12 Spotify MoneySaving tips

If you stream music or podcasts while out and about using mobile data, it can make a dent in your monthly data allowance. While streaming audio doesn't use anywhere near as much data as streaming video – Spotify uses about 40MB/hour, while Netflix uses around 1GB/hour – if you listen for a long time or have a small allowance it could easily take you over your limit, meaning you may get a shock when you get your bill.

You can avoid this by changing the settings to limit how much data Spotify uses, although this means the sound quality might not be as good. When we tried it out on a smartphone using bog-standard headphones, the difference wasn't too noticeable, so while this might not be a tip for audiophiles, it should work OK for most. (Note: You can't do this on the Spotify web player).

• To do this on the Spotify desktop app... click on the profile button at the top, then 'Settings'. Under 'Audio Quality' you'll see that 'Streaming quality' is set to 'Automatic', giving you the best quality for the internet connection you've got at the time. You can change this to 'Normal' or 'Low' to limit data use (or crank it up to 'High' or 'Very high' if you want the best quality possible).
  
  
• To do this on the Spotify mobile app... tap the 'cog' icon in the top right corner to go to 'Settings' and switch the 'Data Saver' button to on – this means audio will only stream in low quality when you're listening via mobile data, and that 'artists' canvases' (visuals that play alongside some tracks) are disabled. By scrolling down to the 'Audio quality' section, you can also crank it up to 'High' or 'Very High' for streaming by mobile data and/or Wi-Fi if you prefer.

Mobile phone contracts that include 'free' Spotify Premium subscriptions – ie, you pay a monthly bill and Spotify Premium is thrown in with it – come around every so often, so are worth looking out for if you're considering switching mobile contract and you want to subscribe to Spotify Premium (or already do).

As we always say with these sort of deals, the 'freebie' is only worth it if you were going to choose that particular deal in the first place. We won't be able to keep this point updated all the time, but when we checked on Tuesday 1 August, Vodafone was offering subscriptions to Spotify Premium (or Amazon Prime or YouTube Premium) for 'free' when you sign up to a Vodafone Entertainment* plan.

Make sure you check out what you'll get and what you'll pay over the course of any mobile contract to find the right one for you. For example, Vodafone's plans that include Spotify Premium offer a 5GB, 20GB, 150GB, 200GB, 250GB or unlimited monthly data allowance, yet most people use less than 3GB a month, so you could find yourself paying for a lot more data than you need, cancelling out the saving on Spotify. 

Use our free Cheap Mobile Finder tool to compare 1,000s of mobile phone deals and find the one that best suits you.

In the past, Spotify has offered a free or discounted Google Nest Mini voice-activated smart speaker, normally worth £49, to new and existing Spotify Premium subscribers. The last time it did this in September 2020, the MSE Deals team discovered you could subscribe just to claim the Google Nest Mini, then immediately cancel, paying for just one month's membership.

While this offer isn't currently on, it's well worth keeping an eye out for, whether you already subscribe to Spotify Premium or are thinking about doing so. The best way to find out if Spotify offers it again is to sign up to MSE's free weekly Money Tips email, which has the latest deals, and to check our Spotify Deals page.