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Ever wondered how much data Spotify uses? I did, so I took a look into just how much data the world’s most popular music streaming service actually uses.
As you’d expect, Spotify’s data use depends on the audio quality you stream. Better quality means more data. But in a world of unlimited smartphone contracts and fiber connections, does it really matter? And more to the point, how does Spotify’s data use compare to its competitors?
How Much Data Does Spotify Use?
Spotify has four different sound quality options: Low, Normal, High, and Very High. There is also an Automatic option that chooses the best audio quality based on your network connection, which is handy if you’re in and out of reception in a low-coverage area.
Quality Level |
Data Usage per Hour (MB) |
Time to Reach 1GB (hours) |
---|---|---|
Low (24kbps) |
10.8 |
92.5 |
Normal (96kbps) |
43.2 |
23.1 |
High (160kbps) |
72 |
13.8 |
Very High (320kbps) |
144 |
6.9 |
Choosing between them adjusts the sound quality you receive but also determines how much data Spotify will use while streaming. The Low setting streams at 24kbps, which translates to around 10.8MB per hour, taking around 92.5 hours to use a full gigabyte of data. Whereas the Very High setting (only available to Premium subscribers) streams at a much higher rate of 320kbps, using around 144MB per hour and taking just 6.9 hours to use a full gigabyte.
How to Check How Much Data Spotify Is Using on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
You can check how much data Spotify is using in your operating system, which is useful for monitoring limited internet connections.
Windows
The easiest way to check Spotify data use in Windows is in the Settings panel.
- Press Win + I to open Settings, then head to Network & Internet.
- On the Status tab, select Data Usage
- Scroll down until you find Spotify
The Data Usage view shows the total amount of data used by each app over a 30-day period. As you can see, I’ve used nearly 19GB of data in the past month streaming Spotify.
macOS
The macOS Activity Monitor is one way to track how much data Spotify is using. However, the Activity Monitor only tracks your data during your current period, and if the app is open. Given Apple’s typically extremely useful functionality elsewhere, the lack of an integrated per-app data tracker is somewhat frustrating.
As you can see in the image above, Activity Monitor only tracked Spotify’s data from the moment it was opened on the system, which doesn’t give you a very good idea of how much data it’s using. Furthermore, alternatives like TripMode and DataCever are good tools for monitoring the data usage of individual apps but they come at a cost.
Android
On Android, it takes just a few steps to see how much data a specific app is using.
- Head to Settings and input app data usage in the search bar.
- Open App Data Usage and scroll down until you find Spotify
Given the different iterations of Android, the steps may vary slightly, but it’ll be roughly the same process for everyone.
iOS
It’s a similarly easy process on iOS (so why not macOS, Apple?!).
- Head to Settings > Cellular.
- Scroll down and find Spotify.
Check how much data you’ve used for the specified period.
How Does Spotify’s Data Use Compare?
Spotify’s Very High quality streaming uses around 144MB per hour, taking just under seven hours to use a full gigabyte of data. It’s Low quality streaming uses just 10MB per hour, which is quite impressive, especially if you’re on a limited data plan.
But how does that compare to the other big streaming services, like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and so on?
Service Name |
Low Quality (kbps) |
Data Usage per Hour Low Quality |
Medium Quality (kbps) |
Data Usage per Hour Medium Quality |
High Quality (kbps) |
Data Usage per Hour High Quality |
Very High Quality (kbps) |
Data Usage per Hour Very High Quality |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spotify |
24 |
10MB |
96 |
43.2MB |
160 |
72MB |
320 |
144MB |
Apple Music |
64 |
28.8MB |
128 |
57.6MB |
256 |
115.2MB |
– |
– |
Amazon Music |
48 |
21.6MB |
160 |
72MB |
320 |
144MB |
– |
– |
YouTube Music |
48 |
21.6MB |
128 |
57.6MB |
256 |
115.2MB |
– |
– |
Tidal |
96 |
43.2MB |
320 |
144MB |
1411 |
633MB |
Up to 9216 |
Up to 4147MB |
Deezer |
64 |
28.8MB |
128 |
57.6MB |
320 |
144MB |
– |
– |
Pandora |
64 |
28.8MB |
128 |
57.6MB |
192 |
86.4MB |
– |
– |
Qobuz |
96 |
43.2MB |
320 |
144MB |
1411 |
633MB |
Up to 9216 |
Up to 4147MB |
As you can see, Spotify is the best option for limited data plans. Data consumption gets a little more interesting at the other end of the scale, especially as not all services have matching names.
Furthermore, as Hi-Res streaming services, Tidal and Qobuz distort the results a little more, but it’s good to see the differences. Both streaming services offer a super high-end service that allows you to hear music at the highest quality, though you’ll need equally high-end hardware to fully appreciate it.
For most folks, a regular Spotify subscription (or one of its competitors) does the job just fine.