Pandora is a popular music streaming service that offers personalized radio stations, playlists, and on-demand listening. However, many users want to download Pandora music for offline playback, save songs for travel, or listen without internet access.
So, can you download music from Pandora? The answer depends on your subscription and how you want to use the downloads. Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium allow offline listening through the official app, while third-party tools can help save Pandora music as local audio files.
In this guide, we will show you 5 effective ways to download Pandora music, including official methods for subscribers and alternative ways to save Pandora songs as MP3 and other common formats. We will also compare different methods and explain how to fix common Pandora download issues. Let's go!
Part 1. Can You Download Music on Pandora?
Yes, Pandora supports offline listening with Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium, but the features are different. Simply put, Pandora Plus offers ad-free radio, unlimited skips, and offline listening for selected stations. However, you cannot download specific songs, albums, or playlists.
If you choose Pandora Premium, you will have full control over playback, and you can search for songs, create playlists, and download individual tracks, albums, and playlists for offline listening. Here is the comparison table between the two Pandora plans.
| Feature | Pandora Plus | Pandora Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99/month or $54.89/year | $10.99/month or $120.89/year (Family and Student plans available) |
| Best for | Ad-free personalized radio listening | Full music streaming with on-demand control |
| Music Playback | Personalized stations, unlimited skips, replay tracks | Play any song, album, or artist anytime |
| Song Search | ❌ | ✅ |
| Playlist Creation | ❌ | ✅ |
| Offline Listening | Automatically downloads up to 3 most-played stations and Thumbprint Radio | Manually download songs, albums, playlists, and stations |
| Download Control | Limited | Flexible and Exact |
Part 2. How to Download Music from Pandora with a Subscription
If you have a Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium subscription, you can download music for offline listening directly through the Pandora app. The process is slightly different for each plan: Pandora Plus users can save selected stations automatically, while Premium users can manually download songs, albums, and playlists. Keep in mind that these downloads stay inside the Pandora app and are only available for offline playback.
2.1 Download Pandora Music with Pandora Plus
While Pandora automatically downloads up to three of your most-listened-to stations along with your Thumbprint Radio, you can follow these steps to ensure Pandora downloads your music and enables offline mode whenever you want to listen.
01Ensure that your device is connected to the internet. Open the Pandora app on your device.
02To influence which stations are downloaded, you need to listen to these stations more often while online. By default, when Pandora connects to the internet, it will begin downloading the stations you listen to most frequently.
03To view the download progress of offline stations, go to "Profile > Settings > Offline" to check the download status.
04Once downloads are complete, enable offline mode by tapping "Profile > Settings gear icon" and toggling "Offline Mode" on.
05Navigate to "My Collection." Here, you will see the downloaded content and can listen offline at any time.
2.2 Download Pandora Music with Pandora Premium
If you have a Pandora Premium membership, downloading music from Pandora becomes even easier. You can open the Pandora app and search for or browse any album, playlist, or radio station you want to download. Select the More icon next to the track and tap Download. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to download Pandora music with Premium:
01Download and install the Pandora app on your phone.
02Launch the Pandora app and log in to Pandora with your Premium account.
03Browse and select a song, playlist, or album you want to download.
04To visit the detailed page, click on its name.
05Tap the "Three dots > Download" icon to add it to your offline collection.
06Once completed, go to "My Collection," click on the "Added" bar, and select "Show downloads only."
07To listen to downloads offline, click on the "Profile" tab, then click on the "Settings Gear Icon" to turn on "Offline Mode."
2.3 Limitations of Pandora Offline Downloads
Pandora lets you download music for offline listening, but there are some things to keep in mind. The downloads only work inside the Pandora app, and you cannot move them to other devices or save them as regular audio files. Here are the main limits:
Device restrictions: The Pandora download button and offline mode are only available on mobile devices (Android and iOS) and Apple Watch.
In-app access only: Pandora music downloads are encrypted audio files that cannot be transferred to other devices and can only be played within the Pandora app. This is likely why so many users want to download Pandora music to MP3 files to listen to Pandora music on other devices.
Subscription dependent: If your Plus or Premium subscription expires, all offline collections will be deleted.
30-day connection rule: If you do not log in to Pandora or open the Pandora app while connected to the internet for 30 consecutive days, your offline downloads will be deleted.
No podcasts: The Pandora download feature is only available for songs, stations, albums, and playlists. To download Pandora podcasts, you will need to use a third-party tool such as ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader.
Storage limits: If your device has 500MB or less of storage space remaining, Pandora won't download.
Part 3. How to Download Music from Pandora Without a Subscription
If you want to download Pandora music without a subscription, you will need a third-party tool. Unlike Pandora's built-in offline mode, these tools can help download or record Pandora songs and save them in common formats like MP3, FLAC, or WAV. Below are three practical ways to download Pandora music without a subscription, including a desktop downloader, a browser extension, and an online audio recorder.
3.1 Download Pandora Music with a Desktop Pandora Music Downloader
ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader is compatible with Windows and Mac. It helps all-tier Pandora users download songs, podcasts, albums, and playlists from Pandora to MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, and M4B. Besides, ViWizard preserves the original audio quality and complete ID3 tags (such as title, cover art, artist, year, etc.) to your computer's local folder.
Just follow the steps below to download Pandora music in bulk and play it on MP3 players, smart TVs, cars, or any device without the Pandora app or internet access.
Download songs, playlists, albums, and your whole music library from 10 major streaming platforms, including Pandora Music, to MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A, or M4B with original quality and ID3 tags for permanent offline listening.
Step 1: Adjust the Output Settings
Launch ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader on your computer. Click "Settings" in the bottom left corner. Select "Conversion" to customize your output format. Choose MP3, FLAC, WAV, or other available formats, and adjust details, like bitrate and sample rate. Click "OK" to confirm your selections.
Step 2: Open Pandora's Web Player
Click the Music section in the left sidebar. Select the Pandora icon to open the built-in web player inside ViWizard. Log in to your Pandora account and browse the songs, albums, podcasts, or playlists you want to download.
Step 3: Add Pandora Music
When you find the music you want, click the Plus (+) icon in the bottom-right corner. The downloader will detect all tracks on the current page. A pop-up window lets you select specific songs. Choose all or specific tracks and click "Add to List" to prepare them for downloading.
Step 4: Download Pandora Music
Click the "Convert" button to start the download. ViWizard will quickly convert Pandora to the audio format you selected earlier while maintaining the original audio quality. Once the process is complete, you can find all downloaded files in the "History" tab, or click the "Folder" icon to locate the song files. Now you can transfer them to other devices for more convenient playback.
3.2 Download Pandora Music with an Online Pandora Music Downloader
Cococut Video Downloader is compatible with Chrome and Edge browsers and is currently functioning normally. With this tool, you can directly download songs, playlists, albums, and podcast episodes from the Pandora web player to MP3 or MP4 formats without a subscription. However, compared to ViWizard Pandora Music Converter, this tool may lack customization options, as it does not allow you to select the output format or quality. Nevertheless, it definitely works as intended.
01Open the Chrome Web Store (or Edge Add-ons Store), search for Cococut Video Downloader, and add it to your browser.
02Visit the Pandora web player and sign in to your account. Play the song, album, playlist, or episode you want to download.
03Click the Cococut Video Downloader extension icon in your browser. It will detect the playing Pandora track. Select the file you want and hit the Download button.
3.3 Download Pandora Music with an Audio Recorder
Another way to download music from Pandora is by using Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder. Unlike browser extensions, this tool works directly from your browser without installation. Best of all, there is no need to pay for Pandora Plus or Premium. You can use this tool to capture music directly into MP3 and move it to portable players or phones. Now pick your device and follow the steps below.
01Open the Apowersoft Free Audio Recorder on your browser.
02Click the "Start Recording" button.
03Choose System Sound and click the "Start Recording" button again.
04To end the recording process, hit the "Stop" button.
05Finally, click the "Save" button to save the recordings to the computer.
Part 4. How to Fix Pandora Music Not Downloading
Why is my Pandora music not downloading? Relax. This issue is usually related to your subscription, storage space, app data, or download settings. You can try these fixes to get offline downloads working again.
Verify your subscription: Make sure you have an active Pandora Plus, Premium, or Premium Family plan, as offline downloads are available for paid users.
Check storage space: Free up space on your phone if your device does not have enough storage for downloads.
Reset downloads: Go to Profile > Settings > Audio Quality and Downloads, then tap Reset downloads to restart the download process.
Clear App Data (Android): Go to Settings > Apps > Pandora > Storage, and then select Clear Data and launch Pandora again.
Reinstall Pandora: Remove the Pandora app on your mobile phone, restart your phone, and go to the app store to download the latest version of Pandora.
Part 5. What Is the Best Way to Download Music from Pandora?
The best way to download music from Pandora depends on whether you want official offline listening or local audio files. Pandora Plus and Premium allow offline playback inside the app, while third-party tools can help save Pandora music as common audio formats for more flexible use.
| Feature | Pandora Plus | Pandora Premium | ViWizard | CocoCut | Apowersoft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline Playback | App only | App only | Local files | Local files | Local files |
| Subscription Required | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Audio Quality | Standard | Higher quality options | Original quality | Source quality | Playback quality |
| Download Content | Stations | Songs, albums, playlists | Songs, playlists, podcasts | Web audio | Any playing audio |
| Output Format | Encrypted files | Encrypted files | MP3, FLAC, WAV, etc. | Depends on source | Common audio formats |
| Download Limit | Limited stations | Storage-based | No fixed limit | Storage-based | Recording time |
| Availability After Subscription Ends | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Device Compatibility | Only within Pandora app on supported devices | Only within Pandora app on supported devices | Any device (phone, tablet, PC, smart TV, car, etc.) | Any device that plays standard formats | Any device that plays standard formats |
| Limitations | No song downloads; app only | App only; requires subscription | Requires software | Limited options | Records in real time |
Part 6. FAQs About Downloading Music from Pandora
How many songs can I download from Pandora?
The number of Pandora downloads depends on your subscription plan and device storage. Pandora Plus only downloads selected offline stations, while Pandora Premium subscribers can download songs, albums, playlists, and stations for offline listening.
Where do Pandora downloads go?
Pandora downloads are stored as encrypted files inside the Pandora app. They are not saved in your phone's music library or regular folders, and you cannot move or play them outside the Pandora app.
Can you download songs from Pandora to a computer?
No. Pandora's official offline download feature is only available on supported mobile devices, such as iOS and Android. If you want to save Pandora music on a computer, you need to use a third-party Pandora music downloader or audio recorder.
Conclusion
Simply speaking, it is easy to download Pandora music. Each method has its pros and cons. If you prefer built-in features, you can subscribe to Pandora. Want to transfer or play outside the app? Then, you can consider third-party Pandora music converters.
Among these methods, we recommend ViWizard. It is flexible enough, with many formats to choose from. And best of all, you can enjoy original audio quality, really ideal for travel or commutes. Now choose the method that you prefer and start your Pandora music journey!
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Matt Smith, a digital entertainment industry enthusiast at ViWizard, is dedicated to providing insightful commentary and solutions for music and media-related topics, including industry trends, analysis, and recommendations.
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