Forum Discussion
Can I listen to Spotify offline without premium?
I’ve been using Spotify a lot lately on my commute and at work, but my data plan is pretty limited and streaming is eating it up fast. I know the official way is to subscribe to Premium and download playlists, but before I do that I was wondering if there’s any legit way to listen to spotify offline without premium.
I’m mainly on Android and sometimes on a Windows laptop. If anyone has real experience with things like recording tools, caching tricks, or any other workaround (and whether they’re actually worth the hassle or risky for the account), I’d really like to hear what you’re doing in practice.
10 Replies
- ShrikriIron Contributor
You can listen to Spotify without premium by downloading the music tracks to your computer. After that, you can listen the music at any place without Spotify app.
Steps with screenshot: https://www.mp3boxs.com/listen-to-spotify-offline-without-premium
- KellenCashIron Contributor
I recommend using Potty, an open-source command-line tool designed to help you download music from Spotify by finding the corresponding audio on YouTube and applying accurate metadata. It functions as a sophisticated wrapper around the popular video/audio downloader yt----dlp.
Instead of just downloading individual tracks, Potty is particularly useful for library management and automation. It excels at reading entire Spotify playlists or exported library files, efficiently downloading the songs, ensuring files are organized correctly, and automatically embedding metadata like artist, album, and album art.
How to Spotify offline without premium free
Step 1: Install Potty and dependencies
pip install potty-dlpStep 2: Get a Spotify track, playlist or album URL. Right-click on the playlist/album. Select Share > Copy link to playlist/album.
Step 3: Use the potty command followed by the Spotify URL and any optional flags. The most common action is to simply download the tracks from a playlist.
potty -p spotify_urlPotty will now read the tracklist from the Spotify link. Search for the highest quality match for each track. Save the files into an organized folder structure (usually based on Artist/Album name).
- WolfGanggIron Contributor
No, you can’t listen to Spotify offline without Premium using Spotify’s official features, but there are alternative ways people use when offline access is needed.
What Spotify allows without Premium
Without a Premium subscription, Spotify only supports online streaming. Offline-downloads are locked behind Premium, so you can’t officially listen to Spotify offline without Premium inside the app. Even Premium-downloads are encrypted and only playable within Spotify.
When people want offline listening anyway
If the goal is to listen to Spotify offline on a computer or other devices without relying on the Spotify app, users typically turn to third-party solutions that save songs as standard audio files. Tools in this category convert-Spotify streams into common formats so the music can be played offline anywhere. Tune Fab Spotify Music Conver ter is one example often mentioned, usually for personal, fair-use purposes only.
How people listen to Spotify offline without Premium
- Open a Spotify music-downloader tool on your computer
- Sign in to Spotify and load the tracks or playlists you want
- Con vert the music into a standard format such as MP3
- Play the downloaded files offline using any media player
This is the approach people usually take when they want Spotify offline without Premium, since Spotify itself doesn’t support offline playback for free users.
- BaylorTitanIron Contributor
If your main goal is to listen to music offline for free and you aren't strictly tied to the Spotify library, you could consider other music platforms that offer free, ad-supported offline listening.
Alternative ways for listening spotify offline without premium
1. Trebel: Offer on-demand and offline music for free, supported by ads. It is a music streaming and downloading platform that aims to provide free, legal, on-demand, and offline music playback to users, primarily operating on a unique, ad-supported business model. In simple terms, it's designed as a fully-featured alternative for users who want premium features, like offline listening, without paying a monthly subscription fee.
2. SooundCloud: The free tier may cache some recently played tracks, but formal downloading is part of their paid "SooundCloud Go." It is a pioneering online audio distribution platform and music sharing website. It was founded in 2007 with a core mission: to be an "artist-first platform" that empowers independent creators to upload, share, and promote their audio content directly to a global audience
3. Local Music Players: Apps like Pulsar or Lark Player allow you to play any music files (MP3s, etc.) that you have already saved on your device.
- LuciansbIron Contributor
If you just want an offline library on your Win 11 PC, I use yt--dlp for content I’m allowed to download (my own uploads, copyright-free / licensed tracks on YouTube etc.), then play those locally while keeping Spotify as a streaming app:
yt--ddlp -f mp3 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"or let it pick the best audio:
yt---ddlp -x --audio-format mp3 "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"That way I still have an offline library for commuting, but I’m not breaking Spotify’s wall just to listen to Spotify offline without premium.
- JaxonRyderIron Contributor
Officially, offline listening (downloading music) is an exclusive feature of Spotify Premium. Spotify's free tier only allows you to stream music while you are connected to the internet. However, there are a few options you can explore in order to listen to spotify offline without premium subscription:
1. The Spotify Premium Free Trial
Spotify often offers a free trial for their Premium service (the length can vary, e.g., 1 to 3 months). During this trial period, you can use the official download feature to save as much music as you want for offline playback.
Note: Once the free trial expires, the downloaded songs will no longer be playable unless you purchase a full Premium subscription.
2. Download Podcasts
The Spotify Free plan does allow you to download podcasts for offline listening, not music. If you enjoy podcasts, this is a way to use the official offline feature for free content.
3. Play Local Files
If you already have a collection of music files (like MP3s) saved on your computer or phone, you can use the Spotify app to play them. The Spotify desktop app has a "Local Files" feature that lets you sync these songs into your library, which you can then play even without an internet connection.
- EmersonGroveIron Contributor
No, there is no official, legitimate, or risk-free way to download music from Spotify or listen to Spotify offline without premium. Spotify's offline download feature is the core benefit of a Premium subscription, and they protect it heavily. Any method that claims to bypass this is a workaround that violates Spotify's Terms of Service and comes with significant downsides.
1. Spotify Premium:
This is by far the best experience. For the price, you get guaranteed high-quality, reliable offline downloads, no ads, on-demand playback on mobile, and unlimited skips. It solves your data problem completely and is seamless.
2. Spotify Free with "Offline Mode" Hack:
This is the closest practical workaround that uses the official app. On your Android phone, you can put Spotify into Offline Mode. When you then play music on Wi-Fi, it will aggressively cache what you listen to. If you consistently listen to the same few playlists on Wi-Fi, there's a good chance they will be cached and available for your commute. However, this is not reliable or guaranteed. You can't choose what gets cached, and it can be cleared at any time.
- NicholasTaylorCopper Contributor
Honestly, there’s no “clean” way to listen to Spotify offline without premium for songs, because Spotify only allows proper offline downloads on a Premium account. The only semi-legit thing I still do on a free plan is download podcasts in the Spotify app (that’s allowed), use Wi-Fi as much as possible, and stop expecting the free tier to magically let me listen to Spotify offline without premium for full playlists.
The only workaround I’ve tested on Windows is a command-line style “real-time recorder” setup, which is super hacky and very much in a grey zone, so use it at your own risk and only for personal use:
- Install a system-audio recorder that can run from the command line (records whatever you hear to MP3).
- On Windows, set “Stereo Mix” / system output as the recording source.
- Start Spotify, queue your playlist, then run the recorder command (e.g. something like rec output.mp3 depending on the tool).
- Let the playlist play in real time, then stop the recorder when it’s done and cut/split the file manually later.
It does let you kind of listen to Spotify offline without premium, but it’s slow, messy, and can conflict with Spotify’s terms, so personally I ended up deciding that either Premium or another service with real offline downloads is way less headache.
- BraylonsIron Contributor
How can you listen to Spotify offline without Premium? Officially, Spotify Premium is required for offline listening.
a) Recording or Caching Workarounds
Using tools like Audaaacity, OBS, or audio loopback can record the music as it plays.
Risks:
Violates Spotify’s Terms of Service.
Might lead to account suspension.
Quality may be compromised.b) Offline Cache (without Premium)
Spotify’s offline mode is only available with Premium.
Free accounts do not support offline caching.c) Third-party apps or hacks
There are unofficial tools claiming to unlock offline features or extract cached files.
Risks:
Malware or security issues.
Account bans.
Unreliable or illegal. - AsherReedIron Contributor
Listening to spotify offline without premium, and the new PowerShall-like container you’re seeing sounds like Windows Terminal or a related update that provides a modern, tabbed interface.
To switch back to the classic cmd.exe window, you can:
Use the traditional Command Prompt shortcut:- Press Win + R, type cmd, then press Enter.
Disable Windows Terminal from opening by default:
Check your Windows Start menu or Taskbar for shortcuts.
You can also set cmd.exe as the default terminal:- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > For Developers or Terminal Settings (if using Windows Terminal), and see if there's an option to revert.