Qobuz vs Spotify
Qobuz is built for serious listeners, with hi-res sound and deep liner notes. Spotify is easier to live with day to day and far better for discovery.
- Individual
- $12.99/mo
- Duo
- $17.99/mo
- Family
- Not checked yet
- Student
- Not offered
- Max quality
- Hi-res FLAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz
- Lossless
- Yes
- Hi-res
- Yes
- Catalog
- 100M+ tracks, deep classical and jazz catalog
- Free tier
- No
- Podcasts
- No
- Lyrics
- Limited
- Social
- Limited
- Artist payout
- Pro-rata, among the highest per-stream rates
- Individual
- $12.99/mo
- Duo
- $18.99/mo
- Family
- $21.99/mo
- Student
- $6.99/mo
- Max quality
- Lossless up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz
- Lossless
- Yes
- Hi-res
- No
- Catalog
- 100M+ tracks, large podcast and audiobook library
- Free tier
- Yes, with ads
- Podcasts
- Yes
- Lyrics
- Yes
- Social
- Jam, Blend, shared playlists
- Artist payout
- Pro-rata, 1,000-stream minimum per track
Price
Qobuz Studio is $12.99 a month, and Spotify is $12.99. Qobuz gets cheaper if you pay for a year up front, working out to about $10.83 a month (TechRadar). Its Duo plan starts at $14.99 a month on annual billing (Qobuz). There's no free tier.
Price calculator
Not checked yet: SoundCloud. Left out until we confirm current prices.
US prices, checked Sep 26, 2026. Yearly figure is 12 months at the monthly rate.
Sound quality
Qobuz streams FLAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz on every plan. Spotify's lossless tops out at 24-bit/44.1 kHz (Spotify). Qobuz also sells hi-res downloads, with discounts on its Sublime plan, if you want to own files.
Catalog
Qobuz lists over 100 million tracks and is especially strong in classical and jazz, with digital booklets and editorial reviews. Spotify matches it on pop and hip-hop, and has podcasts and audiobooks, which Qobuz doesn't.
Features
Qobuz works with Roon, Sonos and many hi-fi streamers, and has Qobuz Connect for playing on supported devices. Spotify's recommendations, Jam and daylist are far ahead, and its apps run on almost everything.
Verdict
Pick Qobuz if sound quality comes first, you listen to a lot of classical or jazz, or you like buying downloads. Pick Spotify if you want better recommendations, podcasts, and a free tier.