How to Rip Music from YouTube for Free [6 Best Ways]

Method 1. Rip YouTube Song/Playlist/Album via Best YouTube Music Ripper 🔥

Ripping YouTube Music to MP3 can be easy with the correct tool. TuneFab YouTube Music Converter stands out as a reliable YouTube ripper, featuring an embedded web player for seamless song search and collection. Compatible with both Windows and Mac, it effortlessly downloads YouTube Music tracks to your computer in MP3, preserving lossless sound quality for offline playback on most devices.

Not only can it download single songs from YouTube Music, but it also supports playlists and albums, making the whole process effective and friendly.

Now, let's move on to learn how to rip music from YouTube Music to MP3 in high quality.

Step 1. Install TuneFab YouTube Music Converter, launch it, and select YouTube Music as your source. You can start downloading right away without signing in, but signing in increases conversion reliability and success rates.

Step 2. Search for songs or playlists in the built-in YouTube Music web player on TuneFab. Click the "Add" or "Add to Convert" button on the titles, cover art, bottom-right, or inside the playlist. The tool will instantly analyze your selection and show a list of tracks on the right.

Step 3. On the conversion list, choose MP3 as the output format, then adjust the bitrate and sample rate as needed.

Step 4. Click "Convert Now" to begin downloading instantly. Alternatively, click "Add to Queue" to move your selected tracks to "Scheduled Task," and then hit "Convert All" to proceed.

Step 5. The finished downloads will appear in "Local Library" for playback on the TuneFab app. You can also find the MP3 files in the destination folder and import them to any MP3-compatible device.

Method 2. Rip Songs from YouTube via TuneFab Tool Online

Being on this page, you would have noticed the web-based tool at the top. Essentially, this browser-based YouTube Music ripper converts a music link to MP3 directly, without the need to download or install software.

Compatible with computer and phone/tablet browsers, this online tool is developed by TuneFab, a trusted brand with 9 years of experience in digital media ripping. You can rip individual songs right from the interface. If you want to rip an entire playlist or album, you’ll need to log in to the TuneFab member center. Don’t worry - it’s 100% safe and secure.

The MP3s that you download will keep their original ID3 tags. Before downloading, you can choose to download in either 128kbps or 320kbps quality. If you go for download for a playlist/album, all tracks will be downloaded in a batch and zipped into a single ZIP file.

Step 1. Copy the link of the song you want to rip.

Step 2. Paste the link to the blank bar on the online tool on the top of the article, then hit "Download".

Step 3. Wait for a while and the download link will be displayed. Hit "Download MP3".

Method 3. Rip Music from YouTube via TubeRipper Online

In addition to the desktop and online TuneFab tools, you can also try TubeRipper if you prefer not to log in to sites. This site can also rip MP3s from YouTube in up to 256kbps through a simple copy-and-paste movement of the video link. Moreover, it can capture YouTube music to M4A, MAV, FLAC, and more, and also directly convert YouTube videos to MP4, providing a straightforward and free ripping solution.

Step 1. Copy a video link from YouTube and paste it into TubeRipper on a browser.

Step 2. Click the "Arrow" button and select "Extract Audio", where you can choose MP3 or other common formats.

Step 3. Confirm your option and TubeRipper will start to download YouTube to MP3 on the browser.

Method 4. Record Music from YouTube Music via Audacity Recorder

To extract audio from YouTube, you can also try Audacity. Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, Audacity is an open-source and free recording tool. It not only allows you to record YouTube audio to various formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC but also supports the integration of third-party plugins to refine your recording audio. If you want to seek the ultimate quality of YouTube music, Audacity is a method worth exploring. And here is how it works.

Step 1. Install and launch Audacity from its official website on your computer.

Step 2. Change "MME" to "Windows WASAPI", which helps you to extract audio from YouTube of the highest quality. Then, head to "Audio Setup" > "Recording Device", and set your computer as the audio output device.

Step 3. Open YouTube to play the music you want to save offline. Then go back to Audacity and hit the "Record" button to capture YouTube audio.

Step 4. When a song recording is finished, you can stop the recording and click "File" > "Export" to save the audio as MP3.

Method 5. Rip Audio from YouTube via YouTube Downloader

YouTube goes beyond music. It also hosts a variety of vlogs, courses, movies, documentaries, and other video content. If your need arises to download not only music but also videos from YouTube, then VideoHunter YouTube Downloader can come to the rescue.

This all-purpose software program lets you download videos in any way, just copy and paste the YouTube link. What gives this software a big plus is the batch download capability, making it quite convenient when you are trying to get multiple files.

Meanwhile, with the aid of hardware acceleration, it boasts download speeds of up to 6X faster. Even better, VideoHunter YouTube Downloader can bypass regional and privacy restrictions, allowing you to successfully rip videos that may be blocked or not publicly available.

Step 1. Download and open VideoHunter YouTube Downloader on your computer.

Step 2. Go to YouTube to copy and paste a bulk of video links you want offline playback to the download bar and click the "Analyze" button.

Step 3. Tick on the items you want to extract audio from. Then, choose the download type as "Audio," select the format as "MP3," and set the audio quality to the highest.

Step 4. When all presets are done, just hit the "Download" button. VideoHunter YouTube Downloader will help you rip YouTube to MP3 immediately.

Method 6. Extract Audio from YouTube via GitHub youtube-dl

The program youtube-dl is a versatile tool, distributed under open-source licenses for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It supports downloading single videos or entire playlists from YouTube and various other websites. You can extract audio in several formats, including FLAC, MP3, M4A, OPUS, and WAV.

The quality depends on factors like the source and the audio quality you can listen to, according to your account. The program also preserves necessary metadata such as ID3 tags that help organize your music files. Despite being a terminal application, youtube-dl is simple enough for a beginner to use. But if you're not comfortable with computers, it might not be the best option for you.

Step 1. Install youtube-dl

• Windows users:
   Download the Windows executable from the official page. No Python installation is needed, but make sure you have Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable (x86) installed. Place the .exe file in a folder included in your system's PATH (or the same folder you’ll run commands from).
  
  
• macOS/Linux users:
   Run the following command in Terminal to install youtube-dl globally:

sudo curl -L https://yt-dl.org/downloads/latest/youtube-dl -o /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl  
sudo chmod a+rx /usr/local/bin/youtube-dl

Or use Homebrew (macOS):brew install youtube-dl

Or via pip: sudo pip install --upgrade youtube_dl

Step 2. Install ffmpeg (Required for Audio Conversion)

youtube-dl relies on ffmpeg or avconv to convert video to audio.

• On macOS: brew install ffmpeg
• On Windows: Download ffmpeg from ffmpeg.org, extract it, and add the bin folder to your system PATH.

Step 3. Download YouTube Audio in MP3 or Other Formats

Once youtube-dl and ffmpeg are ready, you're all set to rip audio from a YouTube video. Just open your terminal or command prompt and enter: youtube-dl -x --audio-format mp3 --audio-quality 0 [YouTube URL]

This command will download the video, extract the audio, and convert it into an MP3 file with high quality. You can replace MP3 with other supported formats like FLAC, M4A, OPUS, or WAV, depending on your needs. The --audio-quality option lets you fine-tune the output—use 0 for best variable bitrate, or specify a fixed rate like 128K.

After it's done, you’ll find the audio file saved in the current folder—clean, tagged (if metadata is available), and ready to enjoy.

Comparison: Which Method Suits You to Rip Music from YouTube?

The above 6 methods can all help you rip music from YouTube. However, you will find that each of them offers different features and operational processes, so their targeted needs may not exactly match yours. Here is a detailed comparison table for you to choose the one that best fits your current needs.

FAQs About Ripping Music from YouTube

Is It Legal to Rip Songs from YouTube?

That depends on your local laws, but generally speaking, if you're ripping content strictly for personal use, like collecting or listening privately, and not distributing or using it for commercial purposes, it's usually not considered illegal.

Can Music Be Ripped on YouTube Directly?

If you intend to directly rip music on the YouTube website or app, the answer is negative. While YouTube offers an offline viewing feature, it only involves encrypted cached videos. This allows you to play content without internet connections but doesn't truly save music to your device locally. Thus, it is not possible to transfer playback across multiple devices.

If you're thinking of ripping songs from YouTube with a recording device, it's a feasible option. However, this method may introduce background noise to the output music. To address this issue, TuneFab YouTube Music Converter can help a lot. This software integrates with the YouTube web player. So you can find any music uploaded to YouTube and download it without quality compression.

Can I Extract Audio from YouTube Video on iPhone?

Certainly. Given that iOS devices don't have a dedicated YouTube ripper, you would first need to explore the 2 online tools introduced in this article, which are able to rip music directly on your iPhone.

Conclusion

By reading the instructions above, you may have a clear idea of how to rip music from YouTube to MP3. With a dependable YouTube ripper, you can spare no effort to extract audio from YouTube on PC and Mac. Also, it is suggested to consider performance, stability, and listening experience when selecting a suitable YouTube audio ripper. Hence, TuneFab YouTube Music Converter comes highly recommended for your needs. Download it, and you can rip music from both YouTube and YouTube Music platforms in no time!