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How to record Spotify on a Mac

Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.

You can record Spotify on a Mac with any recorder that captures system audio; Spotify's desktop app and web player both play through the normal Core Audio path and capture without the silence that hits DRM video. Quality depends on where you play: the desktop app streams up to 320 kbps on Premium, the web player is fixed at 128 kbps (Free) or 256 kbps AAC (Premium). Spotify's User Guidelines list "recording" and "ripping" as not permitted.

How do I record a Spotify song on a Mac?

Use the desktop app, not the web player, because it is the only place you can raise the streaming quality. Then:

  1. In Spotify, open Settings. Under Audio quality set Streaming quality to Very high (Premium) or High (Free).
  2. In the same settings, turn off Normalize volume and set Crossfade to 0 seconds. Normalization changes the level of every track; crossfade blends the end of one song into the next and ruins a clean cut.
  3. Turn on a Focus so no notification sound is mixed in.
  4. In AirCheck or another ScreenCaptureKit recorder, choose System Audio, press record, then press play in Spotify.
  5. Stop after the last track and export. MP3 320 kbps matches the source tier; WAV 16-bit if you want to trim first.

You get one file per take. AirCheck has no silence detection, so an album becomes one long file that you split in an editor afterwards. Audio Hijack ($69) lists splitting on silence, which covers one file per track without manual work; AirCheck records the playlist as one continuous file that you split afterwards.

Spotify desktop app or web player: which should I record from?

The desktop app. Spotify's own quality page gives the numbers. In the app, Low is about 24 kbit/s, Normal about 96, High about 160, Very high about 320, and a Premium Lossless tier is "equivalent up to 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC". On the web player "you can't adjust music quality": Spotify Free streams 128 kbit/s AAC and Premium 256 kbit/s AAC, full stop.

So a Premium subscriber recording from the web player throws away the difference between 256 and 320 kbps before the recorder even starts. A Free user gets 160 in the app versus 128 on the web. Either way the source is lossy, which sets the ceiling for the whole chain; see the quality section below.

One more difference: the web player runs inside the browser, so if you want to record it in isolation from other tabs, the browser-tab guide applies. The desktop app is its own process, which makes single-app tools such as Piezo ($29) or Audio Hijack a clean fit. AirCheck captures all system audio, so close other noisy apps or rely on a Focus.

Does recording Spotify give you the real quality?

You get exactly what Spotify decoded, no more. A capture is a real-time copy of a 320 kbps (or lower) stream. Exporting it as 24-bit WAV produces a 16.5 MB per minute file that carries the same information as the 320 kbps input. The honest export choices are:

The Lossless tier changes the math only if you actually receive it: Spotify's page ties it to Premium and to the app's quality setting, and any Bluetooth output stays lossy. AirCheck captures system audio at 48 kHz because that is the ScreenCaptureKit default; a 44.1 kHz FLAC source is resampled once on the way in. If lossless matters to you, buy the track instead: the iTunes Store sells 256 kbps AAC without DRM, and stores such as Bandcamp sell WAV or FLAC. See 44.1 vs 48 kHz for what resampling does and does not change.

Why does my Spotify recording have ads, gaps, or the wrong level?

Three failure modes come up, all on the Spotify side:

A fourth is the Mac itself: display sleep does not stop a system-audio capture, but the Mac going fully to sleep does. For an album-length take, plug in and leave the lid open, or run caffeinate -i in Terminal until you stop.

Is it against Spotify's terms to record Spotify?

Yes, by the plain wording. This is not legal advice. Spotify's User Guidelines, which the Terms of Use require you to follow, list among things "not permitted for any reason whatsoever": "copying, reproducing, redistributing, 'ripping,' recording, transferring, performing, framing, linking to or displaying to the public, broadcasting, or making available to the public" any part of the content, and "circumventing any technology used by Spotify, its licensors, or any third party". Breaking the guidelines is a contract matter with Spotify; copyright in the music is a separate matter with the rights holders, and private-copy rules differ by country.

The permitted routes are Premium's offline downloads inside the app, or buying the track. A system-audio capture does not circumvent any protection; it records what the Mac plays. That does not make it permitted under the guidelines. Do not record to redistribute, DJ with, or publish.

Where you play Spotify decides the quality you can record

SourceMax bitrateQuality adjustable?Captures via ScreenCaptureKit?Sensible export
Web player, Free128 kbps AACNoYesMP3 320 or WAV 16-bit
Web player, Premium256 kbps AACNoYesMP3 320 or WAV 16-bit
Desktop app, Freeabout 160 kbps (High)YesYesMP3 320 or WAV 16-bit
Desktop app, Premiumabout 320 kbps (Very high); Lossless up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLACYesYesWAV 16-bit, or 24-bit only for Lossless

Bitrates from Spotify's audio quality support page, fetched 3 Sept 2026. Capture behaviour from the author's testing on macOS 26.4.1.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck ($39 one-off, macOS 14 or newer) records Spotify's desktop app or web player as system audio with no virtual driver, no Multi-Output Device and no Audio MIDI Setup changes. It exports WAV 16-bit, WAV 24-bit or MP3 320 when the take stops, and its watchdog reconnects into the same file if playback stalls. It fits a personal archive of a playlist or a podcast episode where one continuous file is fine. It is the wrong tool if you need automatic track splitting, which Audio Hijack does.

When you do not need it: If you are on Premium and only want offline listening, use Spotify's download button, which is the permitted route. If you need a file to keep, DJ with or edit, buy the track; it is legal and at least as good as a 320 kbps capture.

AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.

Buy AirCheck for $39

macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.

Questions people ask

Can you screen record Spotify on a Mac?

The built-in screen recorder captures the picture and, optionally, your microphone, but not the Spotify audio, so the .mov ends up silent. Use a system-audio capture for the sound. If you only want audio, skip the video entirely; it adds hundreds of megabytes you will delete.

How do I record Spotify with Audacity on a Mac?

Audacity cannot capture system audio on macOS without a virtual driver. Install BlackHole, build a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup so you still hear playback, select BlackHole as Audacity's input, then record. A ScreenCaptureKit recorder skips all of that.

Does Spotify know if you record it?

A system-audio capture runs entirely inside macOS and sends nothing to Spotify. That is a technical statement, not permission: Spotify's User Guidelines still list recording and ripping as not permitted, and the account consequences are Spotify's to decide.

What quality does Spotify stream at on Mac?

Per Spotify's own page: desktop app Low about 24 kbps, Normal 96, High 160, Very high 320 (Premium), plus a Lossless tier up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC for Premium. Web player: 128 kbps AAC on Free, 256 kbps AAC on Premium, not adjustable.

Sources

Hannes Hennerbichler builds AirCheck and records his own DJ sets with it through a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Every step on this page was run on the macOS version stated above. Drafted with AI assistance, checked and edited by the author. About