What internet speed do you need for Spotify?

Spotify needs very little speed. Its highest standard setting, Very high, uses about 320 kbps (0.32 Mbps), and the lowest uses about 24 kbps. Only Lossless asks for more: Spotify recommends a steady 1.5 to 2 Mbps connection for it. Almost any broadband line is fast enough. When Spotify stutters, the cause is usually an unstable connection, not a slow one.

Bitrate for each quality setting

Spotify's audio quality page gives these approximate rates for the desktop, mobile and tablet apps:

• Low: about 24 kbit/s
• Normal: about 96 kbit/s
• High: about 160 kbit/s
• Very high: about 320 kbit/s (Premium only)
• Automatic: adjusts to your connection

The web player is different. Spotify lists it at 128 kbit/s on the free plan and 256 kbit/s on Premium. Podcasts stream at about 96 kbit/s on all devices except the web player, where it's 128 kbit/s.

1,000 kbps make 1 Mbps, so even Very high is a third of a megabit. Compare that with video: Netflix recommends 5 Mbps for Full HD, more than 15 times as much.

Lossless needs a steady connection, not a fast one

Spotify's Lossless page says tracks play at up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz on compatible devices, and recommends a steady connection of 1.5 to 2 Mbps for the best experience. It's available on Premium and doesn't apply to podcasts, audiobooks or music videos.

The word that matters is "steady". Spotify notes that the stability of your Wi-Fi or mobile data, not just your plan, decides whether you actually hear lossless quality. Some devices drop to a lower quality automatically when the connection wobbles. On others, Spotify suggests lowering the setting yourself if you hear glitches.

Two quick checks if Lossless keeps skipping:

• Test the speed where you listen. A phone in the kitchen can get far less than the 2 Mbps a speed test shows next to the router. A few seconds on a speed test in the same spot tells you.
• Check the speaker's own connection. With Spotify Connect, the speaker streams the music itself over your Wi-Fi. A speaker in a far corner can struggle even when your phone has full bars.

How much data Spotify uses

Data use is simple arithmetic from the bitrate. One hour at 320 kbps is 320 × 3,600 = 1,152,000 kilobits, or about 144 MB (divide by 8 for bytes). At the other settings:

Setting	Bitrate	Data per hour (approx.)
Low	24 kbps	11 MB
Normal	96 kbps	43 MB
High	160 kbps	72 MB
Very high	320 kbps	144 MB

These are estimates at Spotify's stated bitrates. Spotify doesn't publish a fixed bitrate for Lossless, only the recommended connection speed. If a stream really used 1.5–2 Mbps for a full hour, that would be roughly 675–900 MB, so treat Lossless on mobile data as an upper-range estimate and check your phone's data counter. For video and other streaming, see how much data streaming uses.

To save mobile data, download playlists on Wi-Fi. Downloaded tracks play from storage and use no data at all.

When Spotify does stall

Since the bitrates are so small, a Spotify problem is rarely about your plan's speed. The usual causes are:

• Weak or changing mobile signal. Trains, lifts and basements cut the connection for a few seconds, and that's enough to drain the buffer. Downloads avoid this entirely. Why mobile data is slow covers signal and congestion.
• Heavily throttled data. Some phone plans slow data to a crawl after a monthly allowance. Even then, Normal or Low quality can usually keep playing.
• Wi-Fi dead spots for a smart speaker or a phone at the edge of your home's coverage.
• A very slow line shared with video. On a connection of a few megabits, a video call or a 4K stream in the same house can leave too little for Lossless. Is 3 Mbps good? shows how tight things get at that speed.

If playback cuts out even at Low quality on a connection that tests well, the problem is more likely the app or the device than your internet. Restarting the app or clearing its cache is a good next step.