Spotify's offline download feature lets you save songs, albums, and playlists to your phone or tablet so you can listen without an internet connection

Spotify calls this feature "Download" rather than "save offline," but the result is the same: the music lives on your device. You can download to any phone, tablet, or computer where you have the Spotify app installed. The songs take up storage space on that device — typically 3 to 5 MB per song — so a full album might use 50 to 100 MB. Downloaded music stays on your device until you delete it or uninstall Spotify, and it only works within the Spotify app itself, not in other music players.

You need a Spotify Premium subscription to download anything. The free tier does not include this feature. Once you have Premium, the download button appears next to every song, album, and playlist. Downloaded content syncs across your devices if you sign into the same account on each one, but each device stores its own copy.

Key Takeaways

  • Only Spotify Premium members can download songs; the free tier does not offer this feature.
  • Downloaded songs take up device storage and only play within the Spotify app, not in other music players.
  • You download individual songs, entire albums, or full playlists using the download button next to the title.
  • Downloaded content expires if your Premium subscription lapses or if you do not connect to the internet within 30 days.

How to download a single song

Open Spotify and find the song you want to download. Tap or click the three-dot menu icon next to the song title. In the menu that appears, select "Download" (on phones) or look for a download icon that looks like an arrow pointing downward (on computers). The song will begin downloading immediately, and a small download icon will appear next to the song title to show it is stored on your device.

On a phone, the download happens in the background, so you can keep using Spotify while it completes. Larger files may take a few seconds. Once downloaded, you can play that song anytime without internet, even if you turn on airplane mode.

Downloading albums and playlists

To download an entire album, open the album page and look for the download icon — usually a downward arrow near the play button at the top of the page. Tap or click it, and Spotify downloads every song in that album to your device. The same process works for playlists: open the playlist, find the download icon, and tap it to download all songs at once.

Downloading a full album or large playlist can take longer than a single song, depending on your internet speed and how many tracks it contains. Spotify shows a progress indicator so you can see when the download finishes. If you add new songs to a playlist after you have already downloaded it, those new songs will not automatically download — you need to tap the download button again to refresh the playlist and grab the new tracks.

Where downloaded songs are stored

Downloaded songs do not appear in a separate "Downloads" folder within Spotify. Instead, they stay in their original location — the same album page, playlist, or search result where you found them. The only difference is the small download icon next to the title, which tells you that copy is stored on your device.

On your phone or tablet, Spotify stores the actual audio files in the app's private storage area, which you cannot access directly through your device's file manager. This is by design: Spotify protects the files so they can only play within the app. If you uninstall Spotify, those downloaded songs disappear.

How much storage space you need

A typical song on Spotify uses between 3 and 5 MB of storage, though this varies depending on the song length and audio quality. A 3-minute pop song might use 3 MB, while a 6-minute rock song could use 6 MB. An average album with 12 songs takes up roughly 50 to 80 MB. A large playlist with 100 songs might use 400 to 600 MB.

Before you download heavily, check how much free space your device has. On an iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. On Android, go to Settings > Storage. Most phones have between 64 GB and 256 GB of total storage, so downloading a few albums or playlists will not cause problems. But if your device is already nearly full, downloading large playlists could slow things down or prevent other apps from working properly.

When downloaded songs stop working

Downloaded songs remain playable as long as your Spotify Premium subscription is active. If your subscription lapses — because you cancelled it or your payment method failed — the downloaded songs will not play, even though they are still taking up space on your device. Once you renew your subscription, they work again.

Spotify also requires you to connect to the internet at least once every 30 days to verify your subscription. If you go longer than 30 days without an internet connection, downloaded songs will stop playing until you reconnect and let Spotify check your account status. This is a security measure to prevent subscription sharing. After you reconnect, the songs work again immediately.

Removing downloaded songs to free up space

To delete a downloaded song and reclaim storage space, open Spotify and find the song. Tap or click the three-dot menu next to it and select "Remove Download" (on phones) or click the download icon again (on computers). The song disappears from your device but remains in your library — you can still stream it if you have an internet connection.

To remove an entire album or playlist at once, go to the album or playlist page and tap the download icon again. This removes all downloaded tracks from that album or playlist in one action. You can also go to Spotify Settings > Storage and see how much space your downloads are using, though Spotify does not offer a bulk delete option from that menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I download songs on Spotify Free?

No. The download feature is only available to Spotify Premium subscribers. Free users can stream songs with an internet connection but cannot save them to their device.

Do downloaded songs work on multiple devices?

Each device stores its own copy of downloaded songs. If you sign into the same Spotify account on your phone and tablet, you can download the same song to both, but you are storing it twice and using storage space on each device.

Can I transfer downloaded Spotify songs to another app?

No. Downloaded Spotify songs are protected files that only play within the Spotify app. You cannot move them to Apple Music, YouTube Music, or any other music player.

What happens to my downloads if I change my password?

Your downloads stay on your device. If you sign out of Spotify and sign back in with your new password, the downloaded songs will work again once Spotify verifies your subscription.

How do I know which songs are downloaded?

Downloaded songs show a small download icon (usually a downward arrow) next to the title. This icon appears on the song, album, or playlist page to indicate that version is stored on your device.