How Much Data Does Spotify And Apple Music Use?
With the right settings, it doesn't use a lot of data.
Summary
For many of us, streaming music on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify has become an integral part of our daily routines. These services offer vast libraries of songs, playlists, and podcasts, making it easy to access our favorite audio content.
But what many travelers don't realize is how quickly streaming music can eat up their mobile data, potentially leading to unexpected overuse charges.
If you're streaming music on a limited data plan and want to know how to avoid roaming charges from overuse, you should first understand how much data these apps use. Let's take a closer look at how much mobile data Spotify and Apple Music use.
Also, if you’re streaming while tethering, you might find our guide on eSIM mobile hotspot helpful after you’re done here.
Spotify And Apple Music Data Usage
The amount of mobile data Spotify and Apple Music use depends on several factors, including streaming quality, download settings, and whether automatic downloads are enabled. To give you a clearer picture, here's a breakdown of how many GB Spotify and Apple Music use for various quality settings and durations:
Spotify Data Usage
Apple Music Data Usage
How Much Data Does Spotify Use?
Spotify offers several streaming quality options, which greatly influence data consumption:
- Low (24 kbps): Around 90 KB per minute (0.054 GB per hour)
- Normal (96 kbps): Around 0.72 MB per minute (0.043 GB per hour)
- High (160 kbps): Around 1.2 MB per minute (0.072 GB per hour)
- Very High (320 kbps): Around 2.4 MB per minute (0.144 GB per hour)
These figures suggest that the amount of data used on Spotify varies significantly based on your selected audio quality. In general, Spotify’s highest quality setting (320 kbps) uses approximately 144 MB of data in 1 hour.
Spotify also provides an offline mode that allows users to download music and listen without using data. This is an effective solution for those who want to conserve their monthly mobile data.
How Much Data Does Apple Music Use?
Apple Music also offers different streaming quality levels, though it does not always give users as much manual control over them as Spotify. The following estimates reflect typical data consumption for each quality level:
- Low Quality (64 kbps): Around 0.48 MB per minute (0.029 GB per hour)
- High Efficiency (128 kbps): Around 0.96 MB per minute (0.057 GB per hour)
- High Quality (256 kbps): Around 1.92 MB per minute (0.115 GB per hour)
- Lossless (24-bit/48 kHz): Around 36 MB per minute (2.16 GB per hour)
- Hi-Res Lossless (24-bit/192 kHz): Up to 145 MB per minute (8.7 GB per hour)
Many Apple Music users favour the app due to the lossless audio option. However, it is important to note that while lossless audio provides a much better quality, it also consumes significantly more data per song than standard streaming. At its highest quality, Apple Music can use more than 8 GB of data per hour, which is way higher than Spotify's maximum data usage.
However, for the average user streaming at regular quality (256 kbps), Apple Music consumes approximately 115 MB of data per hour, similar to Spotify’s higher-quality settings.
Factors That Affect Spotify and Apple Music Data Usage
Several factors can influence how much data Spotify and Apple Music use on your phone. Understanding these factors can help you manage your data consumption more effectively:
- Streaming Quality Settings: Higher quality audio, such as lossless or hi-res formats, have higher bitrates and use significantly more data than standard quality. Adjusting your streaming quality settings can make a big difference in how much data is consumed.
- Offline Downloads: Downloading music for offline listening on WiFi can help limit mobile data usage. Both Spotify and Apple Music offer offline modes, allowing you to enjoy your favorite tunes without worrying about data consumption.
- Automatic Downloads: Some platforms may automatically download recommended music or podcasts, which can increase data usage. Check your settings to ensure automatic downloads are managed according to your preferences.
- Song Length and Playlists: Longer playlists and songs with higher bitrates naturally consume more data. Be mindful of this when streaming or downloading music.
- Cellular vs. Wi-Fi Settings: Some apps default to higher quality streaming when connected to WiFi but automatically switch to lower quality on cellular data. This setting helps conserve mobile data, but you can adjust it if desired.
How to Reduce Data Usage on Music Streaming
There are a few ways that you can reduce data usage with music streaming:
Adjust Streaming Quality Settings You can use a lower streaming quality to reduce the amount of data used while listening.
- Spotify: Go to Settings > Audio Quality, then choose Low or Normal for mobile data.
- Apple Music: Go to Settings > Music > Cellular Streaming, then select High Efficiency to save data.
Download Music for Offline Listening If you're worried about how much data you might be using, you can download your favorite playlists, albums, or podcasts over WiFi and listen offline. This way, you don’t use any data while listening.
- Spotify: Download playlists, albums, or podcasts for offline use.
- Apple Music: Enable "Download Automatically" over WiFi for preloading songs.
Disable Automatic Downloads Prevent apps from automatically downloading songs or albums, which can use data in the background.
- Spotify: Disable "Download on Cellular" under settings.
- Apple Music: Turn off "Automatic Downloads" to prevent unintentional data usage.
Monitor Data Usage Keep track of your music streaming data usage. Here’s how to check how much data you have left after streaming music:
- iPhone: Settings > Cellular > Scroll to Spotify or Apple Music
- Android: Settings > Apps > Spotify or Apple Music > Data Usage
Use Data Saver Mode Activate data saver mode to lower streaming quality and restrict background data usage.
- Spotify: Turn on "Data Saver Mode" to reduce streaming quality and prevent autoplay.
- Apple Music: Switch to "High Efficiency" mode under Cellular settings.
Stay Connected with a Nomad Data eSIM as You Stream
If you are streaming music while traveling, stay connected on your trip with a Nomad international data eSIM.
Nomad offers affordable data plans in over 200 countries, so you can be sure to find one that is suitable for your travel needs. And if you will be traveling across multiple countries, there are also regional plans available so you can stay seamlessly connected as you hop between countries. Data plans are available from as low as $1.10/GB.
Add-ons are also available for Nomad’s eSIMs, so you do not need to worry about running out of data. If you notice that you are running low, simply purchase an add-on before your data pack runs out. The add-on data pack will be automatically activated when the base plan runs out, eliminating the need to install a new eSIM.
Want to make your travel budget go even further? Share your Nomad referral code with your friends so they can enjoy $5 off their first purchase (only applicable for plans $10 and more). On top of that, you will also be able to enjoy $5 off your next purchase of a plan worth $10 or more.
