How to Get Spotify Premium: The Complete 2022 Guide

Spotify has become the world‘s most popular music streaming service, with over 422 million monthly active users. But while the free version of Spotify grants you access to millions of songs, podcasts, and more, it comes with significant limitations.

If you want an ad-free listening experience, ability to download music for offline playback, unlimited skips, high quality audio, and extra features like Duo Mix playlists, Spotify Premium is absolutely worth the upgrade.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain everything you need to know to get Spotify Premium in 2022 across desktop, mobile, and web.

What is Spotify Premium and What are the Benefits?

Spotify Premium provides an enhanced version of Spotify without any audio or display advertisements interrupting your listening. With Premium, you can:

Listen to music ad-free
Download songs, albums, playlists for offline listening
Get unlimited skips (no track limits)
Unlock higher quality audio streams
Listen to music on smart speakers, TVs, gaming consoles, and more
Get exclusive access to new music, podcasts, and other content

Many users are happy to put up with the ads and limitations of the free tier. But if you listen to a lot of music on Spotify, especially offline or on mobile, upgrading to Premium is a no-brainer. The uninterrupted listening experience and ability to save music offline makes Spotify far more enjoyable.

Signing up for a Spotify Premium subscription is quick and easy on desktop, mobile, and web. Here‘s how to do it:

On Desktop

Open the Spotify app on your Mac or PC and log into your account.
Click on your profile name in the top right corner.
Select Upgrade to Premium from the dropdown menu.
Choose which Premium plan you want: Individual, Student, Duo, or Family.
Enter your payment information.
Click Start Free Trial or Purchase to complete sign up.

On Mobile

Open the Spotify app on your iPhone, Android, or tablet.
Tap the Home tab on the bottom nav bar.
Tap the Premium banner near the top of the screen.
Select which Premium plan you want to try.
Enter your payment details and tap Start Free Trial or Buy Now.

On Web Player

Go to Spotify.com and log into your account.
Click on the Premium button on the top right of the web player.
Choose your desired Premium plan.
Enter payment info and click Start Free Trial or Subscribe to finish upgrading.

Once you complete sign up, your account will instantly upgrade to a Spotify Premium membership.

Spotify Premium upgrade screens

Spotify Premium Plans and Pricing

Spotify offers a few different Premium plans to meet your needs:

Individual – $9.99/month. For one user.
Student – $4.99/month. Individual plan for eligible students.
Duo – $12.99/month. For two users living at the same address. Includes Duo Mix playlist.
Family – $15.99/month. For up to 6 family members. Comes with Family Mix and Spotify Kids app.

Premium is $9.99 per month if billed monthly, but you can save money by paying for 6 months ($59.94) or a year ($99) upfront.

Students can verify their enrollment to access the discounted Student Premium plan. There are also occasional deals like free Spotify Premium for 3 months with new Samsung Galaxy devices.

Starting Your Spotify Premium Free Trial

The best part about signing up for Spotify Premium is that you get 1 month completely free to start.

The free trial gives you full access to all Premium features for 30 days. It‘s a great way to experience Premium before paying anything.

To start your free trial:

Click the "Start Free Trial" button when signing up for any Premium monthly plan.
Make sure to set a reminder to cancel at least 24 hours before the 1 month ends if you don‘t want to be charged.
You can only take advantage of the 1 month free trial once per Spotify account.

Downloading Music for Offline Playback

One of the most useful parts of Spotify Premium is being able to download music to your mobile device so you can listen offline. Here‘s how to save music offline:

On mobile:

Tap a playlist, album, or podcast you want to download.
Tap the Download button near the top of the screen.
Select Download Playlist or Download Album.
Open the Downloads section to play saved content offline.

On desktop:

Right click any playlist, album, or podcast.
Choose Download.
Go to the Downloads section in the sidebar to access offline content.

You can download up to 10,000 songs on up to 5 different devices with Spotify Premium. Downloads make Spotify incredibly useful for planes, roadtrips, subway commutes or anywhere you won‘t have an internet connection.

More Awesome Spotify Premium Features

Beyond downloading for offline use, Spotify Premium unlocks a ton of extra benefits:

No ad interruptions – Enjoy nonstop music with no audio or display ads.
Higher audio quality – Listen in lossless HD quality with Premium.
Unlimited skips – Skip songs as much as you want, unlike the 6 skips per hour free users get.
Listen across devices – Stream Spotify from your phone, tablet, computer, speakers, TV, gaming console, and more.
Music + podcasts – Get unlimited access to Spotify‘s catalog of over 82 million tracks and 3.6 million podcasts and episodes.
Curated playlists – Browse Spotify‘s iconic playlists like Discover Weekly, Made For You, and more.
Share music – Let friends and family listen to your playlists and tracks too.
Enhanced search – Search for any song, album, artist, or podcast. Try spelling naming wrong and Spotify will suggest the right match.

Overall, upgrading to Premium takes your entire Spotify experience to the next level for just $9.99 a month.

Spotify Premium vs. Other Music Streaming Services

How does a Spotify Premium membership compare to other top music streaming platforms? Let‘s break down the key differences:

Vs. Apple Music – Apple Music costs the same $9.99/month as Spotify Premium. Both services have similar catalogs of over 75 million songs. Apple Music offers more exclusives from Apple artists. Spotify has better discovery features like Discover Weekly. Offline listening and ad-free experience is identical.

Vs. YouTube Music – YouTube Music comes bundled with a YouTube Premium subscription for $11.99/month. Spotify has a bigger music catalog than YouTube Music. But YouTube Music lets you easily switch between music and video. YouTube Premium also removes ads from YouTube videos.

Vs. Amazon Music Unlimited – Amazon Music Unlimited costs $7.99/month for Prime members, but lacks some features like a free trial option and full offline listening support. Spotify has a bigger catalog of songs and its algorithms are better for music discovery.

Vs. Tidal – Tidal focuses more on lossless HiFi sound quality but costs $19.99/month. Spotify has more users and playlists but can‘t match Tidal‘s audio fidelity.

Overall Spotify strikes the best balance of value, features and music discovery when compared to competitors. But other services may appeal more to specific listeners depending on their needs.

Spotify Premium: FAQ

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Spotify Premium membership:

How much does Spotify Premium cost?

$9.99 per month with monthly billing. You can save by paying every 6 months ($59.94) or annually ($99). Students get 50% off, paying just $4.99/month.

What benefits do you get with Spotify Premium?

Ad-free listening, unlimited skips, downloading songs for offline play, high quality audio, exclusive content, and listening across all your devices.

Can you get Spotify Premium for free?

Spotify offers a 1 month free trial for new Premium subscribers. You can also sometimes get 1-3 months of Premium free with special promotions.

Can you cancel Premium before the free trial ends?

Yes, you can cancel anytime within the 1 month trial and won‘t be charged. Just remember to cancel at least 24 hours before the month is up.

What is the difference between Spotify Free and Premium?

Free has ads, limited skips, no downloads, and lower audio quality. Premium has all songs ad-free, unlimited downloads and skips, and HD quality audio.

Is Spotify Premium worth it?

For most frequent Spotify listeners, Premium is definitely worth upgrading to avoid constant ads and interruptions. Being able to download songs for offline use on mobile is also a major perk.

Get Started with Spotify Premium Today!

That sums up this complete guide on how to get Spotify Premium in 2022! We covered signing up across desktop, mobile and web, Spotify Premium plans and pricing, how to start your free trial, downloading songs offline, and all the top features you get with a Premium membership.

If you‘re tired of the constant audio and display ads when listening for free on Spotify, upgrading to Premium is a gamechanger. You get nonstop, uninterrupted listening along with awesome benefits like offline downloads.

So what are you waiting for? Visit Spotify.com now or open up the Spotify mobile app and upgrade to Premium. Your music listening experience will be 10x better!