Spotify Ads Character & Script Length Limits

Spotify is the rare network where your primary creative is measured in seconds, not characters. The text limits that do exist govern the companion display unit shown on-device during audio playback — plus the script word count you can realistically fit in a :15 or :30 spot.

Spotify Ad Studio enforces these limits at upload. Anything over the cap is rejected outright (no silent truncation like Meta) — you'll see a red error in the campaign builder before you can submit.

Audio Ad — Companion Display Unit

• Tagline (clickable headline): 40 characters max
• Advertiser name: 25 characters max
• CTA button text: 15 characters max, or pick from preset labels (Learn More, Shop Now, Listen Now, Get Offer)
• Click-through URL: standard URL length, but tracking parameters count
• Companion image: 640x640px JPG/PNG, under 200KB

Audio Script (the actual spot)

• :15 spot: hard ceiling of 15.0 seconds, ~30-35 words at natural pace
• :30 spot: hard ceiling of 30.0 seconds, ~65-75 words
• Audio file: WAV or MP3, 192kbps minimum, -14 LUFS integrated loudness
• Going 0.1s over duration = automatic rejection. Spotify does not round.

Video Takeover & Sponsored Sessions

• Video Takeover: 15 or 30 second video, 1080x1920 (vertical) or 1920x1080 (horizontal)
• Sponsored Session companion: same 40 char tagline, 25 char advertiser name rules
• No on-screen text limit, but Spotify's brand safety review flags excessive text overlay

Why these specific limits exist

The 40-character tagline cap maps directly to the lockscreen and Now Playing card on iOS and Android — anything longer truncates with an ellipsis on a 375px viewport (iPhone SE width, still Spotify's smallest supported device). The 25-character advertiser name fits the secondary line under the tagline without wrapping. CTA buttons stay at 15 because Spotify's UI button has fixed padding; longer text overflows or shrinks the font below readable size in CarPlay and Android Auto.

The script duration limits are non-negotiable because Spotify's ad server stitches your spot into the listening session at a fixed timestamp. A 15.3s ad would clip the next song's intro.

Common gotchas

• Emoji in the tagline: Spotify counts emoji as 1 character in the UI but stores them as 4 bytes. Most render fine on mobile but break on web player and some smart speakers. Avoid.
• Trademark and registered symbols (™, ®): render inconsistently across Sonos, Alexa, and CarPlay companion displays. Spell it out or skip.
• All caps: not against policy, but Spotify's review team rejects taglines that read as "shouty" — a soft limit you'll only learn about after rejection.
• Pricing claims in audio: must match companion text exactly. "$9.99/month" in the script and "under $10" in the tagline = rejection.
• RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew): character count is the same, but Spotify's companion display has known rendering bugs on older Android versions. Test before scaling.

Writing to fit the limits

For the 40-character tagline, front-load the offer or brand: "Free week at FitClub — 3 locations" (34 chars) outperforms "Get a free trial week at any FitClub gym" (41 chars, rejected).

For scripts, write at ~90% of the word ceiling. A :15 spot stuffed with 35 words reads like a disclaimer at the end of a pharma ad. 28-30 words lets the voice actor land the brand name twice and breathe before the CTA.

Structure every audio script in three beats: hook (first 3 seconds), value (middle 8-9 seconds), CTA with brand repeat (final 3 seconds). The first 5 seconds is the only window where Spotify guarantees user attention before they can skip on Premium ad-supported tiers.

Example

Original tagline draft: "Get your first month of unlimited classes free at StudioFit" (60 chars — rejected).

Trimmed to fit the 40-char limit: "First month free at StudioFit" (29 chars). The cut keeps the brand and offer; "unlimited classes" moves into the audio script where it has time to breathe.

Questions