What you get with Spotify
Spotify is the world's largest music streaming service, with over 100 million songs, plus podcasts and audiobooks. The free plan lets you listen with ads; on phones you get mostly shuffle play within playlists and a limited number of skips. Spotify Premium removes ads, lets you play any song in any order, and adds downloads for offline listening and higher audio quality.
Installing Spotify
Spotify runs almost everywhere:
- Android and iPhone: install from Google Play or the App Store, the buttons above.
- Windows: download from spotify.com/download or the Microsoft Store.
- Mac: download from spotify.com/download.
- Web: listen in a browser at open.spotify.com with nothing to install.
- TVs, consoles, smart speakers and cars: Spotify is built into most of them, or you can control them from your phone with Spotify Connect.
How do I download Spotify music for offline listening?
With Premium, tap the download arrow on a playlist, album or podcast to save it inside the Spotify app. Downloads are encrypted and only play in Spotify, and you need to go online at least once every 30 days to keep them. On the free plan you can download podcast episodes, but not music.
Downloads count against your phone's storage. To save space, set Settings → Audio quality → Download to Normal, which is plenty for earbuds.
Avoid modded Spotify APKs
“Spotify Premium APK” and other modified versions promise Premium for free. They aren't from Spotify, they break the terms of service, and Spotify regularly detects them and closes the accounts that use them. Some also contain malware. If Premium's price is the issue, Spotify offers Family, Duo and Student plans that cost much less per person.
Spotify alternatives
Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music have similar catalogues and prices. Apple Music suits iPhone users and offers lossless and spatial audio at no extra cost, Amazon Music is included in part with Amazon Prime, and YouTube Music comes with YouTube Premium.
Getting better sound
Spotify Premium streams at up to 320 kbps on Very High quality, which is indistinguishable from CD quality for most people on most headphones. Turn it on in Settings → Audio quality, separately for Wi-Fi, mobile data and downloads. The free plan plays at up to 160 kbps.
If music sounds thin, check that Data Saver isn't on, and try the built-in equaliser in Settings → Playback → Equalizer.
Listening on a computer
The desktop app and the web player at open.spotify.com both have your full library and playlists. The desktop app adds downloads for Premium users and plays local music files from your computer alongside Spotify's catalogue. With Spotify Connect you can choose any device on your account, such as a speaker, TV or games console, as the output and control it from your phone.
Plans and prices
Spotify Premium comes in four plans: Individual, Duo for two people at one address, Family for up to six people at one address, with an explicit-content filter and Spotify Kids for children, and Student at a discount for verified university students. Prices vary by country. New subscribers are often offered a free trial; you can cancel at any time in your account page on the website, not in the app.
Moving your music
Switching to Spotify from another service? Your playlists don't move automatically, but transfer services such as TuneMyMusic and Soundiiz can copy them across. Within Spotify, Liked Songs and your playlists are tied to your account and appear on every device you sign in to.
Podcasts and audiobooks
Spotify is also one of the biggest podcast apps. Follow a show to get new episodes in Your Library, and download episodes for offline listening on any plan. Some podcasts have video versions that play right in the app. In many countries, Premium includes a monthly allowance of audiobook listening hours from a large catalogue, and extra hours or individual books can be bought separately.
Why won't Spotify play or install?
Quick fixes for the most common problems:
- Songs greyed out: they aren't licensed in your country, or the artist removed them.
- Playback stopping: Spotify plays on one device at a time per account. If someone else uses your login, it pauses yours.
- Downloads disappearing: you haven't been online in 30 days, or you reached the download limit of 10,000 songs per device.
- App won't install: free up storage and update your phone's system first.