Spotify: Music and Podcasts

Music & Audio

8.0~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.3 Google Play·1B+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-02

Screenshots

Home screen with All, Music, Podcasts and Audiobooks filters above Discover Weekly

Video podcast player for Unseen with a switch to audio button and 15-second skips

Hot Hits Canada playlist page showing 898,376 saves and a four-hour runtime

Blend playlist Alex + Sam, described as updating daily for two listeners

Audiobook page for The Perfect Marriage with an 8 hour 52 minute runtime

Search screen with Music, Podcasts, Audiobooks and Live Events entry points

About Spotify: Music and Podcasts

Spotify keeps music, podcasts and audiobooks in one library and one search, wrapped in recommendations — Discover Weekly, daylist, DJ, Blend — that rivals still copy. The free tier is ad-supported; since September 2025 it lets you pick and play any single track, while albums in order, repeat and unlimited skips stay with Premium. Premium also removes the ads, adds lossless audio, offline downloads and 15 hours of audiobook listening a month. US prices went up again in January 2026.

App information

DeveloperSpotify

Version9.1.80.2221 (Android) · 9.1.78 (iOS)

Size143.5 MB (Android) · 299 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating13+

Requires (Android)Android 7.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 16.1+

Offline modePremium only: up to 10,000 tracks per device on five devices, online check every 30 days

Interface languagesAF, AM, AR, AZ, EU, BN + 55 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.3 from 36,419,782 ratings

Installs1B+

Updated by developer2026-08-28

Data checked2026-09-07

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-09-07. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

Spotify Review: What $12.99 a Month Now Buys

Premium Costs $12.99, Family $21.99

Four plans sit on the US price list: Individual at $12.99 a month, Duo at $18.99 for two people at one address, Family at $21.99 for up to six accounts with parental controls and members under 13 allowed, and Student at $6.99, which currently bundles Hulu. The company announced the latest US increase on 15 January 2026. Every plan removes ads, unlocks lossless audio, allows offline downloads, unlimited skips and albums in any order, and includes 15 hours a month from the audiobook catalogue — on Duo and Family that audiobook allowance belongs to the plan manager only. Prices are regional and change.

Lossless FLAC and the 10,000-Track Download Limit

Lossless streaming arrived in September 2025 at up to 24-bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC, included in Premium rather than sold as a tier above it — the arrangement Apple and Amazon reached earlier. Offline listening has hard numbers behind it: 10,000 downloaded tracks per device, across a maximum of five devices, and the app has to reach the internet at least once every 30 days or those downloads stop playing. Data Saver in settings trims streaming quality on mobile networks, and video podcasts carry a switch to audio for the same reason.

75 Million Uploads Removed in One Year

During 2025 the service removed more than 75 million tracks it classified as spam — mass-produced uploads, much of it AI-generated, aimed at farming royalty payments. Worth understanding before that number reads as a win for musicians: payouts are a share of one pool split by stream count, so deleting tracks changes who gets paid rather than how much money leaves the company. On the privacy side, the Google Play data safety card lists nine collected categories and says location, personal info and device identifiers may be shared with third parties.

Pros

Music, podcasts and audiobooks share one library and one search
Lossless FLAC included in Premium at no extra cost
Downloads reach 10,000 tracks per device on five devices
Blend and daylist build playlists without any manual work
Student plan costs $6.99 and currently bundles Hulu

Cons

US prices rose again in January 2026
Free tier keeps ads and limits skips and album playback order
Downloads stop playing unless the app connects every 30 days
Nine collected data categories, with location shared with third parties

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Verdict

Nothing else packages music, podcasts and audiobooks this tidily, and the recommendation engine remains the reason to stay. Pay the $12.99 if you listen daily and want ads gone, offline downloads and lossless audio in one bill. Stay on the free tier if you mostly listen at a desk and can live with ads and limited skips. Anyone tracking their subscriptions should note the price has now risen twice in three years.

Core function9.0Catalogue, search and recommendations hold up across music, podcasts and audiobooks in one app.

Ease of use8.5Filter chips split home into music, podcasts and audiobooks; playback controls stay consistent.

Monetisation7.0Ad-free listening, unlimited skips and album order sit behind $12.99 a month, raised in January 2026.

Performance8.0A 299 MB install streams reliably, and Data Saver trims quality on mobile networks.

Privacy & permissions6.5Nine collected data categories, including location shared with third parties for advertising.

8.0out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Is Spotify free?

Yes, with conditions. The free tier is ad-supported. Since September 2025 free listeners can search for a song and play it on demand, but Spotify still lists repeat, albums in any order and unlimited skips as Premium features. Data Saver reduces streaming quality to protect a mobile allowance, and downloads for offline listening are not part of the free tier at all.

What are Blend and daylist?

Blend mixes two people's listening into one shared playlist that updates daily and shows whose taste pulled in each track. Daylist rewrites itself through the day from what you tend to play at that hour. Both sit beside Discover Weekly on the home screen, and neither requires building a playlist by hand.

How much does Premium cost per month?

In the United States: $12.99 for one account, $18.99 for Duo, $21.99 for Family with up to six accounts, and $6.99 for verified students, which currently includes Hulu. The latest increase was announced on 15 January 2026. Prices vary by country and by whether you subscribe on the web or in the app.

What happens to your downloads if you cancel?

Offline downloads belong to Premium, so cancelling ends offline playback — the files stop working rather than transferring to the free tier. The account itself survives: playlists, saved albums and listening history stay, and the app reverts to ad-supported streaming with limited skips.

What are the alternatives?

Apple Music matches the catalogue and includes lossless, but has no free tier at all. YouTube Music is stronger on live versions, remixes and anything that only exists as a video upload. Neither builds recommendations quite as aggressively, which is the main reason people stay put.