If Spotify free music streaming makes you think there must be a catch, let’s clear things up.

Is Spotify Free really free? Yes, it’s true – Spotify’s free version won’t cost you a thing.

However… There are a few restrictions when compared to the paid version, Spotify Premium, so Spotify Free is free in terms of monetary cost to the user but perhaps not free in terms of convenience.

Is free Spotify good?

As is to be expected, you don’t get the full Spotify experience from the free app. With Spotify Free you’re restricted to six skips an hour. Users also don’t get the option to download tracks for offline listening, which might cost you in data usage.

There’s still the same discovery features offered in Premium, with personalised song recommendations, but not features like Enhanced playlists. You can search the app, and make use of the social media sharing options.

How is Spotify free?

"Music for everyone" — *Image Credit: Spotify*

Spotify is able to offer a free subscription because of the money it gets from audio advertisements which slot in between songs and appear as banners on the app. These ads are of course designed to make you want to sign up to Premium for undisturbed listening of your favourite songs.

How do I get Spotify Premium?

Spotify is much better if you’re able to pay for it. You can try out Spotify Premium for free for three months and explore everything the app has to offer – afterwards, Premium costs $9.99.

But, if you can’t afford access to Spotify Premium right now, Spotify Free is a perfectly usable basic version that lets you experience the power of Spotify and stream music for free.

Are you a musician or producer? You can get your music on Spotify and other streaming services for free with RouteNote distribution. Find out more here.

Madeleine Amos

I write about music for RouteNote, sharing fun stuff, news, and tips and tricks for musicians and producers. Also a saxophonist and hater of marmalade.

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3 comments

I was aggravated when I tried Spotify. YouTube music is free, and I can click on, and listen to, any song I want at any time. I’m not forced to listen to the whole song either. I can click and listen at will. I can’t comprehend why people listen to music any other way – being forced to hear the songs it chooses for you. I hate that YouTube is so paternalistic and wants to determine what I can safely listen to without hurting myself. But for music, it’s just vastly superior. Amazon music is terrible too – most of the songs aren’t the versions one is accustomed to hearing.

i’m an old woman… 78. disabled. so music is very important. i have no children to show me all the new cool
stuff so have just caught up with SPOTIFY. it’s wonderful that it’s free as i
live on 2 old age pensions but i’m not 100% sure that i AM
safely set up with the Free part you offer and not THE PAYING part which i do not want.
yours sincerely.
Brenda Fricker.

Hey Brenda,

If you are having trouble deciding between Spotify Free and Spotify Premium you may want to reach out to Spotify directly – https://support.spotify.com/us/article/contact-us/

They can help answer any questions you may have.