Music-streaming services like Spotify put millions of songs at your fingertips—provided you have an internet connection. But if you need to preserve data or listen to a playlist on a plane or during a commute with lots of dead zones, download those tunes to your device for offline listening.Those with Spotify Premium can download up to 10,000 albums, playlists, and podcasts on up to five devices. On the free, ad-supported tier, you can only download podcasts.Our Top-Rated Music-Streaming Services
How to Download Music From Spotify on MobileSpotify lets you download playlists, albums, and podcasts.Downloading Albums and Playlists on SpotifyThe interface is largely the same on Android and iOS. Find the album or playlist you want to download and tap the downward-facing arrow on the top left. A downward-facing arrow will appear underneath each song in the album; they’ll turn green as the download completes. How long it takes depends on your internet speed.
(Credit: PCMag/Spotify)
When you’re offline and want to listen, tap Your Library. Up top, tap playlists or albums. Tap Downloaded to see those that are saved to your device and available to listen to offline.
(Credit: PCMag/Spotify)
If you know you’ll be offline for awhile, like on a plane, activate Offline Mode, which will show you only the content you have downloaded. On Android, tap Home and the gear icon on the top right, then toggle Offline mode to on. On iOS tap Home > [your avatar on the top right] > Settings and privacy > Playback > Offline.
Offline mode on iOS (Credit: PCMag/Spotify)
How to Remove Albums and Playlists From DownloadsIf you no longer need offline access or want to free up space on your device, navigate to the album or playlist you want to delete from downloads and simply tap the green, downward-facing arrow on the top left and tap Remove in the pop-up window.
(Credit: PCMag/Spotify)
How to Download Podcasts on MobileSpotify is one of our favorite podcast player apps, and it’s a convenient way to keep your music and podcasts all in one place. For offline use, you can either download one-off episodes you’d like to check out, or follow a specific podcast and download episodes as they appear in your library. The process is the same on iOS and Android.First, search or browse to find a podcast you want to listen to. On the podcast’s page, you can tap the downward-facing arrow to download specific episodes right away. Or tap Follow, which will add new episodes to your library as they’re released. You can then download episodes at your leisure via Your Library > Podcasts > New Episodes. Downloaded episodes can be found via Your Library > Podcasts > Your Episodes.
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How to Preserve Data While Downloading on MobileIf you’re loading up your phone with a bunch of albums and playlists, you might want to restrict those downloads to when you’re on Wi-Fi, so the process doesn’t eat into your monthly data allotments. Navigate to Settings > Audio Quality > Download Using Cellular and make sure that option is toggled off.How to Delete All Spotify Downloads at OnceGot dozens of podcast episodes and huge playlists eating up space on your device? Get rid of them in one fell swoop and start anew. Navigate to Settings > Storage > Remove all downloads.How to Download Music From Spotify on DesktopThe process for downloading playlists, albums, and podcasts is similar on the desktop if you want to listen on your laptop when you don’t have an internet connection. Just look for the downward-facing arrow on your content of choice. Find it later under Your Library.
(Credit: PCMag/Spotify)
Pro Tip: Go Online Every 30 DaysTo prevent people from downloading a bunch of content to their devices and then cancelling their Premium subscriptions, Spotify requires people to connect to the internet at least once every 30 days. A cellular connection is fine. If not, you’ll lose access to downloaded music and podcasts after a month.
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About Chloe Albanesius
Executive Editor for News
I started out covering tech policy in D.C. for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag’s news coverage and manage our how-to content.
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