Spotify is probably the most popular music streaming app in the world. With millions of songs, playlists, and podcasts at your fingertips, this streaming music service pretty much retired the iPod.
But at what cost to you?
Does Spotify use your data? And if it does, how much data are we talking about?
Does Spotify use data?
Spotify requires a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection to stream audio. When you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, the app will use your mobile data instead. However, you can also use Spotify in offline mode to enjoy music and podcasts that you previously downloaded (more on that later).
How much data does Spotify use?
How much data Spotify uses greatly depends on the audio quality you choose. You can increase the music quality for richer audio or downgrade your audio quality to save data. Spotify offers four options for audio quality. Let's break down each one and see how much data they use.
Low Quality (24 kbit/s)
- Data used during 1 hour of streaming: About 10.55 MB
- How long 1GB of data lasts: Roughly 97.1 hours of listening time
Normal Quality (96 kbit/s)
- Data used during 1 hour of streaming: About 42.19 MB
- How long 1GB of data lasts: Around 24.3 hours of listening time
High Quality (160 kbit/s)
- Data used during 1 hour of streaming: About 72 MB
- How long 1GB of data lasts: Approximately 14.2 hours of listening time
Very High Quality (320 kbit/s)
- Data used during 1 hour of streaming: About 140 MB
- How long 1GB of data lasts: Just over 7 hours of listening time
Choosing the right quality depends on how much data you have and how important sound quality is to you. If you’re looking to save data, sticking with low or normal quality is a good idea. If you’re an audiophile and have plenty of data, high or very high quality will give you the best sound.
What about podcasts?
Podcasts on Spotify generally stream at a quality equivalent to approximately 96 kbit/s (web player streams at 128 kbit/s.)
Podcast quality (96 kbit/s)
- Data used during 1 hour of streaming: 42.19MB (56.25MB on web player)
- How long 1GB of data lasts: 24.3 hours (18.2 hours on web player)
You may have noticed video content is available to stream for podcasts. Videos (visuals + audio) understandably use up more data than audio alone. While the exact data usage can vary depending on the resolution and length of the video, according to Spotify, it’s comparable to other popular video streaming platforms like YouTube.
For example, a typical video on YouTube roughly streams at:
- Standard Definition (480p): 750 MB per hour
- High Definition (720p): 1.5 GB per hour
- Full HD (1080p): 3 GB per hour
If you're streaming video content on Spotify, you should expect data usage in a similar ballpark to YouTube. However, like audio quality, you can adjust video quality for Wi-Fi and cellular settings (low, normal, high, or very high).
How to check how much data spotify uses
Check data usage in your phone settings.
Keeping an eye on how much data Spotify uses is important if you're on a limited data plan. Here’s how you can check and manage your data usage for Spotify.
For iOS:
- Go to 'Settings' > 'Cellular' or 'Mobile Data'.
- Scroll down to find Spotify in your list of apps.
- The data used by Spotify will be displayed next to the app.
For Android:
- Go to 'Settings' > 'Connections' > 'Data Usage' > 'Mobile Data Usage'.
- Scroll down to find Spotify.
- You will see the amount of data Spotify has used over the current billing cycle.
5 ways to reduce Spotify data usage
Reducing mobile data usage while enjoying Spotify can be crucial if you're trying to stay within a monthly data limit or if you're traveling. Here are some effective ways to manage and minimize the data Spotify consumes.
1. Adjust your streaming quality
As mentioned above, higher quality settings use more data. Lowering the audio quality can help you use less.
How to do this:
- Open Spotify
- Tap your profile picture, then tap 'Settings and privacy'.
- Scroll to 'Audio Quality'.
- Select a lower quality for streaming.
You can choose different streaming quality settings for when you listen with Wi-Fi, too.
The Automatic setting will set quality higher or lower depending on the strength of your Wi-Fi or data connection.
2. Activate Data Saver mode
Data Saver reduces the app’s data usage by lowering the audio quality and limiting video previews and image load.
How to do this:
- Open Spotify
- Swipe left or tap your profile picture
- Tap 'Settings and privacy'
- Scroll down to 'Data saver'
- Toggle the switch to 'On'
You can also adjust the data saver mode of your smartphone or tablet in your device settings.
3. Download music to listen offline
Downloading is only available for Spotify Premium subscribers. You can download your playlists and albums when connected to Wi-Fi and listen offline, thus saving data.
How to do this:
- Ensure you are connected to Wi-Fi
- Open Spotify
- Tap your profile picture, then tap 'Settings and privacy'.
- Go to 'Audio Quality'.
- Ensure 'Download using cellular' is switched off.
- Go to the content (album, podcast, playlist, etc.) you want to download.
- Tap the 'Download' button at the top of the playlist or album.
4. Switch off Autoplay
Disabling Autoplay prevents Spotify from playing similar tracks automatically after your selected music ends, which can save significant data.
How to do this:
- Open Spotify
- Tap your profile picture to go to ‘Settings and Privacy’.
- Scroll to 'Playback'.
- Toggle off the 'Autoplay' feature.
5. Use Wi-Fi When Abroad or Get an eSIM
To avoid data roaming charges, connect to Wi-Fi whenever possible or consider using an eSIM for a much cheaper international data plan.
How to get an eSIM:
- Make sure your phone is unlocked and eSIM compatible.
- Visit Sim Local.
- Select your destination on the homepage
- Select your eSIM plan
- Activate your eSIM on your departure day (in under five minutes).
