"Can you download Spotify music on Mac for offline listening?" Yes. As one of the largest streaming music services, Spotify, offers over 100 million songs for free access. Equipped with the Spotify app and web player, users can explore and listen to all types of Spotify music on Windows PC, Mac, PC, iOS, Android, smart speakers, and other devices with ease. With a Premium account, you can download Spotify songs to Mac, etc. but are limited to listening to music within the Spotify app on your device.
Today, we will show you how to download Spotify app for Mac/MacBook Pro with an M3 chip or an older iMac, and how to download Spotify songs on Mac for free, online and with/without Spotify Premium.
Part 1. Why Downloading Spotify Songs to Mac?
When it comes to using Spotify on Mac, Spotify officially provides two ways to do so. One is through the Spotify web player, and the other is by downloading Spotify Mac app. But here, we should learn why we choose to get a Spotify download for Mac to enjoy music. The reasons are as follows.
1. Music Quality. Spotify Web Player and Spotify for Mac app offer different music quality according to your plan. With a free account, you can get 128kbps in the web player, while getting 160kbps in the desktop app. If you upgrade to the Premium plan, it's able to approach 256kbps bitrate through the browser, but 320kbps and even Lossless in the Spotify Mac app. Obviously, the Spotify MacBook download version offers much higher quality.
2. Offline Listening. There is a common perception that all Spotify users can only get online listening through the Spotify web player. That's because there is no Download option for music in the web player. So, to listen to Spotify offline, downloading the Spotify app for Mac is an essential part of the process.
View also: Spotify Web Player vs Desktop App
3. Reliability. The internet connection can be unstable when you are travelling or in remote areas. So, download Spotify music to Mac ensures your music never buffers.
Part 2. How to Download Spotify Songs on Mac with Premium
If you have a Spotify Premium subscription, you can download Spotify music to Mac for offline listening within the app.
How to Download and Install Spotify on Mac
If you search for Spotify in the App Store on Mac, you will find that it's not available. You must download the Spotify app from the official Spotify website. Besides, the Spotify app is available for macOS 12/13/14/15/26 and is compatible with both Intel 64-bit and Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4). If you own an earlier version of mac OS like macOS 10.13 to 10.15, then you can't download Spotify app from its official website. Now, let's see how to achieve Spotify MacBook Download.
Step 1. Navigate to spotify.com/us/download/mac/ via a web browser on your Mac computer and click the 'Download' button.
Step 2. Click 'Allow' to start the Spotify download in the pop-up window. Double-click the installation file to unzip the Spotify installer in the 'Downloads' folder.
Step 3. Click 'Open' on the unzipped Install Spotify app. Then wait for the installer to download Spotify for macOS and install it on your computer.
With these simple steps, you can make Spotify for Mac download. Then you can open the Spotify app and log in to your account or sign up for a new account to access Spotify music library to enjoy music.
How to Download Spotify Music on Mac with Premium
Step 1. Launch the Spotify app for MacBook and log in to your Spotify account details. It must be a Premium account and not expired.
Step 2. Click on the playlist or album you want to download. There is a 'Download' button in the upper-right corner of the Spotify playlist, you need to toggle the download switch.
Step 3. After that, the Spotify songs in the playlist will be downloaded offline on Mac automatically. The download speed is mainly dependent on the network speed.
Finally, you can listen to Spotify music offline on your Mac by clicking on 'Spotify' in your Apple menu > 'Offline Mode'.
View also: Where Does Spotify Download Music to
Part 3. How to Download Spotify Songs on Mac without Premium by AudFree Spotify Converter
With the Spotify app installed on your Mac computer, you can use it to listen to music online. With a Spotify Premium account, you can even download playlists/albums from Spotify for offline listening. But it is noted that you can't download a single track in the app and the downloaded Spotify files are temporary cached tracks only.
Once the Spotify Premium subscription gets cancelled or expires, those Spotify downloads will disappear from your Mac. Besides, due to copyright protection, you can't transfer them to other devices for offline playback. So, is there any way to download Spotify to MacBook as local files forever without Premium?
Fortunately, the answer is yes. With the help of a third-party Spotify downloader Mac, you can make it. Here, we can meet AudFree Spotify Music Converter for Mac. It is a professional and powerful solution for Spotify music downloading and conversion. It is well designed to locally download all Spotify content on Mac without a subscription at up to 13X faster speed. Meanwhile, it can convert Spotify to MP3 320kbps, FLAC, etc. that are available to Mac for FREE and preserve the downloaded Spotify content for Mac permanently.
AudFree Spotify Music Converter for Mac
- Support downloading Spotify songs, playlists, albums, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. on Mac
- Download Spotify music on Mac offline for both Free and Premium Spotify users
- Convert Spotify music to MP3, AIFF, Lossless, WAV, FLAC, M4A, and M4B on Mac
- Work at a 13X faster speed, edit music quality and parameters
Steps to Download Spotify Songs to Mac for Free
Tools You'll Need:
- AudFree Spotify Music Converter for Mac
- Spotify Free or Premium account
- A Mac computer running macOS 11 to macOS 15 Sequoia and even macOS 26 Tahoe
- Step 1. Import Spotify Music to AudFree Spotify Music Converter for Mac
- Double-click to launch AudFree Spotify Music Converter on your Mac after installing. There are two ways to load Spotify files. One is to drag and drop the target Spotify tracks to the '+ β«' window. The other is to click any Spotify audio files and tap '+ β«'. After that, press 'Add to list'.
- Step 2. Set Spotify Output Audio Parameters for Spotify music on Mac
- Navigate to the top menu bar of your MacBook on the left side. Please select the 'AudFree Spotify Music Converter for Mac' > 'Preferences' > 'Conversion' option in the settings window. At this point, you can adjust the output audio parameters in the way you want, such as defining the output format as MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, Lossless, or others. You can also customize the bit rate, sample rate, and audio channel.
- Step 3. Download Spotify Music on Mac without Premium
- When everything is ready, please simply press the big 'Convert' button at the bottom-right corner of the Converting screen. After that, all Spotify tracks will be downloaded offline to a local folder on your Mac. To find the Spotify music downloads on Mac, please click on the 'Converted' > 'Folder' icon on AudFree program. This way, you can locate and enjoy Spotify music offline on your Mac whenever you want.
- π·Disclaimers: After you download Spotify music to Mac via AudFree Spotify Music Converter, please do not share them with others. In general, it is considered legal to do so for personal use only. We just aim to let Spotify users get better music playback and listen to Spotify songs on multiple devices.
To download Spotify songs to Mac, AudFree Streaming Audio Recorder is an alternative. It supports downloading music from Spotify, Tidal, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Apple Music, SoundCloud and so on on Mac computers locally.
Part 4. How to Download Spotify Songs on Mac for Free
Besides the two above-described methods, there are also free ways to get Spotify music download on Mac. Here we will take Audacity as an example. Please read the following content and learn more.
As a free audio recording and editing tool, Audacity is your nice choice to download music from Spotify and other platforms. With it, you can record and save audio files as MP3, OGG, FLAC and more. Now, let's see how to use it to download Spotify music on Mac for free.
Step 1. Download, install and open Audacity from your Mac computer.
Step 2. Find and tap 'Edit' > 'Preferences' from the list.
Step 3. On a Mac, you typically need to install a virtual audio driver, such as BlackHole or Soundflower, to route audio from Spotify into Audacity. Please set the "Host" to Core Audio and the "Recording Device" to your virtual driver.
Step 4. Start the Spotify for Mac app and play a song you want.
Step 5. Touch the 'Record' button on Audacity to start recording.
Step 6. Hit the 'Stop' button to finish the process.
Step 7. Tap 'File' > 'Export' > 'Export Audio...', then choose an output format and hit 'Save'.
Part 5. How to Download Spotify Music on Mac Online (No Installation)
Apart from the ways above to download Spotify music on computer, running macOS operating system, we will also introduce the way to you to download Spotify music to Mac without installing any app. That's to use an online website tool to make it.
Spotdown Spotify Downloader is an online tool that can help you download Spotify music to Mac, Windows, and other devices. This downloader helps you to download Spotify songs to MP3 format for free online without needing to install a Spotify app and extra apps. With it, you can simply get local MP3 files from Spotify for Mac.
Step 1. Go to the Spotify web player, and log in to your Spotify account.
Step 2. At the same time, head to Spotdown website.
Step 3. Copy the playlist or single song's URL link from the Spotify web player. Then paste it into the search box of Spotdown Spotify Downloader and hit the 'Download' button.
Step 4. Click the 'Get Link' button once the art cover of the Spotify song appears.
After that, you can make Spotify download songs on Mac for free online.
Part 6. Compare Ways to Download Spotify Songs on Mac
Providing that you are not sure to select which way to download Spotify songs or playlists on Mac, please refer to the following chart and check it out.
| Feature | Via AudFree Spotify Music Converter | Via Spotify Premium | Via Spotdown | Via Audacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supported Input Format | Songs, playlists, albums, artists, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. from Spotify | Songs, playlists, albums, artists, podcasts, audiobooks | Spotify songs and playlist | Any audio from the computer |
| Supported Output Format | MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, M4B, AIFF, Lossless | OGG Vorbis | MP3 | AIFF, OGG, MP3, etc. |
| Without Spotify Premium | β | β | β | β |
| Lossless Sound Quality | β | β | β | β |
| Batch Download | β | β | β | β |
| Keep ID3 Tags | β | β | β | β |
| Preserve Downloads Forever | β | β | β | β |
| Difficulty | Easy | Easy | Very Easy | Hard |
| Best For | High-quality; batch downloads | Mobile-only offline listening | Quick, single-track downloads | Advanced users and audio editing |
From the chart, AudFee Spotify Music Converter edges over the other three methods and can satisfy all of your needs. Whether you subscribe to the Spotify Premium plan or not, you can download your favorite Spotify songs for offline listening with it.
Part 7. FAQs about Spotify Download Mac
Why Can't I Download Spotify on My Mac?
In general, you can't find and install the Spotify app through the App Store on your Mac device. Instead, you need to go to the Spotify website to download Spotify Mac version. Besides, if you use the lower version of macOS, then you can't get Spotify download on your Mac. Please check if your Mac version is available for installing Spotify app first.
Is It Safe to Download Spotify on Mac?
Yes, it is safe to download Spotify for Mac app since there is no malware software on Spotify. But the promise is to make sure you get Spotify for Mac from spotify.com/us/download/mac/ only.
How to Uninstall Spotify on Mac?
To completely uninstall the Spotify app on your Mac, open the Finder > Applications folder. Then select Spotify, right-click on it, and select 'Move to Trash'. Or, you can directly drag and drop the Spotify app to the 'Trash' application. Next, go to the Trash app to empty the trash to completely delete Spotify app from your Mac.
Can I Transfer Spotify Music Downloads from Mac to Other Devices?
If you download music via the Spotify app on Mac, you can't move those downloaded files to other devices as they are protected. But with the other methods above, you can get local Spotify music files on your Mac computer. Then you can transfer them to mobile devices, etc. for playing.
View also:
How to Transfer Spotify Music to iPhone
How to Transfer Spotify Music to iPad
Part 8. In Conclusion
Now, you know effective workarounds to get Spotify for Mac app and download Spotify music on Mac with or without Premium, then you can enjoy Spotify music offline anywhere and anytime. With a comprehensive analysis, we recommend you use AudFree Spotify Music Converter to make your Spotify environment free and wonderful on account of its robust features. With it, you can download Spotify music on iPhones, Androids, and other devices or players at will.
Chief Editor
