How Much Data Does Streaming Music Use?

Streaming music has become a beating heart in your daily lives. When we groove into the dominating landscape of Shopify, Apple, and Amazon Music, we often overlook data usage. Streaming uses lots of data during international travel and costs unexpected charges and extra monthly billing. To avoid this, you might know the amount of data used for streaming music. Understanding the streaming quality settings will help you to minimize the data usage for streaming.

Here you will get insight into data usage while music streaming. How much data do you use for streaming music and some tips to minimize the usage? 

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Data Usage for Music Streaming

Music streaming is listening to audio content from the internet without storing it. Streaming services offer good-quality sound with reduced data usage. Usually, data usage depends on the streaming quality settings, which are measured in bitrates. The quality of music is better with higher bitrate. Spotify gets 320Kbps, the data used for this is approximately 144MB for an hour. 

Apple Music Vs Spotify Sound Quality

What is better Apple Music or Spotify? Apple has better sound quality than Spotify. Spotify has “very high” quality settings, on the other hand, Apple Music offers “lossless and spatial” audio settings. 

How much data does Spotify use?

Spotify offers streaming quality options according to users' subscriptions. Free accounts have audio quality levels from automatic, low, and normal to high. On the other hand, the premium account is upgraded to a very high option. Spotify offers a data download feature to download music offline. Shopify's use of data depends on the streaming quality level you choose. 

Automatic

Spotify automatically adjusts your streaming according to your network connection. 

Low (24 Kbps)

Streams music at 24 kbps and will use approximately 11MB per hour.

Normal (96 Kbps)

Streams music at 96 kbps and will use approximately 43MB per hour.

High (160Kbps)

Streams music at 160 kbps and will use approximately 72MB per hour

Very high (320Kbps) 

Streams music at 320 kbps and will use approximately 144MB per hour.

How much data does Apple Music use?

Apple Music offers different streaming quality levels from low quality to lossless. The audio quality does not give users manual control, however, it has better sound than Spotify. Lossless audio feature in Apple Music best quality streaming. Here is the data usage list of Apple music streaming with different sound quality levels.   

Low Quality (64 kbps)

Streaming music at 64 kbps uses around 0.029 GB per hour

High Efficiency (128 kbps)

Streaming music at 128 kbps uses around 0.057 GB per hour

High Quality (256 kbps)

Streaming music at 256 kbps uses around 0.115 GB per hour

Lossless (24-bit/48 kHz)

Streaming music at 48 kHz use around 2.16 GB per hour

Hi-Res Lossless (24-bit/192 kHz)

Streaming music at 192 kHz use around 8.7 GB per hour

Apple Music requires more data for streaming. Lossless audio provides better quality but it consumes more data than others. It uses more than 8 GB of data per hour which is higher than Spotify's maximum data.

Apple Music Vs Spotify Music

Apple Music allows streaming in lossless quality similar to CD quality. You can stream songs at a higher bit rate with Apple Music. You need to use a wired headphone connection to access the lossless audio. Apple Music offers good quality music streaming than the other platforms. 

Like Apple Music, Spotify doesn’t offer lossless quality service. Free Spotify users stream at 128Kbps, while premium plan users stream at 320Kbps. Streaming services keep file sizes small to load faster. 

How manage data usage on streaming?

Whether you are streaming Apple or Spotify Music at an unlimited or standard data plan, follow the steps to manage your data usage at home or while traveling. 

Use Wifi for Streaming 

Use Wifi for music streaming. Wi-Fi signals increase your connectivity so you won't suffer from low-quality bitrates. Internet service providers (ISPs) and wireless companies control the speed and amount of data you use. ISPs typically do so less aggressively than wireless companies.

Upgrade your Account                       

Spotify offers listening options with high-quality bitrates for paid users. You can download your favorite songs and customize your playlist with a paid account.  

Set the Streaming App to Offline Mode 

Music streaming services offer offline download options. You can listen to music without connecting to a mobile internet network. You can download the different content according to your subscription level. Some services allow you to listen to downloaded music whether your subscription is maintained.   

Stream on Lower Quality

Music streaming on lower quality can reduce your data consumption. For example, disable the lossless audio option on Apple Music while streaming via mobile data.

Use a Data Management

You can use the data management apps to monitor the data usage while streaming. They will notify you before your data runs out. Here are some data management you can use:

• My Data Manager 
• RadioOpt Traffic Monitor 
• Data Usage

Track Your Data Usage 

You can monitor your data usage from your mobile provider's app. Most providers allow you to track data usage through apps or by notifications once you reach the data limit. Consult with your mobile provider to download their branded app.

FAQs

Do iPhone users use Spotify more than Apple Music?

Spotify has more users and a larger market share. It is more popular than Apple Music with over 500 million users globally. It has a larger music catalog with podcasts and audiobooks on a single platform. 

Can I listen to music while doing a data entry job?

Yes, if you are doing a repetitive task like data entry, listening to music can help you to be more productive. It can help you to improve your mood. However, it can be distracting if you are part of an important conversation.    

Does Apple Music have better sound quality than Spotify?

Yes, Apple Music has better sound quality than Spotify. It offers lossless audio, higher bit rates, and spatial audio. All these features enhance the listening experience and make sound quality better.