How to Download Spotify to FLAC Losslessly - Best, Online, Free

By Charles Davis Updated on 2023-08-21 / Update for Spotify Tips

We have seen a few people requesting how to download FLAC from Spotify without quality loss. Because FLAC offers bit-perfect copies of CD quality and compressed small audio files, and sounds better than MP3. Well, to be honest, all Spotify songs will be downloaded as OGG Vorbis cache files at up to 320kbps and readable by the Spotify app only.

Downloading Spotify FLAC local files seems to be impossible via the official method. Fortunately, some music downloaders have been developed to achieve it with high quality kept. Today, we have listed the 4 most professional Spotify to FLAC converters to help you convert Spotify to FLAC online free. Without further ado, let's unravel their mysteries below.

spotify to flac

Part 1. FLAC vs Spotify OGG Vorbis

FLAC short for Free Lossless Audio Codec, is an open-source and royalty-free audio format without any intellectual property restrictions. It's similar to MP3 but lossless. There is no quality loss in the audio compressed in FLAC. All metadata can be contained in FLAC files, such as album art cover, year, artist, and so on. Speaking of HiFi and MQA-quality music, FLAC is the preferred audio format to store them.

Ogg Vorbis is also an open-source yet lossy audio compression format, which is the replacement for MP3, VQF, and AAC. The file size of Ogg Vorbis is smaller than MP3, which requires less bandwidth and storage. This format is more widely used by Spotify but it decrypts these Ogg Vorbis, which leads that users can't fully control Spotify playback.

FLAC Spotify Ogg Vorbis
Sound Quality Lossless Lossy
File Size Small Small
Downloaded Files Local Files Cache Files
Availability Many media players and devices Spotify app only

Spotify FLAC: Everything We Know

When it comes to FLAC, one naturally thinks of Spotify HiFi, which is expected to launch later this year, but an exact date has not been announced yet. Spotify HiFi is a new offering from Spotify that promises to deliver high-quality audio to its users by using lossless audio formats such as FLAC. HiFi stands for High Fidelity, which means that the audio quality is closer to the original recording quality.

Spotify HiFi will offer users the ability to stream Spotify music in CD-quality audio, which is 16-bit/44.1kHz. The increased dynamic range and clarity of the audio will make it a popular choice for audiophiles and music enthusiasts who value high-quality audio.

Part 2. Best Spotify FLAC Downloader - AudFree Spotify to FLAC Converter

AudFree Spotify Music Converter is specially designed to download lossless FLAC from Spotify. Whether you are using a Spotify free or Premium account, this excellent software enables you to download any content from Spotify, including songs, playlists, albums, podcasts, and audiobooks.

This great tool is also capable of converting Spotify to other popular audio formats like MP3, WAV, AAC, M4A, and M4B. As a full-featured program, it also enables you to customize other output audio parameters, including defining bit rate as 320 kbps and sample rate as 48000 Hz.

Adopting advanced technology, this best Spotify to FLAC downloader works with Windows and Mac computers. It's able to grab all the metadata such as artist, title, genre, album cover of Spotify music and save them in FLAC local files. Anyway, with the help of this smart Spotify solution, you can stream and play CD-quality Spotify FLAC songs on portable devices offline without subscription.

AudFree Spotify Music Converter

audfree spotify to flac converter
  • Losslessly convert Spotify OGG Vorbis music to FLAC
  • Support to edit audio quality and other parameters of Spotify tracks
  • Detect and keep all ID3 tags information of Spotify music downloads
  • Run at 5X speed and offer a free trial for Windows and Mac

How to Download FLAC from Spotify Losslessly via AudFree Spotify to FLAC Converter

Step 1Add Spotify Music to AudFree SpoDable
import spotify tracks to audfree spodable
Double click to launch AudFree Spotify Music Converter on your computer, you will see that the Spotify app will open itself shortly after. Then, you can drag and drop Spotify music to the main page directly, or copy and paste the URL of Spotify tracks to the search box at the top. After that, hit the "+" button.
Step 2Set Spotify Music Output Format to FLAC
set spotify output format as flac
The most important step here is to define the Spotify music output format as FLAC. To do this, go to the "Menu" icon on the top right corner and select "Preferences > Convert" section to open the settings window. In this window, you can set Spotify as FLAC lossless format and adjust other audio parameters, such as bit depth, sample rate, etc. to customize your personal listening experience.
Step 3Let Spotify FLAC Download with Free Account
download flac from spotify
When all the settings are saved, press the "Convert" button to activate the conversion process. Once done, you can navigate to the local FLAC files in the target folder of your computer. Now, you can listen to Spotify FLAC downloads offline on any media player anytime and anywhere.

Part 3. Best Spotify to FLAC Recorder - AudFree Audio Capture

If you are looking for a traditional solution to rip FLAC from Spotify losslessly, then AudFree Audio Capture can meet your needs. It is actually an all-in-one audio recorder that allows users to capture any sound played on their computers, including streaming music, online sessions, game sounds and more.

What's more surprising is that with its built-in editor, it can customize the ID3 tags of Spotify songs, Channel as Stereo, Sample Rate as 8000 Hz to 192000 Hz, and Bit Rate as 16 kbps or 320 kbps. And it allows you to split and trim recorded Spotify lossless music in the way you want.


How to Rip and Convert Spotify to FLAC via AudFree Audio Capture

Step 1. Launch AudFree Audio Capture, then click the "Select/Add an App" section to add the Spotify app or other programs you want from the computer desktop into this window.

add spotify to audfree audio capture

Step 2. Simply click the "Format" button at the bottom and select FLAC as the output format for Spotify. Then you need to choose an output audio quality and touch the 'edit' icon. After that, you can also define other key audio parameters including sample rate, bitrate, channels, etc. to get high Spotify quality.

set flac as spotify output format

Step 3. Then select the Spotify app from the added app list and press 'Start'. Then in the Spotify app, start playing the Spotify song you'd like to capture to FLAC and AudFree will automatically start the recording process. Once you quit the Spotify music app, the recording will also stop.

rip spotify to flac

Step 4. When the recording is finished, click the "Save" button to store Spotify recordings to your computer's local files. By the way, it's also able to edit Spotify FLAC tracks by clicking the "Trim" and "Edit Tag" icons next each recorded song.

split spotify flac music

Part 4. Spotify to FLAC Converter Online - Apowersoft

Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder is a comprehensive Spotify FLAC downloader online. It doesn't require you to install extra app to your computer but can record Spotify to FLAC online with just one click. Importantly, it can convert Spotify playlist to FLAC, MP3, WMA and other common formats at a fast pace. In fact, it works by recording any audio from your computer sound card and microphone.

Moreover, if you need to adjust the ID3 tags, like artwork cover, year, title, etc., it is fully capable of doing so as well. It's also important to note that the disadvantage of this Spotify FLAC Downloader online is low Spotify quality. It usually features some noise in recorded files.

How to Convert Spotify to Lossless FLAC Online via Apowersoft

Step 1. Go to the official website of ApowerSoft Free Audio Recorder Online and if you are using the software for the first time, you need to install a small startup program to your computer.

fire up spotify to flac converter online

Step 2. Click the red "Start Recording" button to launch this online Spotify to FLAC converter. Define the target audio source as "System Sound" and hit on the "Start Recording" tab again.

Step 3. You then still need to choose "Entire Screen" or "Chrome Tab" and "Share system audio" options to confirm the recording mode. After that, please click the "Share" button to next step.

set spotify as audio source

Step 4. Play your favorite Spotify songs from Spotify Web Player or the Spotify desktop app, then it will begin to download and convert playing Spotify files to FLAC.

Step 5. You can freely click the "Back" and "Pause" buttons during the recording process. Tap "Stop" option to end the recording of Spotify Music, you can hit the "Show in folder" icon to locate the Spotify FLAC local files.

spotify to flac online

Part 5. Spotify to FLAC Converter Free - Audacity

When it comes to freeware of getting Spotify FLAC files, the first thing that comes to mind is Audacity, a free, open source software. As a matter of fact, it is a professional digital audio editing and recording software available for Mac, Windows, Linux and other popular operating systems. As a result, it becomes relatively easy to record Spotify with Audacity.

Audacity allows you to download and rip Spotify playlists to FLAC, MP3, WAV and other formats without any problem. What's more, you are able to edit and trim Spotify songs as well as add sound effects according to your needs. Beyond question, this free way should be the pursuit of most people. But the complex user interface makes the operation extremely complicated.

How to Record and Download FLAC from Spotify Free

Step 1. Download and launch Audacity, tap the "Edit" icon in the toolbar on the top left.

Step 2. Then tap "Preferences > Audio Host Box > Windows WASAPI" options.

set audacity preferences for spotify

Step 3. Select the "Transfer Options" button and uncheck the "Software Playthrough" option when recording. After that, select the export format as FLAC from the "Options" button.

set up audacity to record spotify

Step 4. Click the "Record" button in Audacity to start recording Spotify music as FLAC. Tap the "Stop" button to end the recording.

Step 5. Finally hit the "Save" button, the Spotify FLAC file will be saved to your computer locally for offline playback anytime.

download spotify flac local files

Part 6. How to Upload FLAC to Spotify

Since Spotify supports uploading local audio files, you can utilize the easy-to-use AudFree Audio Converter to convert FLAC to MP3 format supported by Spotify. Then, you can follow the steps below to add FLAC files to Spotify on your computer and mobile devices and play FLAC on Spotify as you like.

How to Add FLAC to Spotify on Computer

Step 1. Open the Spotify app on your computer, log in to your Spotify account and click on your account avatar.

Step 2. In the menu list, click on the "Settings" option to open the settings page. Scroll down until you find the "Local Files" option.

local flac files on computer

Step 3. Click on it, and then select the "Add a Source" button. At this point, you can add local FLAC files to Spotify from your computer.

add flac to spotify on computer

How to Upload FLAC to Spotify on Mobile

Step 1. Launch the Spotify app on your iPhone or Android phone.

Step 2. Click the "Settings" button in the top right corner and scroll down to select the "Local Files" option in the list.

Step 3. Go to "Your Library" and you will have the privilege to choose your local FLAC files for free playback on Spotify.

upload flac to spotify on mobile

Part 7. FAQs of Spotify FLAC Download

Q1: What File Types Does Spotify Support?

A: The file formats supported by Spotify are MP3, M4P, and MP4. If you'd like to make more tracks playable on Spotify, please install QuickTime to help you out.

Q2: Does Spotify Play FLAC?

A: As you can see above, Spotify app allows users to add local files to Spotify for offline playback, but Spotify doesn't support FLAC format. So you need to make good use of AudFree Audio Converter to convert FLAC to MP3 format, and then it's able to play FLAC songs on Spotify smoothly.

Q3: How to Convert Spotify to FLAC for Free?

A: To tell you the truth, whether you are a Spotify Premium or free users, the above programs will satisfy you well. Among them, the best Spotify FLAC downloader could be AudFree Spotify Music Converter. It can get Spotify FLAC download losslessly and save them at a sample rate of 48000 Hz even you are using a free Spotify account.

Part 8. In Conclusion

In a word, this article introduces several professional Spotify to FLAC converters dedicated to get Spotify FLAC lossless music for PC, Mac, free and online without any restrictions. Now, make the appropriate choice and start your Spotify journey. By the way, if you find other effective ways to download FLAC from Spotify, please don't hesitate to share them with us in the comment section.

Charles Davis

Charles Davis

Chief Editor

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Charles Davis is the chief-editor of AudFree Company, who writes a variety of tech articles and music reviews, such as hot software releases and Spotify music tips.
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