First announced in 2021, Spotify promised to bring lossless audio quality to its platform, and after four years of waiting, it is finally here. The new Spotify lossless is rolling out to Premium subscribers in select regions, and here’s everything you need to know about it. From audio quality details to supported devices, we have answered all your questions about the lossless feature here.
- What is Spotify Lossless?
- How Good is Spotify’s Audio Quality with Lossless?
- Is Spotify Lossless Included with Premium?
- How to Enable and Use Spotify Lossless Audio?
- Does Spotify’s Lossless Streaming Consume More Data?
- Where is Spotify Lossless Available Now?
- Which Devices Support Lossless on Spotify?
- Do You Need Special Hardware to Enjoy Lossless?
- Is Spotify Lossless Better than Apple Music?
What is Spotify Lossless?
Spotify lossless is a new high-quality tier that allows you to listen to songs at lossless, CD-quality resolution. With lossless, you can stream music on Spotify at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC. This is a minimally compressed format, offering the highest-quality music listening experience on the app. It offers the clarity and quality in sound that is closer to how the music creators intended their work to be listened to.
How Good is Spotify’s Audio Quality with Lossless?
Lossless audio retains all the original information of a song, captured during recording. So when you listen to a song with Spotify lossless, you can hear rich details of every instrument, clear percussion, and perceive every minor detail that is typically lost due to compression.
Even if you are listening to the “Very high” quality option, it will not be as rich and detailed as lossless. For a clear comparison, Spotify’s current highest setting plays songs at 320kbit/s (a lossy format), while lossless streams at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC (a lossless format).
Is Spotify Lossless Included with Premium?
Lossless listening is included with Spotify Premium at no additional cost. For years, it was thought that Spotify might bundle it with a higher-priced Supremium tier or a Music Pro tier. But that didn’t turn out to be the case, and you can enjoy the excellent sound experience of lossless audio for the same price you already pay for Spotify Premium.
How to Enable and Use Spotify Lossless Audio?
If you have Spotify Premium and have access to lossless on your device, here’s how you can enable it.
- Tap the profile icon in the top-left corner of the Spotify mobile app.
- Then go to Settings and privacy > Media quality.
- Select the Lossless option where you want to enable it.
- It is available under Wi-Fi, cellular, and download streaming qualities.
You will have to enable it on all devices where you listen to Spotify, since the feature is not enabled by default. It’s a device-specific setting, so changes won’t carry over automatically to other devices.
Does Spotify’s Lossless Streaming Consume More Data?
Yes. Since lossless is higher quality audio, it requires larger file sizes and therefore consumes more data to stream. A single 3 to 4-minute song can take up almost 30 to 40 MB of data, so an hour of lossless audio adds up to roughly 1 GB. That’s why Spotify suggests listening to lossless quality over Wi-Fi. But, since you already have Premium, you can download Spotify songs in lossless format too.
Where is Spotify Lossless Available Now?
Spotify Lossless began rolling out in September 2025 to Premium users in select countries and will expand to more than 50 markets through October. This includes Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK.
Spotify says eligible users will get an in-app notification when Lossless is available for them, and the company is rolling the feature out gradually to additional regions.
Which Devices Support Lossless on Spotify?
Spotify Lossless experience is available on the Spotify app on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. You can also try it on any other device that “supports Spotify Connect, including Sony, Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser, and more,” as mentioned in Spotify’s blog post.
Do You Need Special Hardware to Enjoy Lossless?
Lossless does not require any specialized hardware, and you can listen to it on any device you already use. But if you actually want to hear the difference in sound quality and detail, you’ll need:
- Wired headphones or IEMs instead of Bluetooth earbuds to avoid compression.
- A DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) is recommended when paired with a wired headphone.
- Spotify Connect devices like speakers or amps from Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser.
- If you are using Bluetooth earbuds, they should support high-res codecs like LDAC, LHDC, SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec), or lossless audio.
Is Spotify Lossless Better than Apple Music?
Spotify lossless streams music at 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC, which is basically CD-quality audio. However, it’s not quite as good as the Hi-Res quality offered by Apple Music which can go up to 24-bit / 192 kHz and also includes support for Dolby Atmos.
This is much crisper and offers higher fidelity. And like Spotify, Apple Music’s Hi-Res lossless is included with the base subscription plan. So if you want ultra high-quality sound, or have a Dolby Atmos stereo setup, then get Apple Music. But for everyone else, Spotify should be good enough.
With that, we come to the end of this article. Spotify lossless took so long to arrive that we almost thought it was an urban legend that would never arrive. But thankfully, Spotify has finally delivered its high-quality option without any added cost.
