How Much Data Does Spotify Use? 

Dragomir Simovic

Updated: February 6, 2024

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Spotify allows users to stream music free of charge and offers premium streaming features. Users can access unlimited music through Spotify artists and playlists, as well as convenience and accessibility. However, most Spotify users don’t know how much data a single song consumes on the app, which affects music quality and data usage. 

This article will provide insight into the amount of data Spotify uses, how to optimize user streaming experience, manage data consumption, the latest market trends, and revenue statistics.

Editor’s Choice

• Spotify dominates the music streaming industry with a 30.5% market share.
• On average, a single song consumes 3.3 MB of data.
• 500 KB of data is needed to stream music in a minute.
• The average data usage when opening Spotify App is 700 KB.
• Spotify offers 5 different sound quality settings.
• An average mobile device may store up to 10,000 songs.
• Data Saving Options reduce mobile data usage by up to 85%.
• Spotify earned $12.4 billion or €11.7 billion in 2022.

How Much Data Does Spotify Use?

Spotify users need 500 KB of data to stream music in a minute. Based on computations, users can stream music for approximately 33 hours and 20 mins of music with 1 GB of data.

On average Spotify users listen to music for 25 hours per month. A 1 GB of data from a person’s monthly data plan is more than enough to use the Spotify App. However, this is only applicable when streaming music. Alternatively, streaming is not the only activity requiring data when using Spotify.

This next section will discuss the data usage whenever users the Spotify App and how users use the app.

Data Usage of Spotify

Data usage of Spotify depends on many factors, such as audio settings, song length, and more. It also influences the amount of data used in every Spotify session. The higher the quality of the audio setting, the higher the data a user consumes.

Here are data usage statistics of Spotify and how much data is consumed regularly.

1. The average data usage when opening Spotify App is 700 KB.

(Spotify, brave)

Applications consume a lot of data on smartphones. Whenever users update, refresh, or download apps, they will use mobile data. This means all social media platforms and streaming apps use data. 

Opening the Spotify App for the first time in a day consumes 700 KB. Though, it consumes less data on the second or third time. If the app is opened, it may use less data for the second or third time, around 45 KB to 350 KB.

2. Spotify offers 5 different sound quality settings.

(Digital Music News Spotify)

The amount of data used when streaming on Spotify depends on the audio quality. Spotify has various audio quality options to suit devices, plans, and preferences. Listed below are the different sound quality settings with their data usage.

Audio Quality	Data Usage/Min	Data Usage/Hr	Streaming Hours to Reach 1 GB
Low (24kbps)	0.18 MB	10.8 MB	92.5 Hours
Normal (96kbps)	0.72 MB	43.2 MB	23.1 Hours
High (160kbps)	1.2 MB	72 MB	13.8 Hours
Very High (320kbps) – Spotify Premium Only	2.4 MB	144 MB	6.9 Hours

Before using Spotify, users should check their default settings to save data. For an automatic setting, Spotify will depend on the internet connection.

3. Downloading songs on Spotify consumes an average of 8 MB.

(SpotifySolution, HEADPHONESTY)

The data users consume when downloading a song depends on the quality and length. Low-Quality can use 700 KB of data. Normal Quality takes about 2.8 MB/song, High Quality takes about 4.7MB/song, and Very High takes about 9.5MB/song.

4. An average mobile device may store up to 10,000 songs through Spotify.

(whistleOut)

To save data, users can download songs to their devices. This is a feature offered with a Spotify Premium account. Spotify Premium plans start at $9.99/month (50% off for university students) and go up to $12.99 for a couple’s plan or $14.99 for a Family plan, catering to six accounts.

With any premium plan, users can download up to 10,000 songs for offline listening. The app can be configured to download new songs users might like, and there’s an Offline Mode that restricts playback to only use songs on the device.

5. Looping visuals or display shorts spend around 6 GB of data when enabled.

(SpotifySolution)

Data usage in Spotify is also dependent on the users. It depends on how often they use it and the app’s settings. For Low-Quality audio settings, 3.28 GB of data is used. But it also depends on how many songs are skipped and ads seen. 

Skipping songs also consume data. Display shorts and looping visuals on track, when enabled, will consume almost double the data.

6. Data Saving Options reduce mobile data usage by up to 85%.

(whistleOut)

Users don’t need to pay for Spotify Premium to unlock data-saving options. The quickest and easiest way to keep data use down is to enable Data Saver. This simple on/off switch lowers audio fidelity to 24 kbps and reduces mobile data use by up to 85%. Data Saver also turns off Artist Canvas visuals, saving more data.

Spotify Market Share Statistics

Spotify has been the top global streaming music for years. However, for the past years, it is currently dropping. With the popularity of music streaming, other platforms are rising, offering qualities similar to or unavailable on Spotify.

Here are the current market share statistics of Spotify.

7. Spotify dominates the music streaming industry with a 30.5% market share.

(HouseNest)

Spotify’s market share in Q2 of 2022 presently holds the top spot with a 30.5% market share, followed by Apple Music at 13.7%, Tencent Music at 13.4%, Amazon Music at 13.3%, and YouTube Music at 8.9%. Other services such as Deezer, Yandex, NetEase, and more hold the remaining market shares.

Spotify is leading the music streaming industry due to its robust marketing and personalized user experience, such as #SpotifyWrapped and different payment options for families, students, and couples. 

8. Spotify’s market shares dropped 9.7% in the last five years.

(HouseNest,DemandSage, BusinessofApps)

Even though Spotify secured the top spot, its market share from 2015 significantly decreased. Based on the table below, its market share dropped to 9.7 % in the last five years.

The decrease in Spotify’s market is due to the intense competition in the streaming industry. Competitors are slowly capturing a larger user base, though a significant gap exists between Spotify and its rivals. 

Year	Market share
2023	33%
2022	31%
2021	32%
2020	32.50%
2019	36.40%
2018	42.70%
2017	40.30%
2016	42.80%
2015	41.20%

Spotify Revenue Statistics

Spotify is the biggest streaming music platform by the number of subscribers. In 2022 it increased its annual revenue by 21%. It has tripled its revenues in the five years.

This section shows the revenue segment of Spotify and what to expect in the succeeding years.

9. Spotify earned $12.4 billion or €11.7 billion in the calendar year (CY) 2022.

(Billboard)

Spotify’s $12.4 billion in 2022 can be attributed to its diverse revenue streams from premium customers and advertisements. Premium users generated €10.25 billion, while €1.48 billion was from ad support. 

This shows how successfully Spotify monetizes its user base while offering a seamless listening experience for paid and free users.

10. The company’s total revenue grew by 14% year-over-year to €3.042 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

(DemandSage)

Spotify’s revenue streams come from both premium subscribers and ad-supported users. According to the company’s latest financial reports, its revenue through premium subscribers grew by 14% year-over-year to €2.713 million in the first quarter of 2023.

11. In 2022, Spotify announced that it expects to reach annual revenue of $100 billion over the next ten years.

(GlobalData, Mobile Marketing Reads, Reuters)

Due to its rapid expansion into podcasts and audiobooks, the company expects high-margin returns. With the announcement of Spotify’s goal in the next 10 years to reach $100 billion in revenue, the company’s stock price increased by 5%, upon losing 53% of its market value in 2022.

Conclusion

The statistics presented above leave no room for doubt regarding using Spotify. Spotify changed the music streaming game by providing users with tailored music preferences and allowing subscribers to control data usage. 

Users are then empowered to efficiently manage their data usage while enjoying their favorite music by better grasping the data consumption associated with different streaming qualities.