How to Slow Down & Speed up Spotify Song/Podcast/Audiobook

By Charles Davis Updated on 2024-07-18 / Update for Spotify Tips

Q: Is there an option to adjust the music and video playback speed on Spotify, like 0.5x, 1.5x, 2x and more speed? I'd like to speed up and slow down Spotify songs and podcasts for better listening. - Question from Spotify Community

Over the years, users in the Spotify Support Community have been requesting a new feature to change Spotify playback speed. Spotify already allows users to speed up and slow down podcasts and audiobooks speed. But there is no such option when listening to songs. As a result, some have requested that Spotify should also implement the speed option for music tracks.

Whether or not Spotify will expand this function in the near future, we've found some workarounds that enable us to do so at the moment. So today, we will exhibit the official feature of podcast and audiobook speed control. Also, we will show you how to change playback speed on Spotify songs via Spotify app and Spotify Web Player on all devices. What's more, you will get solutions to fix Spotify playback speed stuch/not working/not showing.

change spotify playback speed

Part 1. FAQs about Spotify Playback Speed

Q1: Does Spotify Have Playback Speed Changer?

A: Yes. There is a playback speed controller on Spotify for audiobooks and podcasts. If you think podcasts or audiobooks play too fast, it's able to slow down them from 0.5x to 0.9x. If you think podcasts or audiobooks play too slowly, you can increase Spotify podcast and audiobook playback speed to up to 3.5x. But it's worth mentioning that this Spotify speed controller is not available for songs.

Q2: What Is the Normal Play Speed on Spotify?

A: The normal play speed on Spotify is 1x. You can also slow down Spotify podcasts and audiobooks to 0.5x, 0.6x, 0.7x, 0.8x, and 0.9x or speed up Spotify podcasts and audiobooks from 1.1x, 1.2x, 1.5x, 1.8x, 2x, 2.5x, 3x and up to 3.5x.

Q3: Can You Adjust Playback Speed on Spotify Songs?

A: Yes, but you have to get help from third-party tools. To adjust song playback speed on Spotify Web Player, you can use Spotify Playback Speed Access Chrome extension. To change the playback speed on other unauthorized devices via apps, you can draw support from AudFree Spotify Music Converter in the next part. Two software can also help you fix Spotify playing double speed issue.

Q4: What Are the Pros and Cons to Speed up or Slow Down on Spotify?

A: By speeding up Spotify songs, you can listen to music quickly. Also, it can make tracks more attractive if they are dull or slow. By slowing down songs on Spotify, you can enjoy music at a slower speed. But to speed up or slow down a song, the tempo, rythm and sound quality will be affected.

Part 2. How to Speed Up/Slow Down Spotify Songs/Podcasts/Audiobooks on All Devices

Because there is no direct Spotify speed controller for songs, here, we will first introduce the professional method to make it possible. Meanwhile, this way allows users to change Spotify playback speed on Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch or other devices.

To begin with, you need the assistance of a professional software called AudFree Spotify Music Converter. It is proficient in downloading Spotify songs, podcasts, albums, playlists, audiobooks and all other content to computer locally without losing audio quality. Plus, it has the ability to convert Spotify to MP3 or other common audio formats for use on any device.

What's more, this excellent tool retains all ID3 tag information of the target sources, such as title, artist, genre, year, album art, and more. Once you have the downloaded Spotify music files at hand, you are free to use any media player to decrease or increase playback speed on Spotify songs, audiobooks, and podcasts. Besides, you can play Spotify on any device offline for free.

AudFree Spotify Music Converter

audfree spotify music converter
  • Download all Spotify content with original audio quality kept
  • Convert Spotify to MP3, FLAC, M4A, AAC, WAV, and M4B
  • Run at 5X speed and define output audio parameters for Spotify
  • Change Spotify playback speed in various media players

How to Download and Convert Music from Spotify for Changing Playback Speed Anywhere

Step 1Import Spotify Songs to AudFree SpoDable
add spotify music to audfree
No matter whether you are Spotify Free and Premium users, you can directly drag and drop curated tracks/albums/playlists/podcasts from the Spotify app to the tool's main interface you'd like to download. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the Spotify URL to the search box and click the '+' button to achieve the same effect.
Step 2Define Spotify Output Format and Other Parameters
set output format for spotify music
Please go to the menu from the top-right corner and click the 'Preferences' and 'Convert' options to open the setting window. Here you can define Spotify output format as MP3, FLAC, M4A, etc. and set other parameters like channels, sample rate and bit rate.
Step 3Download and Convert Spotify to PC Locally
download spotify music for speed change
When all settings are saved, please hit the big 'Convert' button at the bottom-right corner and AudFree Spotify Music Converter will start to download Spotify songs to computer at high speed simultaneously. After it all finishes, you can locate all downloaded Spotify files in the converted history list and find them in the output folder on your computer.
🙆‍ Pros 🙅 ‍Cons

✔ Speed up Spotify songs, podcasts, and audiobooks
✔ Slow down Spotify playback for songs, podcasts, and audiobooks
✔ Change Spotify playback speed on all devices and players
✔ Keep Spotify files locally on your computer forever

❌ The software requires a premium upgrade to unlock the download length

Now, you have Spotify music downloads locally and it opens up more options for you to slow down songs on Spotify and speed up Spotify songs. It's time to learn how to change Spotify playback speed on any preferred music players, whether you're on a computer or mobile device.

Tips: If you don't want to install the AudFree program to download songs from Spotify, then you can seek help from some online tools. To learn more, please visit this post: How to Download Music from Spotify Online.

How to Slow Down/Speed Up Songs on Spotify on Windows/Mac

Way 1. Using VLC Media Player (Windows)

Step 1. Install VLC media player on your Windows computer. After that, open the local Spotify files with VLC.

Step 2. Go to the 'Playback' > 'Speed' option and then you can choose the target playback speed for playing Spotify music.

Step 3. Now, you can adjust speed of Spotify music, podcasts or audiobooks in VLC to the tiniest detail like 'Faster' or 'Slower' speed.

Step 4. In turn, it is able to play Spotify on VLC at the speed you want smoothly.

change spotify playback speed on pc via vlc

Way 2. Using QuickTime Player (Mac)

Step 1. Launch QuickTime Player from your Mac.

Step 2. Choose the 'File' > 'Open File' button to select favorite Spotify tunes. Then hit the 'Open' button to play Spotify music in QuickTime Player.

Step 3. Open the playback controls, and you can choose the playback speed as 2x, 5x, 10x, 30x, or 60x to speed up songs on Spotify.

Step 4. Besides, it's able to click the 'Forward' or 'Rewind' button to vary the Spotify playback speed on Mac in small increments.

change spotify playback speed on mac via quicktime player

How to Slow Down/Speed Up Songs on Spotify on iPhone/Android

Way 1. Using Music Speed Changer (Android)

Step 1. Transfer downloaded Spotify songs to Android device from your computer.

Step 2. Navigate to the Google Play Store on your phone to download and install the 'Music Speed Changer' app.

Step 3. Import the downloaded Spotify music files into the library of this Spotify speed changer, one of the amazing slow downers of Spotify, and select your favorite Spotify songs to play.

Step 4. Adjust 'Tempo' to change playback speed of your current song so that you're able to get Spotify slow down songs on Android.

adjust spotify playback speed via music speed changer on android

Way 2. Using Audipo (iPhone)

Step 1. Make sure you have synced Spotify music files to your iPhone phone from your computer.

Step 2. Download and install 'Audipo' on your iPhone from the Apple App Store.

Step 3. Transfer Spotify songs to the Audipo speed changer app.

Step 4. Select a Spotify song to play, and Audipo will enable you to decrease or increase Spotify playback speed from 0.5x to 2x on iPhone.

adjust spotify playback speed on audipo iphone

Part 3. How to Change Spotify Podcast/Audiobook Playback Speed Officially

Well, you can slow down or speed up playback speed in the Spotify app or Spotify Web Player, but only while you're listening to podcast or audiobook. Let's take a quick look at how to control playback speed on Spotify podcast and audiobook on desktop and mobile phones.

How to Speed Up/Slow Down Podcast/Audiobook Speed on Spotify on Desktop

Step 1. First, open the Spotify app or Spotify Web player on your computer and fill in your Spotify account details to log into it.

Step 2. Now, please click the 'Search' > 'Podcast' or 'Audiobook' option to find target content that you'd like to make Spotify speed control.

find podcast from spotify pc

Step 3. You'll notice a Change Speed icon that shows '1x' in the lower-right. Just click on it and you can slow down podcast/audiobook speed on Spotify by choosing 0.5x or 0.8x speed if they are playing too fast.

slow down podcast speed on spotify pc

Step 4. To speed up Spotify podcast/audiobook playback speed, please hit on the Change Speed icon again. And then you can increase playback speed on Spotify by clicking the 1.2x, 1.5x, 1.8x, 2x, 2.5x, 3x, or 3.5x speed as you like.

speed up spotify playback speed on pc

How to Change Playback Speed on Spotify App for Podcasts/Audiobook on Mobile

Step 1. Launch Spotify app for Android or iOS on your phone and play any Spotify podcast or audiobook you like.

find and play spotify podcast on mobile

Step 2. Once you start playing the podcast/audiobook, it will show a "Change Speed" button in the bottom-left corner of the playback screen.

Step 3. Just click it to change play speed of podcast or audiobook via Spotify app on Android and iPhone by choosing from 0.5x to 3x as you wish.

change playback speed on spotify mobile app

🙆‍ Pros 🙅 ‍Cons

✔ No need to install any extra app on your device
✔ Customize podcast playback speed on Spotify app directly

❌ It only works for Spotify podcasts

Part 4. How to Change Playback Speed on Spotify Web Player

Can you slow down songs on Spotify Web Player? Can you speed up songs on Spotify Web Player? No, you can only change playback speed for Spotify podcasts and audiobooks within the web player. Fortunately, there is an effective way to change Spotify playback speed in the Spotify Web Player. That is "Spotify Playback Speed Access" app, a completely free Chrome extension that adds the ability to control Spotify play speed. Nowadays, it's also named "Spotify Playback Speed".

In fact, this free Chrome extension allows you to speed up and slow down the playback speed of all Spotify content, including songs, podcasts and audiobooks. It would be a fun and useful feature for musicians, dancers or teachers for practice and classroom activities. Then follow the steps below to change Spotify Web Player playback speed.

How to Speed Up or Slow Down Music on Spotify Web Player

Step 1. Find the Spotify Playback Speed Access or Spotify Playback Speed extension in the Chrome web store and install it in your Chrome browser.

spotify playback speed access

Step 2. After the installation, visit the Spotify Web Player webpage and sign in with your account.

Step 3. The logo of "Spotify Playback Speed" will show on the Chrome toolbar. And there is a "1.00x" Change Speed icon in your Spotify Web Player.

Step 4. Please click the icon and then you can tap the 'SETTINGS' button to customize the range of play speed on Spotify.

adjust spotify playback speed settings on web

Step 5. Now, you can drag the speed line to the left to make Spotify slow down songs, or drag the speed line to the right to speed up Spotify songs playback speed.

change playback speed on spotify web player

🙆‍ Pros 🙅 ‍Cons

✔ It's available for all Spotify content, including songs, podcasts, and audiobooks.
✔ Support to change playback speed on Spotify Web Player.
✔ It's completely free.

❌ The audio quality Spotify Web Player supports is a little low. (256kbps for Spotify Premium & 128kbps for Spotify Free).

Part 5. How to Fix Spotify Playback Speed Not Working/Showing

What to do when you want to adjust the playback speed on Spotify but can't find the speed button or the button doesn't work? Recently, many users in the Spotify Community have complained about such issues like playback speed get stuck. It is easy. Please follow the solutions below to solve this issue.

Fix 1. Check If You Are Playing Spotify Podcasts or Audiobooks

It is noted that Spotify only allows users to change the playback speed for its podcasts and audiobooks within the app and web player. If you play a song, then you can't access the playback speed function. So, please make sure that you are listening to a podcast or audiobook on Spotify.

Fix 2. Disable Spotify Connect Feature

If the Spotify Connect feature is activated on another device, then you can't use playback speed feature on Spotify on your current device. In this case, please go to the Spotify app to play music and choose your current device as the active device.

Fix 3. Update Spotify App

To use the Spotify playback speed feature, please make sure that you are using the latest Spotify app version on your device. If not, then please go to check and update it to the newest version.

Fix 4. Uninstall and Reinstall Spotify App

You can also try to uninstall the current Spotify app on your mobile or desktop device to fix the issue. Then go to the app store to find, download and reinstall the Spotify app.

Fix 5. Use Spotify App on Mobile/Desktop/Online

If you are meeting the playback speed issue with Spotify on your device, then you can try to use another device to fix the error. If you are using a desktop app, then try to use the Spotify web player or Spotify mobile app.

Fix 6. Download Spotify Songs for Playback with Other Music Players

Or, you can download Spotify audio content via AudFree Spotify Music Converter as local audio files. Then you can use other music players with playback speed changer to speed up or slow down Spotify music tracks without any issues.

View also: How to Play Spotify Music on Other Music Players

Among the solutions above, Fix 3 and Fix 4 are workable according to the users' feedback in the Spotify Community. You can try them to solve the issue. Or, you can try other alternative ways above.

Part 6. In Conclusion

In a nutshell, this article describes some effective options to change Spotify playback speed. If you just want to adjust the speed of Spotify podcast or audiobook, you can achieve this goal via the Spotify app for desktop and mobile or Spotify Web Player directly. If you also want to speed up and slow down Spotify songs, audiobooks, etc., you can use AudFree Spotify Music Converter or Spotify Playback Speed Chrome extension. For your convenience, you're better off using AudFree Spotify Music Converter. It helps you convert and play Spotify on multiple devices simultaneously at any speed you want.

Charles Davis

Charles Davis

Chief Editor

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Charles Davis is the chief-editor of AudFree Company, who writes a variety of tech articles and music reviews, such as hot software releases and Spotify music tips.