How to Uninstall Spotify on Mac and Clear Its Cache

In short: Spotify quietly stores gigabytes of offline downloads and cache on your Mac. Here is how to uninstall the app cleanly, then find and clear its hidden cache so you actually get the space back. Every step is reversible.

Spotify is one of the quietest space hogs on a Mac. The app itself is small, but its offline downloads and streaming cache can grow into several gigabytes without you noticing. If you have stopped using Spotify, or you are just clearing room, uninstalling the app and clearing its cache gets that space back. This guide walks you through it step by step for macOS Sonoma and Sequoia, and every action here sends files to the Trash so you can undo it if you change your mind.

Quit Spotify First

Before you remove anything, fully quit the app. Click Spotify in the menu bar and choose Quit Spotify, or press Command-Q while the app is focused. Spotify also likes to keep a helper running, so open Activity Monitor (in Applications, then Utilities), type Spotify in the search box, select any Spotify process, and click the stop button in the toolbar. Removing files while the app is still running can leave locked or half-written files behind, so this small step saves you trouble later.

How to Uninstall Spotify on Mac

Spotify is distributed directly and as a Mac App Store version, and the removal is the same for both. Open a Finder window and go to your Applications folder. Find Spotify, then drag it to the Trash or right-click it and choose Move to Trash. That removes the app bundle itself.

If you originally installed Spotify from the Mac App Store, you can also open Launchpad, click and hold the Spotify icon until it jiggles, and click the small delete badge. Either method is fine. Dragging an app to the Trash does not permanently delete anything until you empty the Trash, so there is no risk in doing this first and cleaning up the leftovers afterward.

Find and Clear Spotify's Large Cache

This is the part most guides skip, and it is where the real space is. Spotify keeps its cache and offline downloads in your user Library, which is hidden by default. In Finder, click the Go menu, hold the Option key, and choose Library when it appears. From there, open the Caches folder and look for a folder named com.spotify.client. This is where offline songs and streamed audio pile up, and it is often the largest single item.

Spotify also leaves data in Application Support. Back in your user Library, open Application Support and look for the Spotify folder, which holds your local settings and additional cached data. You can move both of these folders to the Trash. Here are the paths to check:

• ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client — the streaming and offline audio cache
• ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify — settings and local data
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.spotify.client.plist — the app's preference file
• ~/Library/Logs — any files or folders named after Spotify

Only touch the folders inside your own home Library (the one you reach through the Option-Go trick). Never remove anything from the top-level /System or /Library folders that belong to macOS itself. The user-level items above are the only ones tied to Spotify, and clearing them is exactly what a careful cleanup should do.

A Quick Note on Reversibility

Everything you have moved so far is sitting in the Trash, not gone. If you realize you removed the wrong folder, open the Trash, right-click the item, and choose Put Back to restore it to its original location. Take a moment to confirm you have the right Spotify items, then empty the Trash to actually reclaim the disk space. Treating removals as reversible until you are sure is the single best habit for safe cleaning.

Empty the Trash and Confirm the Space

Once you are confident, right-click the Trash in the Dock and choose Empty Trash. To confirm you got the space back, open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, go to General, then Storage, and let the bar recalculate. If Spotify's cache was large, you should see a clear drop.

Let a Cleaner Do the Hunting

Doing this by hand is completely fine, but if you would rather not dig through hidden Library folders, a good cleaner will find app leftovers for you and show you a preview before anything moves. The key things to look for are simple: it should show you exactly what it found, default to user-level junk only, and send removals to the Trash so they stay reversible. A cleaner also has no reason to phone home, and you can verify that yourself with a firewall like Little Snitch — a quiet app should generate zero outbound traffic.

If you want a pick, CoreSweep is our top free choice: free forever, an optional one-time Pro at $49, zero telemetry, and every delete goes to the Trash. For a lighter, lower-cost option, SkoonMac is the best-value runner-up, free to use with a one-time Pro at $19. Either one handles the preview-first, reversible cleanup this guide describes.

That is the whole process: quit Spotify, move the app to the Trash, clear its cache and support folders from your user Library, then empty the Trash once you have confirmed what you are removing. You get your gigabytes back, and nothing is permanent until you decide it is.

Frequently asked questions

Does dragging Spotify to the Trash remove its cache and downloads?

No. Moving the Spotify app to the Trash only removes the app bundle itself. Its offline downloads and streaming cache stay behind in your user Library, which is where most of the space is. To actually reclaim gigabytes you also need to clear the com.spotify.client cache and the Spotify Application Support folder.

Where does Spotify store its cache on a Mac?

Spotify keeps its data in your hidden user Library. The main cache of streamed and offline audio lives in ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client, settings and local data sit in ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify, and there is a preference file at ~/Library/Preferences/com.spotify.client.plist. Reach the hidden Library by holding Option and choosing Library from Finder's Go menu.

Is it safe to delete Spotify's cache folder?

Yes, as long as you only remove the Spotify items inside your own home Library and leave the top-level /System and /Library folders alone. These moves send files to the Trash, so nothing is permanent until you empty it. If you remove the wrong folder, right-click it in the Trash and choose Put Back to restore it.

← All Mac cleaning guides · Back to the comparison