Spotify Offline Mode vs MP3 Files: What’s the Difference?

Spotify Premium lets you download songs for offline listening, so why would anyone want MP3 files? Because “offline in the app” and “a file you own” are different things. Here is an honest comparison to help you decide which fits you.

How Spotify’s offline mode works

With Premium, you can download playlists, albums and podcasts in the app. The files are:

• encrypted and stored inside the app; you can’t see them as MP3s or move them;
• playable only in Spotify, on up to a limited number of devices;
• removed if you don’t go online at least once every 30 days, or if your subscription ends;
• available in high quality (up to “Very high”, and lossless on supported plans and devices).

It’s excellent for everyday listening if you stay subscribed.

How MP3 files work

An MP3 is an ordinary file. With Spot Downloader you get a 128 kbps MP3 per song, with the album cover embedded. MP3 files:

• play in any app and on any device: phones, computers, car stereos via USB, old MP3 players, game consoles, smart speakers;
• keep working forever, with no account or subscription;
• can be edited, trimmed and used as ringtones;
• are lower quality than Spotify’s highest settings, and you manage them yourself.

Side by side

When offline mode is better

• You listen mostly on your phone, inside Spotify.
• You care about the highest audio quality.
• You like automatic updates of playlists and new releases.
• You want your listening to support artists through streaming royalties.

When MP3 files are better

• Your car stereo, older iPod or running watch plays only files.
• You’re on the free plan and need music on a flight, at the gym or in places without signal.
• You want a permanent copy of a playlist that matters to you; see how to back up your Spotify playlists.
• You need a song for a video edit or a ringtone.

Many people use both

A common setup: Spotify for everyday discovery and listening, and a folder of MP3s on a USB stick in the car or on a cheap MP3 player for the gym. Our guide to playing your songs in the car from a USB stick shows how.

Fair to artists

Streaming and buying music are what keep artists recording. Keep MP3s for your own listening, and keep supporting the musicians you love by streaming, buying albums and merchandise, and going to shows.