<html><body>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><em>Does music streaming require a fast connection?</em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><em>Check out this post “Is 3 <strong>Mbps download speed</strong> enough for streaming music?” to know the answers. </em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><em>Let’s find out <strong><a href="https://gospeedcheck.com/article/whats-a-good-download-speed-mbps-213" target="_blank">whats a good download speed Mbps</a></strong> is for flawless music-streaming experiences.</em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><img alt="Streaming music" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-1.png" style="display:block; height:417px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><em>Streaming music</em></p>

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-15"><strong>Are you a music lover?</strong></h2>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Like online gaming, video streaming, social media, web surfing, … streaming music is a basic online activity that a large portion of internet users love to engage in every day. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">We stream music, listen to our favorite songs whenever and wherever we can: while working, doing exercises, having breakfast, on the way to the office, on the way back home, and more. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Are you a music lover? Do you stream music often? Have you ever experienced buffering when streaming music and wondered what the reason is behind that issue? </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Is the slow internet the cause? Does streaming music take up a lot of internet bandwidth and require a fast connection? Is <strong>3 Mbps download speed</strong> <strong>fast enough</strong> for streaming music?</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Following are the answers to these questions. Let’s see whether it’s necessary to boost your current internet speed to get the best music experiences or not.</p>

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-24"><strong>Streaming (audio) music requires less internet download speeds than streaming video</strong></h2>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Audio streaming, generally speaking, uses less internet bandwidth and data than video. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">In terms of <strong>download speeds</strong>, if you stream only music audios, then the speed requirements can be, of course, much lower as compared to when you stream music videos, movies, or TV shows (from YouTube, Netflix, or other streaming services). </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For example, for smooth 4K streaming experiences, Netflix advises its users to have an internet speed of 25 Mbps and above for 4K streaming on ONE device. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For lower definitions like SD (standard definition) and HD (high definition), Netflix also recommends speeds of 3Mbps and 5Mbps (megabits per second), respectively.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><img alt="What download speed is good for streaming music (audio)?" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-2.png" style="display:block; height:360px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-33"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>What download speed is good for streaming music (audio)?</em></span></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Similarly, other video streaming services like Disney+, Hulu, or YouTube TV also require at least 3 - 5 Mbps for good video streaming experiences. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For higher definitions such as UHD and HD video, you will need faster speeds and more download bandwidth. Also, the more devices streaming simultaneously using the same connection, of course, you will need more bandwidth for sure. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Note that streaming videos in high resolution even requires more speeds than online gaming. Do you know what is a good internet speed for PS4? According to androidcentral.com, <strong>3.0 Mbps download speed</strong> and 1Mbps upload speed seem to be enough to enjoy the game. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Back to the main point, well, streaming music does not use much bandwidth and data. You don’t need a very high internet connection speed to stream a favorite song. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Though each music streaming service has different speed recommendations, no one requires internet speeds of up to dozens of Mbps to play music. So, <strong>what is a good download speed</strong> for music streaming?</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">On average, it’s recommended to stream audio with a speed of at least 1.5 Mbps, according to <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/is-my-broadband-fast-enough-to-stream-audio-2438444">Lifewire</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">However, many music streaming services just require minimum speeds of less than 100 Kbps (0.1 Mbps). </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Let’s move on to the next part of this writing to see the detailed speed requirements for popular music streaming services on the market these days.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Best download speeds for streaming music" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-3.png" style="display:block; height:360px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-49"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Best download speeds for streaming music</em></span></h3>

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-52"><strong>Popular music streaming services and the required internet speeds </strong></h2>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">As of today, we have tons of choices when it comes to music streaming services. <strong>Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Groove</strong>, … are all among the most popular music streaming platforms. Following are specific speed recommendations for each one of them:</p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-56"><u>Spotify</u></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">You will need a speed of at least 96 Kbps (0.096 Mbps) to stream music smoothly on Spotify. Here are specifically recommended speeds:</p>

<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">On Mobile</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For Normal quality: 96 Kbps (0.096 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For High quality: 160 Kbps (0.160 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For Extreme quality: 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">On Desktop</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For Standard quality: 160 Kbps (0.160 Kbps)</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For High Quality: 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-77"><u>Apple Music</u></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Users need a speed of at least 256 Kbps (0.256 Mbps) to stream music on Apple Music as it transmits at this rate. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Streaming music on Apple Music" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-4.png" style="display:block; height:336px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-82"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Streaming music on Apple Music</em></span></h4>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-85"><u>Amazon Music Unlimited</u></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">The recommended internet speed for Amazon Music Unlimited is 500 Kbps (0.5 Mbps) though it uses a bitrate of 256 Kbps (0.256 Mbps) on average. The reason is that the number of 256 Kbps is just an average while the actual bitrate varies depending on the song you play. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">As some songs and parts of the songs can require more data than others, you should have an internet speed of at least 500Kbps to ensure a smooth streaming experience.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><u>Pandora</u></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">You will need a speed of at least 150 Kbps (0.150Mbps) to stream music on Pandora. For higher quality, the minimum speed should be 300 Kbps (0.300Mbps). </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><u>SoundCloud</u></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For SoundCloud, the recommended minimum speed to stream music here is 128 Kbps (0.128 Mbps).</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Streaming music on Tidal" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-5.png" style="display:block; height:336px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-97"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Streaming music on Tidal</em></span></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><u>Tidal</u></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">The recommended minimum speed on Tidal is 256 Kbps (0.256 Mbps), while Tidal Premium and Tidal HiFi require higher speeds of at least 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps) and 1,411 Kbps (1.411 Mbps), respectively.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><u>Deezer</u></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For Deezer, you might need to have a speed of up to 10 Mbps and more to use Multiple Elite Streams. For Deezer Elite and Deezer Premium+, the recommended speeds are 5Mbps and 0.320 Mbps (320 Kbps), respectively.</p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-106"><u>Slacker Radio</u></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Users will need a speed of at least 128 Kbps (0.128Mbps) to stream on Slacker Radio. Here are specific Slacker Radio internet requirements:</p>

<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">App Streaming</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For Android devices: 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">For iOS devices: 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Web Streaming </p>
	</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Minimum speed: 128 Kbps (0.128 Kbps)</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Minimum Speed for Maximum Audio Quality: 320 Kbps (0.320 Mbps)</p>
	</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Slacker Radio App Streaming" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-6.png" style="display:block; height:481px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-127"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Slacker Radio App Streaming</em></span></h3>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-130"><u>Napster</u></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">About Napster, it requires the lowest internet speed of 64 Kbps for good streaming. For better streaming experiences, users will need higher speeds of at least 192 Kbps (0.192 Mbps) and 320 Kbps (0.320Mbps), respectively. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">As you can see, the highest speed required here is just 10Mbps (Deezer’s Multiple Elite Streams) which is still much lower than the requirement for streaming 4K videos, right? </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Now, you know <strong><a href="https://gospeedcheck.com/article/whats-a-good-download-speed-mbps-213" target="_blank">what is a good download Mbps</a></strong> for streaming music, right? Well, though music streaming doesn’t use a lot of bandwidth or require a high internet speed, we sometimes experience buffering issues when streaming music. What should we do to fix these? The answer is in part 3 of this post. Here it is!</p>

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-137"><strong>How to stream music without buffering?</strong></h2>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Different streaming services have their own connection speed requirements. To avoid buffering, you will want to ensure your internet connection has sufficient bandwidth and speed to handle the streaming.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Buffering issues" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-7.png" style="display:block; height:360px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-142"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Buffering issues</em></span></h3>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Of course, there are different reasons behind buffering issues, but in terms of lacking good internet, well, here are a few simple tips that can help fix buffering with ease: </p>

<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Switch to your WiFi connection if you are streaming music via your cellular data. If possible, it's also a good idea to stream via a wired connection as it's a good way to make the experience smooth and pleasant. </p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Pause the music player for seconds to allow more data to download.</p>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">
	<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Offline listening: A lot of music streaming services these days provide users with the option to download content for offline listening. That means you can save or download songs via the internet for just one time and listen to them afterward without any internet connection. Note that the number of songs, the types of songs that you can download depends on the service you are using as well as the subscription level you have. </p>
	</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify"><img alt="Good Mbps download speed for music streaming" src="https://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/blog/does-streaming-music-require-a-fast-internet-connection-speed-8.png" style="display:block; height:320px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; width:640px"></p>

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align:center" id="tag-155"><span style="font-size:14px"><em>Good Mbps download speed for music streaming</em></span></h3>

<h2 dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify" id="tag-158"><strong>Roundup</strong></h2>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">It’s safe to say that streaming music doesn’t require fast internet access. It’s not hogging the bandwidth for sure. Well, it’s not exaggerated that 1 <strong>Mbps download speed</strong> is enough to stream audio. That means a 3.5 Mbps download speed is good for streaming music (audio). That’s all for this post! Want to know <strong><a href="https://gospeedcheck.com/article/how-fast-is-5g-download-speed-425" target="_blank">how fast is 5g download speed</a></strong>? Let’s find out in MySpeed’s upcoming articles.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:right"><em>Sources:</em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:right"><em>highspeedinternet.com/resources/how-much-speed-do-i-need-for-pandora-and-spotify</em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:right"><em>reviews.org/internet-service/best-internet-streaming/</em></p>
</body></html>