Spotify ads for business: audio, video and podcast ads

This guide is built from Spotify Advertising's official pages: Ad formats, Audience targeting, the ad specs and the Spotify Ads Manager Help Center. If you are comparing platforms, our guides to Amazon Ads and Reddit ads cover two others.

Three ways to buy

Spotify's format pages list three buying channels:

• Spotify Ads Manager, the self-serve tool. Spotify's pricing page says you "Register for free, and determine your own budget for your campaigns."
• Direct IO, a managed buy through a Spotify rep. Custom podcast sponsorships such as host-read ads, and video podcast ads, are available only this way.
• Spotify Ad Exchange, for programmatic buying "through your preferred DSP."

This guide follows Ads Manager.

Audio, video, podcast, display and carousel ads

• Audio ads play between songs and podcasts as "non-skippable, sound-on ads that run naturally between audio content", with a clickable companion image and call-to-action button.
• Video ads come in two kinds. In-stream video is non-skippable and sound-on between content, shown when the screen is in view. In-feed video appears while people navigate the app, for example in the Now Playing view.
• Podcast ads are audio ads that play in podcast episodes. Spotify says you can reach people in "music, podcasts, or both"; in Ads Manager the in-stream choice is all content (music and podcasts) or music only. For how podcast ads work across the wider industry, including host-read vs produced ads and where else to buy them, see our podcast advertising guide.
• Display ads appear in the app or web player "when listeners are actively using it", in places like the Now Playing view and Browse/Search.
• Carousel ads show up to six swipeable cards in the Now Playing view, each with its own URL, tagline and optional price. Spotify says they "are only available in Spotify Ads Manager."

Placements: in-stream and in-feed

When you build an ad set, you choose In-stream, In-feed or Automatic. Spotify's placements article explains:

• In-stream: before, during or after streaming content; audio and video are eligible.
• In-feed: inside the app's feed, such as Home, Browse or Now Playing; video, display and carousel are eligible.
• Automatic: Spotify picks placements to suit your delivery goal. Audio still serves only in-stream, display and carousel only in-feed.

Spotify recommends Automatic "To maximize scale & reach of your campaign". For in-stream ads you can also set genre, tone or podcast topic preferences and sensitive topic filters.

How an Ads Manager campaign is built

Spotify's campaign structure article says ads are organised in three levels: "Campaigns can contain up to 30 ad sets, and ad sets can contain up to 40 ads."

• Campaign: the objective. The options listed are Brand awareness, Website traffic, Engagement on Spotify, App installs and Lead Generation.
• Ad set: targeting, format, placement, delivery goal, budget, schedule and bid strategy.
• Ad: the creative, taglines and any third-party tracking URLs from approved vendors.

Targeting

Spotify's advice is to "Start broad to preserve scale, then add targeting as needed." The options:

• Demographic, location and device: age, gender and language; country, region, city and postal code; mobile, desktop, web, connected devices and in-car. The help centre says you can target one language per ad set.
• Interest and behavioural: listening habits, content consumption and purchase intent.
• Contextual: what people are streaming, from music genres to podcast topics.
• Custom and lookalike audiences: customer lists, website event audiences from the Spotify Pixel or Conversions API, and people who saw or engaged with earlier Spotify campaigns. Lookalikes find "new people with similar characteristics."
• Daypart: the days and times your ads run.

Spotify notes that "Targeting availability varies by market and buying channel." The same audience ideas on Meta are in our guides to custom audiences and lookalike audiences.

Minimum budget, bidding and billing

Spotify's budget article sets the minimums for US accounts:

• Average daily budget: "The minimum you can set is $15." On some days you may spend up to twice that, and "The most you'll spend each calendar month is 30.4x your average daily budget."
• Lifetime budget: "roughly the equivalent of 250.00 USD in your local currency", with fixed start and end dates.

Ads Manager "runs ads on an auction". Its bid strategy article lists three options:

• Automated bid: Spotify adjusts your bid in real time; it calls this "the best way to achieve full budget delivery."
• Maximum bid: a cap on what you pay per 1,000 impressions; you pay just enough to beat the next bid.
• Cost per result: a target cost per click, only for the Clicks delivery goal.

"You cannot edit the bid strategy after your ad set has been submitted", though you can change a bid cap or target CPC mid-flight. Spotify publishes no average CPM; the Estimated Results panel shows what you are likely to pay for your settings.

You need a credit or debit card (Visa, American Express, Mastercard or Discover) issued in the same country as the account. You are charged at the end of the month or when spend reaches your billing threshold.

Creative specs

From Spotify's audio ad specs and in-stream video specs for Ads Manager:

• Audio: up to 30 seconds for music and podcast ads; MP3, WAV or OGG up to 50 MB; loudness -16 LUFS; stereo. Spotify recommends "no more than 65 words for a 30-second ad."
• Companion image and logo: 1:1, at least 600 x 600 pixels; the companion image is JPEG or PNG up to 200 KB.
• Video: up to 30 seconds, 9:16 or 16:9 (in-feed also 1:1), MOV or MP4 up to 500 MB, with sound; "no silent videos will be accepted."
• Text: advertiser name up to 25 characters, tagline up to 40, and one HTTPS click-through URL.

Spotify Pixel, Conversions API and reporting

Spotify's Pixel and Conversions API page describes two tools:

• Spotify Pixel: "a browser-based measurement tag" for website actions. You generate it in the Events tab of Ads Manager and install it directly or with Google Tag Manager. The Page View event is required; other events, such as Add to Cart, Purchase and Lead, are optional.
• Conversions API: a server-side connection for website, app and offline events.

Spotify suggests using both, with events deduplicated, and a flight of at least four weeks. Its install article says event activity may take up to 20 minutes to appear, and that Ads Manager "cannot determine whether your website implementation is sending the correct events or values", so compare it with your own analytics. The same set-up on Meta is in our Meta Pixel and Conversions API guide.

Ad review and policies

"When you submit your ad, it will be routed to our team for review", Spotify says; if it isn't approved, you can edit and resubmit. Common reasons it lists: the ad breaks the Advertising Terms and Conditions, runs over 30 seconds, promotes or links to a Spotify competitor, or uses a placement you aren't eligible for.

Spotify's Advertising Policies prohibit categories such as weapons, tobacco and vaporizers, recreational drugs and deceptive offers, and restrict financial services, gambling, alcohol, healthcare and political ads. Political ads are allowed only in the United States, UK, Australia, India and Japan, after identity verification.

How we start a Spotify campaign

This is our own practice, not Spotify's guidance:

• We install the Spotify Pixel and check its events against GA4 before the first campaign goes live.
• We pair an audio ad with a video version of the same message, so the ad set can serve in-stream and in-feed.
• We keep the first ad set broad with Automatic placement and automated bid, and only narrow it once reporting shows where results come from.
• We write audio scripts to about 60 words, with the brand name early and one clear call to action.

If you want help with Spotify or other ad platforms, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to advertise on Spotify?

There is no fixed price; Ads Manager is an auction. The minimum average daily budget is $15, and the minimum lifetime budget is roughly $250 or the local equivalent.

Can I run ads on Spotify podcasts?

Yes. In Ads Manager, in-stream audio ads can run across music and podcasts. Host-read sponsorships and video podcast ads are bought through a Spotify rep.

How long can a Spotify audio ad be?

Up to 30 seconds in Ads Manager. Spotify recommends no more than 65 words of script for a 30-second ad.

Does Spotify make the audio ad for me?

Ads Manager has free audio ad creation tools: you generate or write a script, pick background music and choose a voiceover.

Does Spotify have a pixel?

Yes. The Spotify Pixel tracks website actions and the Conversions API sends server-side events; Spotify suggests using both.

For other ad platforms, see our guides to Snapchat ads, what YouTube ads cost and Google Tag Manager basics.