 2024, hi-res tracks sat behind a pricier HiFi Plus tier that cost $19.99 a month on its own. Tidal folded that into a single $10.99 plan that included lossless and Dolby Atmos for everyone, a move that made the service look genuinely competitive for the first time in years. The new $11.99 price keeps that unified structure intact. It simply costs more to get it.
Tidal CEO Jesse Dorogusker offered a broader view on this earlier in the year, telling Music Business Worldwide that music remains relatively undervalued and underpriced relative to what listeners actually get for the money. That comment predates this specific price change, but it lines up with the direction Tidal has been moving in.
How the new price compares to Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest
The Tidal price increase does more than add a dollar to the bill. It moves Tidal into the same bracket as Deezer and Amazon’s Prime pricing, though Spotify Premium still costs a dollar more.
| Service | Standard monthly price (US) |
|---|---|
| Apple Music | $10.99 |
| Tidal (from August 3, 2026) | $11.99 |
| Deezer Premium | $11.99 |
| Amazon Music Unlimited (Prime members) | $11.99 |
| Amazon Music Unlimited (standalone) | $12.99 |
| Spotify Premium | $12.99 |
Apple Music remains the cheapest option for lossless streaming at $10.99, with no separate hi-res tier to pay extra for. Spotify raised its own Individual plan to $12.99 back in January, and Amazon’s standalone Music Unlimited plan sits at that same price. Tidal’s increase still leaves it a dollar cheaper than both.
What subscribers should actually do before August 3
Nothing forces a decision right now. Current subscribers keep their existing rate until their next billing date on or after August 3, which gives most people at least a few weeks to compare options properly.
For listeners who picked Tidal specifically because it undercut Spotify by two dollars, that gap just shrank to one. For everyone else, the catalog, the audio quality, and the app experience have not changed at all.
The real test is not the extra dollar. It is whether Tidal’s sound quality is worth paying almost as much as Spotify for, now that the price gap has shrunk to a single dollar.
