iOS · Spotify mobile and desktop

Can You Download Spotify Songs Without Premium?

Source-checked 16 August 2026About 4 minutes

Answer

No. Spotify Free cannot download catalog songs for offline listening. Free users can download podcasts; downloading albums, playlists, or a song added to a playlist requires Premium. Spotify downloads stay inside the Spotify app and are not MP3 files.

Choose the supported branch

If you use Spotify Free and want a catalog song, album, or playlist offline, stop: Spotify does not provide that feature. Free accounts can download podcast episodes. Premium accounts can also download music. A Spotify download is an offline copy for playback in the app, not an MP3 you can export.

Download a podcast on Free

While online in the Spotify mobile app, open the podcast episode you want and select its Download control. Wait until Spotify shows the downloaded indicator beside the episode, then open Your Library and filter for downloaded content to confirm it is saved on this device.

Download music with Premium

While online, open the album or playlist and select Download. Spotify does not download an individual song directly, so first add that song to a playlist, open the playlist, and download it. Wait for the downloaded indicator before going offline. On desktop, the same Download control is available for playlists.

Test and maintain the download

Briefly disconnect the device from the internet and play the saved podcast or Premium music from Your Library. Reconnect after the test. Spotify requires the app to go online at least once every 30 days; reinstalling the app removes downloads, and each Premium account can keep downloads on up to five devices.

If it does not work

If a song has no Download control, confirm the signed-in account has Premium. Even with Premium, add an individual song to a playlist and download that playlist rather than looking for a song-level download button.
If a supported download does not finish, check the device's free storage and connection, then confirm the account has not already used the five-device download limit. Update Spotify before considering a reinstall, because reinstalling deletes every offline copy on that device.
If downloads disappeared, reconnect Spotify to the internet and check whether the device was offline for more than 30 days, the app was reinstalled, or downloads were added on more than five devices.
If you need an MP3 or another reusable audio file, buy or download it from an authorized music store or the artist. Do not give a Spotify password to a converter, install a modified app, or use a recorder that claims to unlock Premium downloads.

Sources and verification

Checked against official documentation on 16 August 2026. Scope: Spotify mobile and desktop.

Source-checked against Spotify's current offline-listening rules. The page is deliberately image-free: the deciding issue is account entitlement, and a screenshot of the familiar Download control would not prove that Free accounts can save music. Eight frozen 2022 screenshots were rejected because they illustrated the unsupported no-Premium claim.