How to Use Spotify Running Mode on iOS and Android

Spotify's Running Mode doesn't listen to your footsteps or track your pace the way the original Spotify Running feature did. That older feature used phone hardware to detect your cadence automatically before Spotify retired it in 2018 (The Verge, 2 months ago; Engadget, yesterday). Running Mode works differently: it builds a soundtrack around the BPM, duration, and music preferences you dial in before you start moving, rather than reacting to how fast you're actually running (The Verge, 2 months ago). This guide walks through how to use Spotify Running Mode on iOS and Android, from confirming you're eligible to fine-tuning the presets, prompts, and BPM settings that shape each run.

The AI-powered feature launched on July 30, 2026 for Premium subscribers on iOS, then expanded to Android, and currently lives inside Spotify's Fitness hub alongside Peloton classes and creator workout videos (Spotify Newsroom, 2 months ago; TechCrunch, 2 months ago). It offers 25 presets built around interval, steady, and pyramid-style training, each customizable for genre, length, and tempo (Spotify Newsroom, 2 months ago). Treat every BPM setting below as a preference you're choosing, not a coaching metric Spotify is measuring in real time.

Spotify Running Mode Premium: what you need before you start

Running Mode requires Premium, so it is not available to Free accounts (The Verge, 2 months ago). That's the first thing to confirm before you go looking for it.

The feature launched exclusively on iOS, but Spotify's own setup guide and Engadget's hands-on walkthrough both confirm it now works on Android too (Spotify Newsroom, last month; Engadget, yesterday). Availability still comes down to where your account is registered. Spotify's latest published market list covers Premium users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden (Spotify Newsroom, last month). If you're outside those seven markets, don't expect to find it in your Fitness hub yet; Spotify's published guidance does not specify when additional markets will be added.

Run through this before assuming anything is broken:

• Spotify Premium subscription (Free accounts cannot access Running Mode)
• iOS or Android device with the Spotify app installed
• Your account registered in one of Spotify's currently supported markets, listed above

If all three check out and Running Mode still isn't showing up, skip ahead to the troubleshooting section below.

How to find Spotify Fitness hub Running Mode

Once eligibility is settled, getting to the feature itself is straightforward.

1. Open the Spotify app and go to the Fitness hub, the section Spotify introduced earlier in 2026 to house workout content alongside music (The Verge, 2 months ago; Engadget, yesterday).
2. Tap Running Mode in Spotify's Fitness hub, and you'll land on a screen showing genre options alongside four workout-type categories: Intervals, Pyramids, Easy and Long, and Advanced (Engadget, yesterday).
3. If you'd rather skip the browsing entirely, select "Just Run," a fast-start 20-minute session that drops you straight into a playlist without picking through presets (Spotify Newsroom, last month).

The screen looks less like a separate app and more like a customized layer over Spotify's regular interface, which makes it easier to use if you already know your way around Spotify (The Verge, 2 months ago). This is also where every customization step below happens, so it's worth spending a minute on your first visit just looking around before you actually go for a run.

How to use Spotify Running Mode: choose a preset and BPM

This is where the feature earns the "personalization" label Spotify uses to describe it. Each setting stacks on top of the last, roughly in the order the app presents them.

1. Pick a preset. Start with one of the 25 curated options, each built around a training style such as interval, steady, or pyramid runs (Spotify Newsroom, 2 months ago).
2. Set your session length. Duration can be adjusted anywhere from 10 to 90 minutes, so a preset doesn't lock you into a fixed run time (Spotify Newsroom, last month).
3. Choose a genre. All four workout categories pair with genre-specific playlists, and Spotify lists pop, EDM, country, and hip-hop among the available options (Spotify Newsroom, last month; Engadget, yesterday).
4. Turn on Beat Matching. This is the control that sets a target BPM for the session. Spotify says 160 BPM is the most common choice among users, while runners chasing a faster cadence tend to land closer to 170-180 BPM (Spotify Newsroom, last month).
5. Decide on song-speed adjustment. The "Adjust song speed to match BPM" toggle keeps the rhythm consistent by adjusting each track's tempo, or you can leave it off to preserve each song's original feel. Neither setting is objectively better; it's a preference call (Spotify Newsroom, last month).

Worth knowing before you commit to a preset: Engadget reports that Easy sessions default to 135 BPM over a 20-minute run, while Long and Advanced sessions default to 150 BPM over 45 minutes (Engadget, yesterday). Based on how Spotify describes the two features, Beat Matching appears to function as its own adjustable control layered on top of those preset defaults, so if a default tempo doesn't feel right, you likely don't have to abandon the preset entirely; you can still dial in a manual target BPM. Spotify hasn't spelled out the exact mechanics of how the two interact on screen, so treat that as a reasonable inference rather than confirmed behavior.

One reminder worth repeating here: none of this measures your actual running pace or adjusts music automatically as your pace changes. It's tempo selection, not pace tracking.

Personalizing your run: prompts, discovery, and Spotify running playlists

Once the basics are set, Running Mode's more interesting layer sits on Spotify's Prompted Playlist technology, which lets you steer the playlist using plain language rather than menus alone (Spotify Newsroom, last month; The Verge, 2 months ago).

Tap "View prompt" to see and edit the request driving your current playlist. Spotify's own examples include requests like "Bring back songs I used to love but haven't played this year" or "All songs should be under three minutes," and the more specific the request, the more the resulting mix reflects your actual taste (Spotify Newsroom, last month). Engadget's own examples push that further, down to prompts combining a genre, an era, and a specific mood (Engadget, yesterday).

Alongside the prompt, there's a discovery slider that controls how familiar or unfamiliar the music gets. Slide it toward songs you already know, or push it to "Mostly new music" if you want surprises mid-run (Spotify Newsroom, last month).

Running Mode also includes optional audio cues, currently offered in English only, that add motivational check-ins during a session while the music keeps playing (TechCrunch, 2 months ago; Spotify Newsroom, last month). Toggle them on for the extra push, or leave them off if the playlist is motivation enough on its own.

One detail that catches people off guard: Spotify running playlists generated through this feature update daily. If a mix nails the vibe for your Tuesday morning run, save it, because the mix may be different the next day (Spotify Newsroom, last month; Engadget, yesterday).

What to check if Spotify Running Mode isn't showing up

If Running Mode won't load or doesn't appear in your Fitness hub, work through these confirmed requirements one at a time rather than assuming the app is broken.

• Confirm you're logged into a Premium account. Running Mode is not available to Free tier listeners (The Verge, 2 months ago).
• Confirm your account is registered in one of the seven supported markets: the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, or Sweden (Spotify Newsroom, last month).
• Confirm you're on iOS or Android, since both platforms carry the feature at this point (Spotify Newsroom, last month; Engadget, yesterday).
• Try updating the Spotify app. Spotify hasn't published a minimum version number, so this isn't a confirmed fix, but it's a reasonable step to try before concluding your account has been excluded.

If those four checks all come back clean and Running Mode is still missing, the most likely explanation is a staged rollout that hasn't reached your account yet.

What to do next

Confirm your Premium plan, your device, and your account's market, then open the Fitness hub and try a single "Just Run" session before touching Beat Matching or prompt editing. That gives you a feel for the feature without committing time to building a custom preset first.

If real-time pace feedback matters more to your training than a curated soundtrack, pair Running Mode with a dedicated pace-tracking watch or app rather than relying on its BPM settings for that job. If you just want music that fits the effort you're putting in, work through the presets and prompts above, treat Spotify's BPM guidance as a starting point to experiment with, and save any mix that clicks before the daily refresh replaces it.