How to Move Your Playlists from Spotify to a Cheaper Service Without Losing Your Library

Stop overpaying and keep your music: the realistic way to switch from Spotify in 2026

Spotify price hikes in late 2025 left a lot of users rethinking subscriptions. If you’re ready to switch to a cheaper streaming service but fear losing years of curated playlists, saved tracks, and offline music, this guide walks you through a practical migration plan that preserves what matters: your playlists, follows, and as much metadata as possible.

Why migration matters now (2026 trends)

In 2025–2026 the music streaming landscape shifted in two ways that make migration both more common and easier:

• More price pressure: Major services adjusted pricing and offerings, so cost-conscious consumers are evaluating alternatives and bundles.
• Better portability: Migration tools and platform APIs improved—third-party services added better metadata matching, ISRC-based matching, and scheduled syncs—so transferring libraries is more reliable than it used to be.

Quick point: you can move most of your library without re-building playlists manually. But some items—offline DRM tracks and exact play counts—usually can’t be moved automatically.

Before you start: an audit and a backup plan

Start with a short audit. That saves hours later and prevents surprises.

1. Count your assets: number of playlists, total tracks, saved albums, followed artists, downloads (offline songs), local files, and podcasts.
2. Decide what to keep: keep everything, prune duplicates, or only transfer favorites.
3. Check regional availability: some tracks are region-locked. Expect 1–5% of tracks to be unmatched on the new service for typical libraries.
4. Back up metadata: export playlists to CSV or use Spotify’s Data Download as a safety net (takes up to a week to deliver). Many migration tools also create a CSV backup during export—keep that.

Step-by-step: Export playlists and saved tracks from Spotify

There are two main ways to export your playlists and saved tracks: via dedicated migration tools (recommended for most users) or manually using Spotify’s Web API/data dump and CSVs (for power users).

Option A — Easiest: Use a migration tool (Soundiiz, TuneMyMusic, SongShift, FreeYourMusic)

Most migration services follow this flow:

1. Create an account on the migration site or app.
2. Connect to Spotify using OAuth (don’t give your password—OAuth is secure and standard).
3. Select what you want to transfer: playlists, saved tracks (likes), followed artists, and playlists descriptions/covers if available.
4. Connect the destination service (YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, etc.).
5. Start the transfer and monitor the “Not Found” or “Failed” items list.

Actionable tips:

• Try a single playlist first: validate matching behavior before bulk migrating.
• Use premium features for large libraries: bulk transfers, automatic syncs, and ISRC-based matching are often behind paid tiers.
• Export CSV backup: many tools let you download a CSV of the original playlist with metadata fields—save that immediately (backup best practices).

Option B — Power user: manual export using Spotify data and CSV

If you prefer not to rely on a third party, you can export playlists via Spotify’s Web API or your account data download. This is more technical but gives you full control over metadata.

1. Request “Download your data” from your Spotify account. The download includes playlists and library metadata.
2. Or use a script or tool (local) that calls the Spotify API to export playlists into CSV/JSON (requires a Spotify Developer token and some scripting knowledge).
3. Edit CSV to clean duplicate tracks, correct metadata, or add missing ISRCs if you have them.
4. Import into the destination using its bulk import tool (some services accept CSV or allow upload via their web uploader or API).

Transferring likes, follows, and playlists—what moves and what doesn’t

Different platforms treat library items differently. Here’s what to expect and how to handle each item type.

Saved tracks (likes)

Most migration tools will transfer saved tracks by adding them to your new service’s library or creating a “Liked from Spotify” playlist. Why a playlist? Some services don’t support direct “like” import via API, so creating a playlist is a reliable workaround.

• Reality: You may lose the ‘Hearted’ flag itself—expect tools to recreate it as a playlist in many cases.
• Tip: After transfer, sort that playlist by date added (if available) and star/favorite your top items manually if you need them in the native “Liked” collection.

Followed artists and albums

Some migration tools can transfer followed artists by automatically following them in the target service. Albums are usually added to your library as saved albums or playlists of the album tracks.

Tip: run a follow audit after migration to identify high-priority artists that need manual follow.

Play counts, listening history, and recommendations

Play counts and listening history are rarely transferable because they’re part of a service’s internal analytics. That means your personalized recommendations will reset on the new platform. Workarounds:

• Create curated playlists emphasizing your top artists and tracks to help the new service’s algorithm learn your taste faster.
• Keep Spotify for a couple of weeks on a cheap plan (if feasible) while the new service ingests your listening behavior—this sometimes helps hybrid recommendations.

Preserving metadata: descriptions, order, covers, and timestamps

Metadata is what makes your playlists feel familiar. Prioritize tools that explicitly state they preserve:

• Track order
• Playlist descriptions
• Playlist covers
• Timestamps/date added (rare, but some tools export this to CSV)

Action steps to preserve metadata:

1. Export a CSV backup that includes track position and date added.
2. If your tool doesn’t preserve covers, download your playlist cover images and re-upload on the destination after transfer (most services allow custom covers).
3. For collaborative playlists: convert them to a regular playlist or export a list of contributors before transferring; collaboration flags don’t always survive.

What about offline songs and local files?

This is the trickiest area. Tracks you've downloaded for offline playback in Spotify are DRM-protected and cannot be transferred directly. Here’s how to handle both DRM downloads and your own local files.

DRM-protected offline downloads

• You cannot export or re-use Spotify’s offline files outside the app.
• Workaround: re-download tracks from the new service (if available) or purchase DRM-free versions where necessary.

Local files you added to Spotify

If you imported MP3s/WAVs into Spotify (your own rips), you can move them by uploading to the destination service’s local file or upload feature.

1. Locate the original files on your computer or backup drive. If you only had them inside Spotify and not saved locally, you’ll need to re-rip or re-acquire legally.
2. Upload to the new service:
• YouTube Music: web uploader lets you add local files to your cloud library so they appear on devices.
• Apple Music/iCloud Music Library: use the Music app on macOS/Windows and enable Sync Library to upload local files.
• Amazon Music/Deezer: both support local file uploads or app-based local libraries.
3. Recreate playlists including those local tracks (some migration tools will include local files if they can detect them in your destination library).

Handling unmatched tracks and regional differences

Expect a small percentage of songs to be unmatched. Here’s how to deal with them efficiently:

• Generate a "Not Found" playlist: most tools create one automatically. Use it as a checklist for manual fixes.
• Manual search: search the target service for alternate versions, live tracks, or remasters—use ISRC where available to match exact recordings.
• Replace duplicates smartly: if the exact track is unavailable, pick the closest match and note it in the playlist description for traceability.

Syncing and keeping services in sync

If you’re not ready to cancel Spotify immediately, consider scheduled syncs so playlists stay consistent while you transition.

• One-way sync: migrate once and keep going on the new service. Simpler and avoids conflicts.
• Two-way or scheduled sync: some migration tools (premium tiers) offer scheduled syncing to keep playlists mirrored between services for a set interval—handy if you still use both.

Actionable plan:

1. Start with a one-time bulk transfer for all core playlists.
2. Enable scheduled sync for the next 30 days if you still use Spotify—this keeps changes mirrored while you finalize the switch.
3. After 30 days, do a final manual check, then revoke migration tool access to Spotify and cancel your Spotify subscription.

Security, privacy, and cost of migration tools

Most reputable migration tools use OAuth and do not store your passwords. Still, be cautious:

• Check the permissions you grant and revoke access after migration if you don’t need continuous sync.
• Read the privacy policy—does the company keep copies of your playlists or user data?
• Cost: many tools have free trials and paid tiers. Expect to pay for large libraries or auto-sync features—usually a small one-time fee or an annual subscription.

Troubleshooting: common migration headaches and fixes

Problem: Lots of unmatched tracks

Fixes:

• Use a migration tool that supports ISRC matching (improves accuracy for compilations and remasters).
• Manually search for commonly unmatched artists/labels—regional catalogs differ.

Problem: Playlist order gets scrambled

Fixes:

• Use tools that preserve track order, or export a CSV with positions and use it to reconstruct order in the destination.
• For very large playlists, break them into chunks (100–200 tracks) to reduce errors.

Problem: Missing covers or descriptions

Fixes:

• Download covers manually from the original and reassign them in the destination platform.
• Copy playlist descriptions into the new playlist’s description field—tools sometimes preserve this, but not always.

Real-world example: migrating a 1,200-track library

Case summary: user moved a 1,200-track Spotify library to YouTube Music in January 2026 to save $4/month.

• Used Soundiiz to transfer 38 playlists and saved tracks—initial pass matched ~97% of tracks.
• Saved a CSV backup and reviewed the "Not Found" playlist; manually matched the remaining 3% (mostly regional remixes and independent releases).
• Uploaded local MP3s via YouTube Music's web uploader for 12 self-ripped tracks.
• Enabled a 30-day scheduled sync to keep both libraries aligned during the transition.
• Outcome: full functional library, playlist order preserved, and minimal manual work (~2 hours). Cost: migration tool premium for one month—cheaper than months of Spotify overpayment.

Checklist: migrate safely in under a day

1. Audit library and decide which playlists to move.
2. Pick a migration tool (test with one playlist first).
3. Export CSV backup and save Spotify data request if desired.
4. Transfer playlists and saved tracks; monitor "Not Found" results.
5. Upload local files to the new service and re-add DRM-protected tracks by re-downloading or purchasing.
6. Enable scheduled sync for 30 days if you still access Spotify.
7. After verification, revoke access and cancel the old service.

Final notes and future predictions

In 2026, expect migration to get even easier: more tools will adopt ISRC-first matching, and streaming services may open more robust APIs for library portability after regulatory and consumer pressure. For now, a cautious, tool-assisted migration backed by a CSV export gives you the best balance of convenience and control.

Bottom line: You don’t have to rebuild your music collection from scratch. With the right tools and a short checklist, you can move playlists, likes, and local files to a cheaper service while preserving playlist order, artwork, and most metadata.

Call to action

Ready to try it? Start with one playlist today: pick a migration tool (Soundiiz or TuneMyMusic are great starting points), run a test transfer, and download a CSV backup. If you want, share your library size and destination below and I’ll recommend the fastest migration path for your exact setup.

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