Spotify Premium Is Lossless Listening At Last, But with Caveats?

Lossless audio on Spotify Premium has finally — FINALLY! — arrived. Spotify describes its new lossless streaming option as “one of the most anticipated features on Spotify,” and that is definitely an understatement. Behind the scenes, Spotify has been toying with offering a lossless option for at least eight years, but the company explicitly told its users that lossless streaming was “coming soon” way back in 2021. It was no doubt a response to a similar move by Apple Music, which went lossless in the same year. Apple Music now serves up all of its content in at least CD quality, all the way up to 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution. The difference is that when Apple Music announced the upgrade from lossy compression (think MP3) to lossless/hi-res, the change actually happened in 2021 — virtually immediately, as a matter of fact. Spotify’s promise to go lossless was followed by years of silence and not much else, other than the occasional comment that it was still in the works. Now, after more than four years, Spotify is finally making good on its word.

As of the second week of September 2025, Spotify has begun rolling out a Lossless option to Spotify Premium subscribers in select markets. Lossless quality is available on Spotify’s mobile, desktop, and tablet applications, as well as on many devices that support Spotify Connect, including those from Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Sennheiser. Sonos speakers, Amazon smart devices, and other audio products with Spotify Connect capability are expected to get the upgrade in October. Spotify says that Premium subscribers will receive a notification in Spotify once Lossless becomes available to them.

The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers. We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step, so you always know what’s happening under the hood. With Lossless, our premium users will now have an even better listening experience.

— Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP Subscriptions, Spotify

Spotify Lossless: Background

In recent years, Spotify has become controversial for its treatment of musicians, which many believe to be unfair. On average, artists are compensated less for Spotify streams than for streams on some competing services, such as the audiophile-preferred Qobuz and Tidal. Of course, lossless streaming is nothing new for these services; Tidal has been offering lossless audio for over a decade. It was once the only lossless game in town (in the United States, anyway), but in the intervening years, every other major streaming service — including big names like Apple and Amazon — has switched to streaming in CD quality or better. In 2025, Spotify was the only streaming service still offering up all of its music via lossy compression, which throws away some of the audio data in the name of reducing file sizes and bandwidth requirements. But even though Spotify offered the worst audio quality to its subscribers, and the worst payout to its artists, it remained the most popular streaming service on the planet. And as such, this move to lossless quality will affect approximately 276 million paying subscribers.

Spotify Lossless Does NOT Cost Extra!

There was speculation that Spotify might charge extra for a lossless option when it finally became available, and subscribers had good reason to think that this was going to be the case. Spotify has used surveys to gauge customer interest in paying more for lossless audio, and reports of these surveys date back several years. It is clear that Spotify considered various pricing strategies for a “Spotify Hi-Fi” offering. Back in 2022, a Reddit user who had switched to Apple Music posted about a survey sent by Spotify detailing a potential “Spotify Platinum” tier, which would cost $19.99 per month. This tier would include addition features, including a “Headphone Tuner” (presumably a customizable EQ tool) and something called “Studio Sound,” according to the survey. As recently as February 2025, some Spotify users reported being surveyed about a potential “Music Pro” package, which was rumored to cost an additional $5-$6 per month on top of Spotify’s existing subscription rates. “Music Pro” was to include lossless audio quality in addition to new AI-powered tools, according to the survey. In March 2025, a survey conducted by KeyBanc Capital Markets found that 45% of self-identified Spotify “super fans” were interested in a higher-priced version of the streaming service, suggesting that Spotify might get away with charging extra for a tier above its current Spotify Premium offering. But in the end, none of the above made it to market. When Spotify officially announced its new lossless offering, there was no mention of an add-on fee, though the company did raise prices across the board in July by about $1 per month. Most likely, Spotify opted against charging more for lossless audio simply because all of its competitors offer lossless as a standard feature of their existing plans, most of which are priced competitively with Spotify Premium. The market just wouldn’t allow Spotify to charge more. As of the time of writing, Spotify Premium costs $11.99 per month for a single user. The Duo plan, which accommodates two users, costs $16.99 per month. A Family plan is the best deal, costing just $19.99 per month for up to six users. Students can get a discounted plan for $5.99 per month.

Spotify Lossless: High Resolution?

While the shift to lossless streaming is a boon to all Spotify Premium subscribers, some audiophiles might be disappointed to learn that the maximum resolution on offer is 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC. Via every major competitor, including the Big Guys (Apple and Amazon) and the Little Guys (Qobuz and Tidal), content is available at sampling rates of up to 192kHz. It used to be that only esoteric audiophile labels offered content in very high resolutions (anyone want to check out the latest Scottish Nose Whistling album?) but that is no longer the case. Now, many mainstream releases are available in resolutions above Spotify’s 24-bit/44.1kHz ceiling. My favorite alternative/indie band from New Zealand, The Beths, just released a new album called Straight Line Was a Lie, which is available in 24-bit/96kHz high-res on Qobuz. Ditto for Love For Sale, the 2021 album of duets by Tony Bennet and Lady Gaga, and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), the 2024 album by Eminem. The Weeknd’s 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow is offered at 24-bit/88.2kHz on Qobuz. The latest releases from Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift are all available at 24-bit/48kHz.

Is the lack of resolutions above 24-bit/44.1kHz on Spotify Premium going to be a deal-breaker? 

It won’t be for most users. After all, Spotify was already the most popular streaming service in the world when it was still using lossy compression. And the reality is that the jump from lossy compression to CD quality is likely bigger than the jump from CD quality to high-res. Of course, the degree to which you hear differences among these offerings will depend on your playback equipment. If you’re listening via Bluetooth headphones, fuhgeddaboudit. Nearly all Bluetooth audio devices still use codecs that rely on lossy compression, causing even CD-quality files (let alone high-res files) to get digitally squished on their way to your ears. But on a high-quality playback system, there may be meaningful differences between 24-bit/44.1kHz and 24/96kHz, for example. Much depends on the content itself: the quality of the recording, the mix, and the master. Still, for 99.99% of Spotify users, 24-bit/44.1kHz will be more than good enough. While some audiophiles debate the virtues of high-res audio, most of us know that even a standard redbook CD at 16-bit/44.1kHz can sound fantastic on a good system. The quality of the playback hardware — the DAC, the amplification, and the speakers or headphones — is what actually matters the most.

Spotify Lossless: Flexibility

Because many folks use Spotify on-the-go, and not everyone has unlimited cellular data, the Spotify mobile app will allow users to choose custom quality settings for Wi-Fi, cellular, and downloads. For each scenario, the existing Low, Normal, High, and Very High quality settings will be joined by the new Lossless setting. Users can see how much data each of these settings will use, according to Spotify. The company also says that users will need to select Lossless (or the streaming quality of their choice) on each device individually. 

How to enable Lossless Playback:

• In the Spotify app, tap your profile icon in the top left.
• Go to Settings & Privacy → Media Quality.
• Select where you want to enable lossless audio: Wi-Fi, cellular, downloads.

Spotify tells us that users will know when Lossless audio is playing because the Lossless indicator will appear in the Now Playing view or bar, and via the Spotify Connect Picker. The company recommends streaming lossless music on Wi-Fi for “the smoothest and best listening experience,” but most cellular providers in the US deliver more than enough bandwidth for lossless streaming in locations with a strong signal. If you’re out in the boondocks or deep in a basement, your mileage may vary. Because many “regular folks” (i.e. non-audiophiles) may not understand the limitations of Bluetooth connections, Spotify specifically recommends using “wired headphones or speakers,” or wireless devices that rely on “a non-Bluetooth connection, like Spotify Connect.” The company also warns that because lossless audio files are larger, some playback devices may take a moment to begin playing a track, providing time to create enough of a buffer to ensure a stutter-free playback experience. Once the files are cached and loaded, the user experience will be seamless, according to Spotify.

When Will Spotify Lossless Be Available?

Spotify says that lossless streaming is currently rolling out in Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK. It will be rolling out gradually to more than 50 markets between now and the end of October 2025, according to the company. 

Cambridge Audio just announced ALL of their products that integrate StreamMagic Gen 4, Gen 3 or Gen 2 streaming technology are ready for Spotify’s hi-res lossless music streaming service for listening to tracks in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC quality. This includes the current range of dedicated music streamers (MXN10, AXN10, CXN100 and EXN100), the new Evo 150 SE streaming amplifier, and the Evo One wireless streaming speaker, which all include the latest StreamMagic Gen 4 platform. 

Has your Spotify Premium account been given the Lossless upgrade yet? Share your experience in the related forum thread below.