Transfer Playlists From Spotify to Apple Music: How to Do It Without Losing Your Mind

You've finally done it. You clicked "cancel" on that Spotify Premium sub because the Apple One bundle just makes more sense for your family, or maybe you just want that sweet, sweet Lossless audio. But then you look at your library. Ten years of data. Playlists for your morning commute, that one specific "vibe" mix for rainy Tuesdays, and the meticulously curated 500-track behemoth you’ve been building since college. Moving it all feels like moving house, except you can't just hire a truck and throw everything in the back.

Switching services is a pain. Honestly, it's one of the biggest reasons people stay stuck with a streaming platform they don't even like anymore. But if you're looking to transfer playlists from spotify to apple music, you aren't stuck with manual labor. You don't have to search for every song one by one. That would be literal insanity.

The Reality of Song Matching (It’s Never 100%)

Before we get into the "how," let's talk about the "why this is annoying." You’d think a song is a song, right? Wrong. Metadata is a messy business. A track on Spotify might be titled "Song Name (Remastered 2024)," while Apple Music lists it as "Song Name - 2024 Remaster."

When you use a tool to transfer playlists from spotify to apple music, the software basically plays a game of Go Fish between the two databases. Sometimes it misses. Sometimes it grabs the "Live at the BBC" version instead of the studio version you actually like. I've seen it happen most often with obscure indie labels or regional releases that haven't quite cleared the licensing hurdles on both platforms.

Expect a 5% failure rate. It’s just the tax you pay for switching.

Why Free Tools Usually Break Your Heart

You’ll find dozens of "free" converters online. Most of them are just bait. They’ll let you move one playlist with a limit of 10 songs, then hit you with a paywall just as you’re getting started. Or worse, they require your login credentials in a way that feels... sketchy.

Privacy matters. You’re giving these apps access to your account tokens. Stick to the big names like SongShift, Soundiiz, or TuneMyMusic. They have actual reputations to protect.

SongShift: The iPhone User's Best Friend

If you’re doing this on an iPhone, SongShift is pretty much the gold standard. It’s an iOS app that feels like it belongs on the platform. It's clean.

Basically, you link your Spotify account, link your Apple Music, and then "Shift" your library. The cool thing about SongShift is the "Review" stage. It doesn't just dump the songs and run. It shows you the matches it’s unsure about. If it thinks "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen is actually a cover by a polka band, you can catch it before it hits your library.

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The free version is okay for a few small lists, but if you’re moving a massive library, the Pro version is worth the five bucks or whatever they’re charging this week. It’s faster, handles batch processing, and keeps your playlists synced if you decide to keep both services for a while.

Using Soundiiz for the Power User

Maybe you aren't on an iPhone. Or maybe you have a library so massive it would make a server sweat. That's where Soundiiz comes in. It’s a web-based tool.

It looks a bit like a spreadsheet had a baby with a music player. It's powerful. You can move everything—albums, followed artists, and every single playlist—in one go. I’ve used this to move 10,000+ tracks, and while it took a bit of time, it didn't crash.

One thing people get wrong: they think they can just click "convert" and walk away. Don't. Check your "Match Errors" log. Soundiiz is great because it gives you a CSV file of everything it couldn't find. You can then go into Apple Music and see if those songs actually exist or if they're just named something weird.

Why Some People Still Do It Manually

I know a guy who refuses to use these tools. He says it "cleanses the palate."

There is some logic there. Over ten years, our Spotify libraries get cluttered with junk. Forgotten podcasts. Playlists from exes. Songs you liked in 2016 that you now find deeply embarrassing. By manually moving your favorite tracks to transfer playlists from spotify to apple music, you’re doing a digital declutter.

But for most of us? We just want our music back.

The Apple Music "Matching" Quirk

Here is something weird about Apple Music you need to know. When you move tracks over, they go into your "iCloud Music Library." If you have old MP3s on your computer, Apple tries to match them with their high-quality versions.

This can occasionally mess with your transfers. If you’re using a tool to move a playlist, and you already had some of those songs as local files, Apple Music might get confused about which version to play. It's a niche problem, but if you notice duplicates, that’s usually why.

What Happens to Your Wrapped and Replay Data?

This is the biggest downside. You lose your history.

Spotify knows you listened to that one Taylor Swift song 400 times last year. Apple Music doesn't know you from Adam. When you transfer playlists from spotify to apple music, you’re moving the songs, not the "listens."

Your "Apple Music Replay" (their version of Wrapped) is going to look very skewed for the first few months. It’ll mostly show whatever you’ve been binge-listening to since the move. There’s no way to import your "listening minutes" or your "most played" stats from one to the other. You’re starting your data profile from scratch.

The Step-by-Step Breakdown (The Quick Way)

1. Pick your poison. Download SongShift (iOS) or open Soundiiz (Web).
2. Authenticate. You’ll have to log in to both Spotify and Apple Music through the app’s secure portal.
3. Select your source. Choose Spotify and pick the playlists you actually care about. Skip the "Made for You" ones; they won't update on Apple anyway.
4. Select the destination. Set it to Apple Music.
5. The Matching Game. Let the app run. It usually takes about a minute per 100 songs, depending on server traffic.
6. Review the "Misses." This is the most important part. Look at the songs that failed. Often, it's just a slight name change.
7. Confirm and Sync. Hit the final button and wait for the "Done" notification.

A Note on Privacy and Security

You’re handing over "OAuth" tokens. This means you aren't giving these apps your actual password, but you are giving them permission to act on your behalf.

Once you’re done with the transfer, it’s a good habit to go into your Spotify account settings and Apple ID permissions to revoke access. There’s no reason for a random transfer app to have access to your accounts six months after you’ve finished using it. Just a little digital hygiene.

Why the Jump is Worth It (Or Isn't)

Apple Music’s integration with the iPhone is obviously better. Siri actually works with it. The lyrics view is arguably superior. And if you have a decent pair of wired headphones, the Lossless audio is a genuine step up from Spotify’s 320kbps Ogg Vorbis streams.

But Spotify’s Discovery Weekly is still the king of algorithms. Apple’s "Discovery Station" is getting better, but it’s not quite there yet. Some people find themselves moving back after six months because they miss the social features or the way Spotify Connect works so seamlessly across devices like consoles and smart TVs.

Actionable Next Steps for a Clean Migration

Don't just hit "Transfer All" and hope for the best. That’s how you end up with a mess.

First, go through your Spotify and delete the playlists you haven't touched in two years. You don't need them. It just makes the transfer slower and the errors more annoying.

Second, check if you have "Local Files" enabled on Spotify. Those won't transfer. Tools can only move songs that exist in both streaming catalogs. If you have a rare underground mixtape that you uploaded to Spotify yourself, you'll need to manually move that file to your computer and drag it into the Apple Music desktop app.

Third, give the Apple Music algorithm a head start. Spend ten minutes "loving" (the heart icon) songs in your new library. It helps the "For You" section calibrate much faster than just letting it sit there.

The transition isn't perfect, and it never will be until these companies decide to play nice with each other—which, let's be real, isn't happening anytime soon. But with the right tool and about twenty minutes of your time, you can get 95% of the way there without a headache.

Go get your music. It's yours, after all.