Stress is contrastive in both English and Spanish. Spanish uses intensity, pitch, and duration as acoustic correlates of stress, the strongest cues being F0 and duration in combination. In English, vowel reduction is the main cue of stress. Due to these differences L1 English/L2 Spanish speakers show difficulties perceiving stress in Spanish. Our goal is to compare the interpretation of Spanish stress by L2 to native speakers of Spanish. This study investigates the influence on the correct identification of the stress pattern within the word, as well as the impact of the location of the target word within the sentence. The study involved a 48-stimuli Forced-choice task in Qualtrics. 95 individuals participated: 29 L1 speakers, 14 L2 advanced, 21 L2 intermediates, and 31 L2 beginners. Descriptive statistics and a regression model suggest that as L2 speakers advance in their proficiency in Spanish, their ability to interpret stress improves. Moreover, until they reach an intermediate level of language proficiency, L2 learners are not able to extract the correct meaning of words minimally differing in stress pattern.