Want to learn how to download music from Spotify to phone so you can listen offline without using data? Whether you’re preparing for a flight, heading somewhere with poor internet connection, or just want to save on mobile data, downloading music from Spotify is essential for uninterrupted listening. Spotify Premium subscribers can download up to 10,000 songs on up to 5 different devices, making it easy to build an offline music library on your phone. This comprehensive guide will walk you through exactly how to download songs, albums, playlists, and podcasts from Spotify to your iPhone or Android phone, explain the requirements and limitations, troubleshoot common problems, and help you maximize your offline listening experience.
Understanding Spotify Downloads: What You Need to Know
Before jumping into the download process, it’s important to understand how Spotify downloads work.
Spotify Premium Requirement
The most important fact: You must have Spotify Premium (the paid subscription) to download music for offline listening. The free version of Spotify does not allow downloads.
Spotify Premium costs:
- Individual: $11.99/month
- Duo (for 2 people): $14.99/month
- Family (up to 6 accounts): $16.99/month
- Student: $5.99/month (with verification)
There’s no way around this requirement. Free Spotify users cannot download music, though Spotify offers a 1-month free trial of Premium for new users to test the feature.
How Spotify Downloads Work
Not permanent files: When you download from Spotify, you’re not downloading MP3 files to keep forever. You’re downloading encrypted music files that only work within the Spotify app.
Online check required: Even downloaded music requires you to go online at least once every 30 days. This allows Spotify to verify you still have an active Premium subscription.
Automatic removal: If you cancel Premium, all downloaded music automatically becomes unavailable (though playlists remain).
Platform-specific: Downloads on your iPhone stay on your iPhone; downloads on Android stay on Android. You can’t transfer Spotify downloads between devices.
Storage requirements: Downloaded music takes up storage space on your phone. A typical 3-minute song is about 3-10 MB depending on quality settings, so 1,000 songs might use 3-10 GB of storage.
Download Limits
Spotify has the following limits on downloads:
10,000 songs maximum across all your devices combined (extremely generous—most users never hit this limit)
5 devices maximum at one time with downloads
30-day online check: Must connect to internet and open Spotify at least once every 30 days to keep downloads active
These limits are very reasonable for personal use, and most people never encounter them.
How to Download Music on iPhone (iOS)
Here’s the step-by-step process for downloading Spotify music to your iPhone or iPad.
Downloading Individual Songs
While Spotify doesn’t make it obvious, you can download individual songs:
Step 1: Open the Spotify app on your iPhone
Step 2: Find the song you want to download using search or browse
Step 3: Tap the three dots (…) next to the song name
Step 4: Select “Add to Playlist” from the menu
Step 5: Choose an existing playlist or create a new one (you can make a playlist called “Downloaded Songs”)
Step 6: Go to that playlist and toggle the download switch (see playlist download instructions below)
Note: Individual song download isn’t as straightforward as playlists/albums, so most people create a “favorites” playlist for songs they want offline.
Downloading Playlists
This is the easiest and most common way to download music:
Step 1: Open Spotify and go to “Your Library” (bottom navigation)
Step 2: Tap “Playlists”
Step 3: Select the playlist you want to download
Step 4: Look for the download toggle switch (it looks like a downward arrow in a circle) near the top of the playlist
Step 5: Toggle it ON (it should turn green)
Step 6: Wait for all songs to download—you’ll see a progress indicator and each song will get a small green downward arrow icon when downloaded
That’s it! The entire playlist is now available offline.
Works for:
- Your own created playlists
- Playlists you follow from others
- Spotify’s curated playlists (Discover Weekly, Release Radar, etc.)
Downloading Albums
Albums work the same way as playlists:
Step 1: Search for or browse to the album you want
Step 2: Open the album page
Step 3: Tap the download toggle (downward arrow icon) near the top
Step 4: Wait for download to complete—all songs in the album will download
Step 5: The album will show a green download icon when finished
You can download as many albums as you want, up to the 10,000 song total limit.
Downloading Podcasts
Podcasts are downloaded episode-by-episode:
Step 1: Find the podcast in Spotify
Step 2: Open the podcast page
Step 3: For individual episodes, tap the download arrow icon next to each episode
Step 4: For automatic downloads of new episodes, tap “Follow” then go to podcast settings (three dots) and enable “Download new episodes automatically”
Podcast downloads don’t count toward your 10,000 song limit—they have a separate system.
Downloading Your Entire “Liked Songs” Library
Your “Liked Songs” is all the music you’ve hearted in Spotify:
Step 1: Go to “Your Library” in bottom navigation
Step 2: Tap “Liked Songs” at the top
Step 3: Toggle the download switch at the top
Warning: If you have thousands of liked songs, this will take significant storage space and considerable time to download. Make sure you’re on Wi-Fi and have enough storage.
How to Download Music on Android
The process on Android is nearly identical to iOS with minor visual differences.
Downloading Playlists on Android
Step 1: Open the Spotify app
Step 2: Tap “Your Library” at the bottom
Step 3: Select “Playlists”
Step 4: Choose the playlist to download
Step 5: Toggle the download switch (looks like a download arrow)—it will turn green
Step 6: Wait for download to complete
All songs will download over your current connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data, depending on settings).
Downloading Albums on Android
Step 1: Navigate to the album you want
Step 2: Tap the download arrow icon at the top of the album
Step 3: Watch as songs download (green arrows appear on each track)
Step 4: Once complete, the entire album is available offline
Downloading Podcasts on Android
Step 1: Find the podcast
Step 2: Tap the download icon next to specific episodes
Or:
For automatic downloads: Follow the podcast, tap the three dots, select “Download,” and enable “Download new episodes”
Downloading Liked Songs on Android
Step 1: Go to “Your Library”
Step 2: Tap “Liked Songs”
Step 3: Enable the download toggle
Important: Ensure you have adequate storage space before downloading large libraries.
Choosing Download Quality Settings
Spotify lets you control download quality to balance audio quality with storage space.
How to Adjust Download Quality (iPhone)
Step 1: Tap “Home” then your profile picture (top right)
Step 2: Tap the settings gear icon
Step 3: Scroll down to “Audio Quality”
Step 4: Under “Download,” select quality:
- Low (24 kbit/s) – smallest files, lowest quality
- Normal (96 kbit/s) – balanced
- High (160 kbit/s) – good quality
- Very High (320 kbit/s) – best quality, largest files
Step 5: Changes apply to future downloads (doesn’t re-download existing songs)
How to Adjust Download Quality (Android)
Step 1: Tap “Home” then settings gear icon (top right)
Step 2: Scroll to “Audio Quality”
Step 3: Under “Download quality,” choose your preference
Same options as iOS: Low, Normal, High, or Very High
Which Quality Should You Choose?
Very High (320 kbit/s):
- Best audio quality
- ~10 MB per 3-minute song
- Requires significant storage
- Recommended if you have 64GB+ storage and care about audio quality
High (160 kbit/s):
- Good quality for most listeners
- ~5-6 MB per song
- Good balance of quality and storage
- Recommended for most users
Normal (96 kbit/s):
- Acceptable quality
- ~3-4 MB per song
- Good if storage is limited
- Recommended if you have 32GB or less storage
Low (24 kbit/s):
- Noticeably lower quality
- Very small files
- Only use if extremely limited storage
Storage impact example: 1,000 songs at Very High = ~10GB, at Normal = ~3GB
Controlling Download Settings
Several settings help you manage how and when Spotify downloads music.
Download Using Cellular Data
By default, Spotify only downloads over Wi-Fi to save your mobile data:
To enable cellular downloads (iPhone):
- Settings → Audio Quality
- Toggle “Download using cellular” ON
To enable cellular downloads (Android):
- Settings → Data Saver
- Toggle OFF (turning off Data Saver allows cellular downloads)
Warning: Downloading over cellular can quickly consume your monthly data allowance. A 1,000-song library could use 3-10 GB of data.
Download to SD Card (Android Only)
Android users with SD cards can save storage space on their phone:
Step 1: Settings → Storage
Step 2: Select “SD Card” as storage location
Step 3: Existing downloads will move to SD card
Step 4: Future downloads automatically go to SD card
Benefits: Preserves phone internal storage, can use larger/cheaper SD cards for massive music libraries.
Note: This feature is not available on iPhones (which don’t have SD card slots).
Remove Downloads to Free Space
If you need to free up storage:
To remove specific playlist/album:
- Open the playlist or album
- Toggle the download switch OFF
- Downloads are removed but songs stay in your library
To remove all downloads at once:
- Settings → Storage
- Tap “Delete cache” (removes temporary files)
- Tap the amount next to “Delete downloaded songs and albums”
- Confirm deletion
Songs remain in your playlists/library; you just need to download them again to listen offline.
How to Listen to Downloaded Music Offline
Once you’ve downloaded music, here’s how to use it offline:
Enabling Offline Mode
Step 1: Go to Settings in Spotify
Step 2: Scroll to “Playback”
Step 3: Toggle “Offline” or “Offline Mode” ON
What this does: Spotify will only play downloaded music and won’t use any internet connection. This is perfect for airplanes or areas with no service.
Alternative method: Simply turn off your phone’s Wi-Fi and cellular data. Spotify will automatically only play downloaded content.
Verifying What’s Downloaded
Visual indicators:
- Downloaded playlists/albums have a green downward arrow icon
- Individual songs show a small green arrow when downloaded
- In “Your Library,” downloaded playlists appear with the download icon
To see all downloaded content:
- Your Library → Playlists
- Scroll down and look for playlists with the green download icon
- These are all available offline
Playing Downloaded Music
Just play normally: Once downloaded, songs play exactly like streaming songs. You don’t need to do anything special.
Search works offline: You can search your downloaded music even when offline.
Shuffle and repeat work: All normal playback features function offline.
Crossfade works: Even advanced features like crossfade between songs work offline.
What doesn’t work offline:
- Discovering new music (recommendations require internet)
- Adding new songs to playlists (requires connection to save to Spotify’s servers)
- Seeing real-time updates to collaborative playlists
- Lyrics (usually require connection)
- Podcast updates
Troubleshooting Download Problems
Sometimes downloads don’t work as expected. Here are common issues and solutions:
Downloads Not Starting
Solution 1 – Check subscription: Verify you have active Spotify Premium
- Settings → Account → View account
- Should say “Premium” under your name
- If it says “Free,” downloads won’t work
Solution 2 – Check storage space:
- iPhone: Settings → General → iPhone Storage
- Android: Settings → Storage
- You need available space equal to your download size
- Delete apps, photos, or other downloads to free space
Solution 3 – Restart app:
- Fully close Spotify (swipe up/away in app switcher)
- Reopen Spotify
- Try downloading again
Solution 4 – Check internet connection:
- Make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi or have cellular data enabled
- Try loading a webpage to verify connection works
Downloads Disappearing
Most common cause: You haven’t opened Spotify in 30+ days
Solution:
- Connect to internet
- Open Spotify
- Let it verify your subscription (happens automatically)
- Downloads will reactivate
Other causes:
- Premium subscription expired (renew subscription)
- You exceeded 5-device limit (remove old devices in account settings)
- Storage was cleared by phone optimization (re-download)
“Cannot Download” Error Message
Try these fixes:
- Sign out and back in:
- Settings → Log Out
- Sign back in with your Premium account
- Try downloading again
- Clear app cache:
- Settings → Storage → Delete cache
- This removes temporary files but keeps downloads
- Try downloading again
- Check download limit:
- Settings → Storage
- Look at “Songs downloaded”
- If near 10,000, delete some downloads first
- Update Spotify app:
- Go to App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android)
- Search “Spotify”
- Tap “Update” if available
- Outdated apps have download bugs
- Reinstall Spotify:
- Delete Spotify app completely
- Reinstall from App Store/Play Store
- Log back in
- Re-download music (previous downloads are lost when you delete app)
Slow Download Speeds
Solutions:
Use Wi-Fi instead of cellular: Much faster and doesn’t use data
Connect to faster Wi-Fi: Public/coffee shop Wi-Fi is often slow
Download smaller batches: Instead of 1,000 songs at once, download 10 playlists of 100 songs
Lower quality setting: High/Very High downloads take longer; try Normal quality
Close other apps: Other apps using internet slow Spotify downloads
Restart router: If home Wi-Fi is slow, restart your router
Download overnight: Start downloads before bed while on charger and Wi-Fi
Downloaded Songs Not Playing
Quick fix: Toggle Offline mode OFF, then back ON
Other solutions:
- Verify download completed:
- Check if songs have green download arrows
- Incomplete downloads don’t play offline
- Check if song was removed from Spotify:
- Sometimes songs become unavailable
- They stay in playlists but won’t play
- Can’t fix this—find alternative version
- Re-download the playlist:
- Toggle download OFF
- Toggle download back ON
- Sometimes fixes corrupted downloads
- Free up storage and re-download:
- Very full storage can cause playback issues
- Delete other files to make room
Maximizing Your Spotify Downloads
Here are tips to get the most from Spotify’s offline listening:
Create Smart Playlists for Downloading
Strategy 1 – Mood/Activity playlists:
- “Workout” playlist
- “Commute” playlist
- “Focus/Study” playlist
- “Sleep” playlist
Download these for specific situations without downloading your entire library.
Strategy 2 – “Offline Essentials” playlist:
- Create one master playlist of songs you always want offline
- ~500-1,000 of your absolute favorites
- Download this first before anything else
Strategy 3 – Genre-specific playlists:
- “Rock Offline”
- “Hip-Hop Offline”
- “Chill/Ambient Offline”
Match playlists to your moods so you always have appropriate music offline.
Manage Storage Efficiently
Tips:
Audit regularly: Every few weeks, review what you’ve downloaded
- Remove playlists you haven’t played recently
- Delete duplicate songs across multiple playlists
- Keep only your current favorites downloaded
Use lower quality for large libraries: If downloading 5,000+ songs, use Normal instead of Very High quality
Prioritize: Download your top playlists at Very High, others at Normal or High
Seasonal rotation:
- Download holiday music in December only
- Download summer playlists in warm months
- Delete and rotate to keep library fresh without excessive storage use
Automatic Download Features
Smart Downloads (for podcasts):
- Automatically downloads new episodes of podcasts you follow
- Automatically deletes old episodes after you’ve listened
- Keeps your podcast library fresh without manual management
- Enable in Settings → Podcasts
Download new releases from artists:
- No automatic feature for this yet
- But you can follow Release Radar playlist (updates weekly)
- Download it to catch new music from artists you like
Using Downloads Across Devices
Remember: You can download on up to 5 devices
Smart strategy:
- Phone: Download essential playlists (500-1,000 songs)
- Tablet: Download larger library for home listening
- Laptop: Use for Spotify Connect to speakers/TV
- Smartwatch (if compatible): Download workout playlist
- Old/backup phone: Download everything if storage allows
Managing devices:
- Settings → Account → Remove offline devices
- Use this if you’ve sold/lost a device
- Frees up download slot for new device
Alternative Methods (What Doesn’t Work)
People often ask about downloading Spotify music permanently or converting it. Here’s what you should know:
Can You Download Spotify Music as MP3 Files?
Short answer: No, not legally.
Spotify’s terms of service explicitly prohibit:
- Recording or ripping Spotify streams
- Converting Spotify to MP3
- Circumventing Spotify’s DRM (encryption)
- Sharing downloaded Spotify files
Why people want this: To keep music if they cancel Premium, or use it in other apps
The legal way: Buy music from iTunes, Amazon Music, or Bandcamp if you want permanent files you own
Recording Software and Converters
Many websites and apps claim to:
- “Convert Spotify to MP3”
- “Download Spotify songs free”
- “Rip Spotify playlists”
The reality:
- These violate Spotify’s terms of service
- Many contain malware or viruses
- Audio quality is often poor (recording a stream)
- It’s copyright infringement
- Your Spotify account can be banned
- Some are outright scams
Don’t use these services. If you want offline music:
- Pay for Spotify Premium (designed for this purpose)
- Buy music you want to own permanently
- Use legal alternatives like YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music (which have similar offline features with paid subscriptions)
Can You Share Downloaded Spotify Songs?
No. Downloaded Spotify files:
- Are encrypted and only work in Spotify app
- Are tied to your specific account
- Cannot be transferred to another person’s device
- Cannot be copied or shared
You can share playlists (the list of songs) with others, but they need their own Premium to download them.
10 Frequently Asked Questions About Downloading Spotify Music
- Can you download Spotify music without Premium?
No, downloading music for offline listening is exclusively a Spotify Premium feature. Free Spotify users can only stream music with an internet connection and must listen to ads. Premium costs $11.99/month for individuals ($5.99 for students). Spotify offers a 1-month free trial of Premium for new users, which allows you to test the download feature before subscribing. - How many songs can you download on Spotify?
You can download up to 10,000 songs total across all your devices combined. This is an extremely generous limit that most users never reach. For context, 10,000 songs at 3 minutes each is about 500 hours of music. There’s also a limit of 5 devices with downloads at one time. Individual playlists can have up to 10,000 songs each, so the limitation is your total across everything. - How much storage space do Spotify downloads use?
It depends on your quality settings and number of songs. At Normal quality (96 kbit/s): ~3 MB per song, so 1,000 songs = ~3 GB. At High quality (160 kbit/s): ~5-6 MB per song, so 1,000 songs = ~5-6 GB. At Very High quality (320 kbit/s): ~10 MB per song, so 1,000 songs = ~10 GB. Check Settings → Storage in Spotify to see exactly how much space your downloads are using. - Do Spotify downloads use data?
Downloading music uses data initially—you’re downloading files to your phone. However, Spotify downloads over Wi-Fi by default to protect your cellular data allowance. Playing downloaded music offline uses zero data since the files are already on your device. If you enable “Download using cellular” in settings, downloads will consume mobile data (potentially several gigabytes for large libraries). Always download on Wi-Fi when possible. - Why did my Spotify downloads disappear?
The most common reason is you haven’t opened Spotify and connected to the internet in over 30 days. Spotify requires an online check every 30 days to verify your Premium subscription is still active. Simply connect to internet, open Spotify, and your downloads will reactivate. Other causes: Premium subscription expired, you exceeded the 5-device limit, phone storage was cleared by system optimization, or you signed out and back in to Spotify. - Can you download Spotify songs to listen offline on a plane?
Yes, this is exactly what the download feature is designed for! Before your flight, download your playlists, albums, or liked songs while connected to Wi-Fi (at home or airport). On the plane, enable “Offline Mode” in Spotify settings or simply turn on airplane mode. Spotify will only play your downloaded music. Remember to download beforehand—you cannot download new music while actually offline. - How do I see what I’ve downloaded on Spotify?
Go to “Your Library” and look for the green download arrow icons. Any playlist, album, or podcast with this icon is downloaded. You can also check Settings → Storage to see total storage used by downloads and a list of downloaded content. Individual songs within playlists show small green arrows when downloaded. Filter your library by “Downloaded” to see only offline-available content. - Can you download Spotify podcasts like music?
Yes, podcasts can be downloaded for offline listening, and they work slightly differently than music. Tap the download arrow next to individual episodes to download them. Or, follow a podcast, tap the three dots, and enable “Download new episodes automatically” to always have the latest episodes offline. Podcast downloads don’t count toward your 10,000 song limit—they’re separate. Podcasts are available with both Free and Premium Spotify accounts. - What happens to downloaded music if I cancel Spotify Premium?
All downloaded music immediately becomes unplayable when your Premium subscription ends. The files remain on your device temporarily but are encrypted and won’t play without an active Premium subscription. Your playlists, liked songs, and account information remain—you just can’t play them offline. If you resubscribe to Premium later, you’ll need to re-download everything since the downloads expire after subscription cancellation. - Can you download Spotify music on computer and transfer to phone?
No, Spotify downloads are device-specific and cannot be transferred between devices. Downloads are encrypted files that only work within the Spotify app on the specific device where they were downloaded. If you want offline music on your phone and computer, you must download separately on each device (both count toward your 5-device limit). This is designed to prevent sharing/piracy—each device needs its own legitimate downloads.
