Wondering Which YouTube to mp3 converter is best? If you want to watch your favorite YouTube videos whenever you want, you’ll need one of the best free YouTube to MP3 converters. When you watch videos on YouTube in your browser or through the app, you’re helping the people who made them. The more views they get, the more money they can make from ads. But it’s not always easy or helpful to do so.
But if you use one of these converters, it will be easy to find those songs (and other content) on your iPhone or Android device and listen to them while you’re on a plane, at the gym, or driving across the country.
Free YouTube to MP3 converters should not be confused with the best free music downloader apps. They are similar to the best free YouTube downloader apps, but instead of downloading videos, they convert YouTube videos to MP3 and other formats. Before you use one, though, make sure you have permission from the creator or owner of the copyright to download their content. YouTube’s terms of service say that you can’t download videos without permission, and TechRadar doesn’t like it when people use these products to steal other people’s work.
If you have permission to do so, we can help you choose the best and safest free YouTube to MP3 converter for your needs. We’ve tried a lot of these free YouTube converters ourselves, so we put together this list of the ones that met our high standards. Check out our top choices.
1. Any Video Converter Free
This is the right tool for you if you want a fast, flexible way to convert YouTube to MP3. You could be forgiven for thinking that Any Video Converter Free is a tool for changing from one video format to another based on its name. It can do this, but it can also be used to download videos from YouTube and save them as MP3s, which is exactly what we need.
The program does more than just convert YouTube to MP3, so it’s bigger than you might think. Don’t let that stop you, though (but take care not to install the optional adware during setup). We found that everything on it is set up in a way that makes sense, so you should be able to get around quickly.
It seems like almost too much to use a powerful and flexible piece of software for just one task, but all you have to do to download MP3s is paste the URL of a YouTube video and wait for the download to finish. Then, you can choose MP3 as the output format and click “Convert Now.” It’s too bad that you can’t convert YouTube to MP3 with just one click, but it’s not a huge problem.
2. 4K YouTube to MP3
4K YouTube to MP3 is a lot like 4K Video Downloader (further down on this page), but it only takes out the audio from videos. Even though it’s called 4K YouTube to MP3, you can also save video soundtracks in OGG and M4A formats, and you can choose from different bitrates to find a good balance between speed and quality (though in our experience, even downloading at the highest bitrate is quick and painless).
It also works with sites other than YouTube. You can use it to save the sound from videos on Vimeo, Flickr, Facebook, SoundCloud, and other sites. To get started, you just need to copy the address from your web browser and click the green “Paste URL” button.
The best thing about 4K YouTube to MP3 might be that it doesn’t come with any extra software like some other YouTube to MP3 converters do. You can download whole playlists if you pay a one-time fee to get the premium version, but the free software is fine for everyday use.
3. 4K Video Downloader
Like 4K YouTube to MP3 above, 4K Video Downloader is great software that might not look the best.
It works the same way, but because this app is mostly used to download full videos, there are a couple of extra steps. Copy the URL of a video from your web browser (it works with YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Flickr, and DailyMotion) and click “Paste URL.” Choose “Extract audio,” then choose MP3, OGG, or M4A. Click “Extract,” and the audio will be converted and saved where you want. Done.
The free version of 4K Video Downloader does have some restrictions, but most people should be fine with it. It lets you download up to 24 videos at once, which is great if you want to get a bunch of songs by the same artist. If you buy a license key, you can download and convert longer playlists to MP3 format. However, the software’s free features are very good.
4. Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter does exactly what its name says it does, which is to convert videos from YouTube to MP3 format.
But once it’s set up, you’re in for a treat. You don’t have to mess around with options; you can just start downloading the music you want right away. Use a simple drop-down menu to choose the quality and format of the audio file you want to save, paste the URL, and click Download. The files are saved and changed at the same time.
The great thing about Free YouTube to MP3 Converter is that it doesn’t waste your time or make things hard to understand. It was made with one goal in mind, and it does that one thing as well as possible. We’re sure you’ll love it if you give it a shot.
5. ClipGrab
ClipGrab is a wonderful program that makes it easy to convert from YouTube to MP3. It comes with the Opera browser, which you can skip if you’d rather not use it.
During our tests, we found that ClipGrab did a great job of making everything easy to understand. Right away, the beautifully simple interface gives you a good idea of how easy things are going to be. When you copy a YouTube URL to the clipboard, ClipGrab will offer to help you download the video.
Even if this doesn’t happen—for example, if you haven’t started the program yet—all it takes is a quick paste into the right field. Then, if you want to download the audio as an MP3, you can check a box before clicking the “Grab this clip!” button. You won’t have to wait long to get the MP3 you want.
How to choose the best free YouTube to MP3 converters for you
One of the first things to think about when looking for a free YouTube to MP3 converter is how many videos you want to change. If you’ll only do it once or twice, you might want to think about using a tool online. But if you want to do more, you should get a dedicated desktop app and maybe even pay for a subscription if you can afford it.
Desktop software is also faster because the data doesn’t have to be processed on a remote server. Some programs can also convert more than one YouTube video to MP3 format at once.
Be careful, though, because YouTube to MP3 software is very popular, so it’s easy to find malware when you’re looking for it. All of the tools in this guide have been thoroughly tested, so you can be sure to use them.
How to we test free YouTube to MP3 converters
It takes more work than you might think to test free YouTube to MP3 converters. Even though they are free, they should be able to do more than just convert videos. Different users have different needs, after all.
So, we look at what it has to offer. This includes how many different formats it can convert, if it can convert in batches, and what kind of customization options it has. We also look at the tools you can use, such as cropping, adding a watermark, and using filters.
Of course, we also take a look at how it works. Many users just want to get the audio and not have to worry about anything else, so we want to make sure that most people can use the software quickly and easily. If a converter’s interface is more complicated and better for more experienced users, we make a note of that.
Lastly, we check to see if a free YouTube to MP3 converter comes with extra software that you don’t need. You shouldn’t have to deal with extra software that you won’t use and that takes up space and bandwidth. But since it’s free, bloatware is kind of what you get.
Are free YouTube to MP3 converters safe?
There are some safe free YouTube to MP3 converters, but there are also a lot that aren’t. Also, there are safe converters that come with a lot of extra software and a website full of pop-up ads. Some of these pop-up ads could be harmful or lead you to fake sites that are trying to steal your information or money.
Because of this, you can’t just download a free YouTube-to-MP3 converter without first reading reviews online. Luckily, the ones on our list have been shown to be safe, even if some of them come with bloatware that takes up space on your hard drive and CPU bandwidth.
