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7 Free Ways to Download Spotify to MP3 in 2020

With more than 40 million songs, Spotify offers a massive music library that you can listen to online without taking your storage space. If you pay the premium subscription fee, you can also listen to music offline.

The only problem is that you can’t transfer them anywhere or play them with other music players other than Spotify because the music files you downloaded with Spotify are DRM(Digital Rights Management) protected. In this article, I will show you 7 ways to download songs from Spotify as MP3 without recording even if you don’t have Spotify Premium. No matter what devices you use, you can find at least 2 methods that work for you.

I absolutely love the app but this is the single most annoying feature that I would love to see expanded on to include 10 songs, just like the desktop version. Even a drop down menu to see the extra 5 songs would suffice!

Disclaimer

All these methods are for personal or educational use only.

You should not use any of these tools to pirate or distribute music.

Some of the methods may be illegal to use this in your country, so be informed.

Method 1: Download Spotify song or playlist with Siri Shortcuts

If you are using an iOS device, you probably have heard of the automation application Shortcuts, which is the updated version of Workflow. I have three shortcuts to help you download music from Spotify.

If you are not familiar with Shortcuts, you can free download it from AppStore and get a few pre-made shortcuts in the Shortcuts Gallery to see how it work. To get the shortcuts that I am about to show you, you just open the link in Safari to download it.

This Spotify playlist downloader can only download an entire Spotify playlist. You will have an option to select some of the tracks in the playlist to download if you don’t want to download them all.

Note: This only works for playlist. It won’t work if you input a Spotify track link. It is recommended to run it from Spotify share sheet.

You can simply copy the Spotify playlist link from Spotify app and run this shortcut. You can also tap the Share button to run this shortcut from the share sheet. Besides the playlist link, you can also input playlist ID Or playlist URI to download Spotify playlist to MP3.

When downloaded, you can open the Files app, and then select iCloud > Shortcuts > Music to check the downloaded MP3 file. If you are not familiar with iOS Shortcuts, be sure to watch this video below to see how it works.

For advanced users, you can also use Shortcuts to Move Spotify Playlist to Apple Music and vise versa. Though the authentication process is a little complicated when you want to transfer playlists to Spotify by using Spotify API.

Method 2: Download Spotify to MP3 Using Telegram Bot

If you use Telegram, you can simply use a Telegram bot to download free music whether you are on Android or iOS. It does not require any setup or your Spotify account login info. All you need is this @SpotifyMusicDownloaderBot. After you get this bot, type “/start” (without quotes) and then you can paste any Spotify track link to start downloading music for free. If you are using iOS, you may want to tap the Share button and save to Files after the music is downloaded.

If you do like using Telegram bots to download music, you probably also want to check this post to get more Telegram Bots for music.

Method 3: Download Spotify Playlist to FLAC or MP3

There is another open-source software called Deezloader, which is developed to download music from Deezer, can also be used to download a playlist from Spotify. The software actually converts the Spotify playlist to Deezer playlist and then download music from Deezer. You can set it to download Spotify Playlist as MP3 or FLAC. The lastest version Deezloader Remix 4.2.2 also allows you to download any single Spotify track and it much easier to set up.

Step 1. Download and install Deezer Remix. Log in with your Deezer account (free account also works).

Step 2. Go to this link: https://developer.spotify.com/dashboard/applications and log in with your Spotify account (free account works).

Step 3. Click on Create a Client ID and then compile the form as you like.

Step 4. Save the settings and then you will see the Client ID and Client Secret. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret to Deezloader Remix.

If you are using an older version of Deezloader Remix, the setup is a little bit complicated than this. You can refer to this video to see the configure process.

As you know, not all tracks on Spotify are also available on Deezer, so you will see some tracks are failed to download because Deezloader cannot find the matched songs. If you want a tool to download all tracks from Spotify playlist, keep reading to see the next tool.

Update: Since Deezloader is discontinued, you can only use this method to download 128kbps MP3. If you prefer high quality, jump to Method 5.

Method 4: Download Spotify to MP3 with AllToMP3

AllToMP3 is free open source software that allows you to download music from Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Deezer. It is available in Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you check the source code, it is easy to find out that it actually matches the Spotify music track with YouTube video and convert YouTube video to MP3, so the music quality is not as good the other methods. You can free download from its website or Github.

After installation, you can paste the Spotify song link or playlist link and press Enter to start downloading. The music, by default, will be saved in the Music folder. The downloaded music files include all the tags and cover art, but the quality is nowhere close to the next free tool.

Method 5: Download Spotify Music Using Allavsoft

Allavsoft is your ultimate media downloader software for Windows and Mac. It allows you to directly download Spotify playlist, album music to MP3, FLAC, WAV, M4A, WMA, etc with ID3 tags.

The latest version allows you to download Spotify music as FLAC (1441 kbps). Unlike Deezloader, you download all the songs that Deezloader cannot download, literally, unmatched songs with Allavsoft. For me, Allavsoft is the best Spotify Music Downloader.

Once you get it installed, you can copy the Spotify music link whether it is a song, album, or playlist and then launch Allavsoft. The program will automatically paste the URL and you just need to click Download to start downloading.

By default, it saves Spotify music to MP3 as 320 kbps with artwork and other metadata, so you don’t need to check the option “Automatically Convert to”. If you choose the Best Available quality, you may find some songs are downloaded as FLAC 1411 kbps, which is really cool. If you want to convert Spotify Music to FLAC, WAV, AIFF, AAC, WMA, DTS, etc, you can click the “Automatically Convert to” button to select the specific format from the drop-down menu.

Besides Spotify, Allavsoft allows you to download music from Deezer, SoundCloud, MixCloud, and download videos from Udemy, Lyda, YouTube, Facebook, etc. That is to say, Allavsoft is the only downloader software that you ever need.

Method 6: Convert Spotify music to MP3 with TuneMobie

There are many programs that claim to be able to convert Spotify, but deep down they are recording the audio, TuneMobie is one of them. I tried both free and paid versions. Let me tell you how it really works.

When you open this program TuneMobie, it asks you to launch the Spotify app or download it if you haven’t. Then you can see in the preference where you can select to save as mp3, m4a, WAV, and FLAC. These are all the supported audio formats and other settings that you customize.

When you try to convert a song, the Spotify app actually plays the song, but you hear no sound. Compared to other audio-recording kinds of competitors, Tunemobie Spotify Converter is 5 times faster. Usually, it takes less than 1 minute to convert a song.

You can also copy a playlist link to download Spotify playlist as MP3 or other formats. The trial version allows you to download (record) unlimited tracks for the first 3 munites in 30 days, which is much better than its competitors.

Method 7: Download Spotify with a Chrome extension

If you use Chrome web browser, you can install this free extension and then you can see a download button appears when you go to Spotify web player. You now can click on the download button to download almost all the songs from Spotify web player.
Why do I say almost? Because this extension certainly is not downloading music from Spotify directly. You just download music from its own server, so you will see some Spotify tracks are not available in their server for downloading. Some tracks downloaded using this extension may not be the same version as the Spotify version.

Bonus: Chimera — Multiple Source Music Downloader for Advanced Users Only

Chimera is a command-line based multiple source music downloader that allows you to download music from Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Soundcloud, Napster, Qobuz, Google Play Music, etc.

It is open-source and completely free to use for educational and private use only. It is very powerful, but the setup process is more complicated than the other methods. You can choose Spotify source from Deezer, Tidal, or Qobuz.

As you know, Tidal and Qobuz provide Hi-res quality music. If you have paid subscription, you can use this tool to download Spotify music in very high quality in FLAC format.

You will need to grant your Spotify account through Spotify client ID and client secret. Based on your choice, you need to also set up Deezer, Tidal, or Qobuz account. For detailed steps, check this guide to see how to set it up.

Conclusion

That’s all the seven different methods for downloading Spotify music to MP3. If you care about music quality, then Allavsoft is the best choice. Personally, I like the Allavsoft method the most because it is convenient, high quality, and with cover art. More importantly, you don’t need any other video/music downloader software anymore once you have Allavsoft installed since it supports more than 1000 websites.

If you really love the iOS environment, then Shortcuts is a great way to download music on iPhone. Now, it is your turn. Which method are you going to try first? If you have other better method to download music from Spotify, please share it in the comments.

Since 2008 Spotify has grown to be one of the most popular digital audio streaming platforms with over 96 million paying subscribers today. It is undeniably one of the best music streaming services in the world with over 40 million tracks accessible from your phone, tablet or personal computer. You can play your favorite music either through Spotify Web Browser or on Spotify Desktop Client. Apart from being a favorite platform for music lovers, the 'Spotify web player vs desktop client' discussion or rather argument have loomed the internet for some time. Lots of Spotify users prefer web player to access the music library. Equally, quite a significant number of users are of the second option, the desktop client.

The fact remains that both options are entirely different. Well, this review will profoundly attempt to compare Spotify web player and desktop app using the various pro and cons. Here are the aspects that form the notable differences between Spotify desktop and web player. Scroll right down!

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Portability

It is for a fact that the current generation is obsessed with controlling and accessing very thing from their palms. At the comfort of your room or working desk, you can easily access the Spotify track library just by clicking the Spotify icon on your desktop. Alternatively, you directly browse Spotify and play songs from the web. Both ways are convenient; however, for the desktop client option, you must have a PC at your disposal.

Using a web player only requires you to have the logins. You access songs from anywhere at any time you feel like. You even borrow a friend's phone and operate your account from there. Unlike using a desktop player which requires you to carry a PC along which is inconveniencing. Basing on this perspective, Web player is more portable and available compared to a desktop client.

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Music Quality

The current generation of music lovers is susceptible to the quality of music they listen to. Most people can tell the difference in music quality when using the two option, and others will not even notice it. Usually, the Spotify web player offers a lower bitrate compare to the desktop client. For free web players, clients get 128kbps bitrate while premium users get 256kbps bitrate. On the hand, desktop client free accounts can only access up to 160kbps while paying users access double the quality, 320kbps.

This is the main reason why people prefer using desktop client over web player. Even a free account has fairly good quality music.

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Offline Listening

Considering this aspect, desktop client is more convenient. Desktop client users can easily save tracks to listen when they are offline. On the contrary, the opposite is true for web player user. Both free and paid accounts do not enjoy this feature. It has for a long time been a point of concern for Spotify users across the globe. Probably, they will consider this in the near future.

Spotify Link Desktop App

Spotify Desktop App Equalizer

To save Spotify songs offline, you are required to sign up the premium account of Spotify. Otherwise you cannot download the track from Spotify even if you are using the desktop client. But if you are not willing to pay for the premium plan, the alternative way is using dedicated Spotify music downloader such as TunesKit Spotify Music Converter to download and convert the Spotify songs/playlists to common MP3s. In this way, no matter you are free or premium user, you can enjoy Spotify music offline on any device without limit.

  • See Also: How to Download Spotify Offline without Premium

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Space

Installing Spotify software on your, PC requires that have enough storage capacity to run the software. It also tends to create log files and hence not a favorite for a computer with little storage capacity. It will definitely affect the entire performance of the PC. On the other hand, operating a web player does not require space. You just need a browser, and from there you can bookmark the Spotify website for easy access

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Hotkeys

Generally, hotkeys are paramount for any software. However, desktop clients do not have hotkeys. Hotkeys facilitate navigation movements. They are more useful when busy at work. Spotify web player provides for hotkeys; however, you will have to install the Spotify Hotkeys add-on on Firefox or Chrome browsers. Here are some Hotkeys for both browsers.

FireFox:

  • Play/Pause: Ctrl + Alt + P
  • Previous Track: Ctrl + Alt +
  • Next Track: Ctrl + Alt +.

Chrome:

  • Play/Pause: Alt + Shift + P
  • Previous Track: Alt + Shift +
  • Next Track: Alt + Shift +.

Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Lyrics

Spotify Windows App Vs Desktop App

If song lyrics are a top priority for you, then it is sorry to say that none of the options has that feature. Often, you have to download and install Musixmatch software and run it concurrently with the Spotify software. For Spotify web player users you need to install Lyrics Here by Rob W extension for both Chrome and Firefox browsers.

  • See Also: Tips to Get Lyrics on Spotify
  • How to Stream Apple Music Web Player without Subscription

The Final Words: Which Is Better

Download Spotify To Desktop

With regard to the above differences between Spotify desktop and web player, I can comfortably recommend Spotify web player considering the portability, space saving, and availability. You do not have to carry your PC everywhere you go to listen to your favorite tracks on Spotify. What do you think? Give me your comment right here.

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Adam Gorden is an experienced writer of TunesKit who is obsessed about tech, movie and software.