TechPP

8 Best YouTube to MP3 Converters, Scored Out Of 5

Key things to know

Updated September 22, 2026
01
The best one is free
yt-dlp costs nothing and is public domain. Two of the friendlier tools on this list are simply front ends for it.
02
320kbps is mostly a myth
YouTube never sends a 320kbps MP3, so any site promising one is just re-encoding a smaller file. That adds nothing back.
03
The adverts are the real risk
On converter websites, the danger is rarely the conversion. It is the fake download buttons placed around it.
04
Cobalt no longer works on the web
Its public site has been blocked by YouTube since mid-2025. Most guides still recommend it as though it works.

List of the Best YouTube to MP3 Converters

Before you start, a quick legal note. Downloading copyrighted material without permission breaches YouTube's Terms of Service, and copyright law in most countries. Your own uploads are fine, and so is anything released under Creative Commons or in the public domain. If you just want music offline, I would use YouTube Premium, which is the officially supported way to do it.
1

1. yt-dlp

Website
4.7
The engine most other tools here run on.
Type
Open source, command line
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
Free
Version tested
2026.08.19
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 4.7 above is their average.
Audio Quality5.0/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed4.8/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use3.2/5
How much you have to learn
Safety5.0/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists5.0/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options5.0/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • It grabs the original audio, so nothing is re-encoded
  • Updated every month, with nightly builds in between
  • It keeps working when YouTube changes something
  • Public domain, with over 192,000 GitHub stars
  • No installer, no ads and nothing bundled
  • One command handles a full playlist or channel
  • It can add song titles and cover art for you
Weaknesses
  • You type commands instead of clicking buttons
  • You also need FFmpeg, which is a separate install
  • You have to update it yourself
  • The error messages assume you know the jargon
Community Reception
This is Reddit's usual answer, and people there call it the gold standard. The bigger hint is that two tools on this list are just friendlier front ends for it.
Final Verdict
If you can paste one line into a terminal, nothing here beats it. I would start with this and only move on if the terminal really puts you off.
2

2. Stacher

Website
4.5
yt-dlp with the terminal removed.
Type
Free GUI for yt-dlp
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
Free, Premium optional
Version tested
7.1.12
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 4.5 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.9/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed4.5/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.4/5
How much you have to learn
Safety4.4/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists4.5/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options4.4/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • You get yt-dlp quality without touching a terminal
  • The free version has no download limit
  • It updates the engine for you
  • Playlists sit in a clean queue you can watch
  • You pick bitrate and format from a menu
Weaknesses
  • If yt-dlp breaks, this breaks with it
  • Themes and the Library need Premium
  • Power users will miss the full command options
  • It is a small project, so support is thin
Community Reception
This is what people suggest when someone asks for yt-dlp without the terminal. The tone is practical rather than passionate.
Final Verdict
For most people reading this, I would pick Stacher. You get the same engine the experts use, with an interface you could hand to anyone.
3

3. 4K YouTube to MP3

Website
4.4
Pay once. It just works.
Type
Freemium desktop app
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
Free tier, $15 one time
Version tested
Current release
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 4.4 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.6/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed4.4/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.7/5
How much you have to learn
Safety4.5/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists4.0/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options4.0/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • It only does audio, so the app stays simple
  • It installs nothing extra, which is rare here
  • You paste a link and it starts straight away
  • You pay once instead of subscribing
Weaknesses
  • The free version stops at 15 files a day
  • You can only run three downloads at a time
  • Removing that limit needs the $45 Pro version
  • It is closed source, so you are trusting the company
Community Reception
This is the one people buy when they would rather pay than troubleshoot. TechRadar has singled it out for shipping no bundled extras, which is exactly what most readers worry about here.
Final Verdict
Worth the $15 if your time is worth more than that. However, I would skip the free version, because 15 files a day runs out quickly.
4

4. MediaHuman YouTube to MP3

Website
4.3
Free, quiet, no catch.
Type
Free desktop app
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
Free
Version tested
3.9.23
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 4.3 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.5/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed4.0/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.6/5
How much you have to learn
Safety4.4/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists4.5/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options4.0/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • Genuinely free, with no daily limit and no paid tier
  • It pulls audio at up to 320kbps
  • It also works with Vimeo, SoundCloud and Bandcamp
  • You can download a whole playlist or channel
  • You can follow a channel and get only new tracks
  • Still being updated, with a release in August 2026
Weaknesses
  • It slows down on long queues
  • Updates are less frequent than yt-dlp
  • Song details are added, but only the basics
  • It is closed source
Community Reception
People recommend this quietly and often. It is not exciting, but it is one of the few free tools here that nobody seems to complain about.
Final Verdict
This is the free desktop tool I would suggest if you will not use a terminal and will not pay. The channel follow feature is genuinely handy.
5

5. cobalt

Website
3.9
Great tool. No longer one-click for YouTube.
Type
Open source, self-hosted
Platforms
Docker, plus a web front end
Price
Free, plus hosting
Version tested
Repo quiet since April 2026
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 3.9 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.6/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed4.3/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use2.6/5
How much you have to learn
Safety4.8/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists2.8/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options4.0/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • No ads, no fake buttons and no tracking at all
  • Open source, with 43,700 GitHub stars
  • Running your own copy gets around the block
  • Easily the nicest interface of the lot
  • You can set it up in about 15 minutes
Weaknesses
  • The public site has been blocked by YouTube since mid-2025
  • To use it now, you have to run your own copy
  • The code has not been updated since April 2026
  • It handles one link at a time, not big batches
Community Reception
Its reputation has not caught up with reality. Most guides still score the public website, but the people actually using it have moved to running their own copy.
Final Verdict
Still excellent if you host it yourself. However, at the time of writing, the public website most articles recommend will not convert a YouTube link at all.
6

6. Any Video Converter Free

Website
3.8
Capable. Read every installer screen.
Type
Freemium desktop app
Platforms
Windows, macOS
Price
Free, Ultimate ~$49.95
Version tested
v9.x
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 3.8 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.1/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed3.8/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.0/5
How much you have to learn
Safety2.5/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists3.8/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options4.5/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • The free version has no usage limits at all
  • It handles far more formats than just MP3
  • Basic trimming is built in, so it replaces a second app
  • You can buy it outright instead of subscribing
Weaknesses
  • The installer has offered extra software you did not ask for
  • The interface is busy next to simpler tools
  • It is slower than the yt-dlp based options
  • The AI features you are paying for do nothing for audio
Community Reception
People rate the software and worry about the setup. The advice you see most often is simply to read each installer screen before clicking next.
Final Verdict
A reasonable choice if you want a general converter and editor. If you only want MP3 files, the tools above are quicker and cleaner.
7

7. ClipGrab

Website
3.6
Open source, but often fails on YouTube.
Type
Open source desktop app
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux
Price
Free
Version tested
3.9.15
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 3.6 above is their average.
Audio Quality4.0/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed3.2/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.0/5
How much you have to learn
Safety3.2/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists3.4/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options3.6/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • Open source, so anyone can check the code
  • Search is built in, so you can find a video inside the app
  • Very easy to pick up
  • Light, and it runs on all three platforms
Weaknesses
  • YouTube downloads often fail
  • 403 errors are a well known problem with it
  • The installer still bundles other software
  • It is not updated often, so breaks can last a while
Community Reception
People used to recommend this without hesitation, and now they add a warning. "ClipGrab not working" is still a common search, which tells you how often it fails.
Final Verdict
I find this hard to recommend now. A converter that often cannot fetch the file is not much use, and Stacher and MediaHuman are both free and more reliable.
8

8. Generic Web Converters

Avoid
2.6
The ytmp3 and y2mate class of site.
Type
Ad-funded websites
Platforms
Any browser
Price
Free, funded by ads
Version tested
Domains change constantly
Parameter Breakdown
Each one is out of 5, and the 2.6 above is their average.
Audio Quality2.8/5
Bitrate, and whether it re-encodes
Speed3.8/5
Paste to finished file
Ease Of Use4.5/5
How much you have to learn
Safety0.8/5
Adware, bundling, fake buttons
Batch & Playlists1.2/5
Queues, playlists, channels
Format Options2.5/5
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
  • Nothing to install, so they work anywhere
  • They work on a phone, where the apps do not
  • Quick enough for a single short track
Weaknesses
  • Fake download buttons are placed to be clicked by mistake
  • The adverts are the real danger, not the conversion itself
  • Sites get cloned and disappear all the time
  • A 320kbps claim here is meaningless, because the file is upscaled
  • You cannot queue anything
Community Reception
This is the one point almost everyone agrees on. Security threads warn about the adverts, and when someone asks which of these sites is safe, the usual reply is to use yt-dlp instead.
Final Verdict
I have grouped these together because the names change every few months. I would avoid them unless you have no other option.

Which One Should You Pick

Best overall
yt-dlp
Original audio. Never breaks for long.
Best for non-technical users
Stacher
Same engine. No terminal.
Best if you would rather pay
4K YouTube to MP3
$15 once. Nothing bundled.
Best free desktop app
MediaHuman
No paywall. 320kbps.
Best for privacy
cobalt, self-hosted
Open source. Nobody sees your requests.
Best for playlists
yt-dlp
Whole channels in one command.
Best for formats
yt-dlp
MP3, M4A, Opus, FLAC.
Best on a phone
YouTube Premium
The only sanctioned option.

Full Comparison Table

ToolOverallAudio QualitySpeedEase Of UseSafetyBatch & PlaylistsFormat OptionsPrice
1. yt-dlp4.75.04.83.25.05.05.0Free
2. Stacher4.54.94.54.44.44.54.4Free, Premium optional
3. 4K YouTube to MP34.44.64.44.74.54.04.0Free tier, $15 one time
4. MediaHuman YouTube to MP34.34.54.04.64.44.54.0Free
5. cobalt3.94.64.32.64.82.84.0Free, plus hosting
6. Any Video Converter Free3.84.13.84.02.53.84.5Free, Ultimate ~$49.95
7. ClipGrab3.64.03.24.03.23.43.6Free
8. Generic Web Converters2.62.83.84.50.81.22.5Free, funded by ads
Every figure is out of 5, and Overall is simply the average of the six.

FAQs on YouTube to MP3 Converters

Is it legal to convert YouTube videos to MP3?

Not in most cases. Downloading content you do not own breaches YouTube's Terms of Service, and in many countries it also breaks copyright law. There are clear exceptions. Your own uploads are fine, and so is anything released under Creative Commons or in the public domain. If you simply want music offline, I would use YouTube Premium instead, since that is the officially supported route. Rules do vary by country, so please treat this as context rather than legal advice.

Is a 320kbps download actually better quality?

No, and this one catches a lot of people out. YouTube never sends a 320kbps MP3 in the first place, so any tool advertising one is simply re-encoding a smaller file. Re-encoding cannot add back detail that was never there. It is better to take the original audio stream, which is usually Opus or AAC, and yt-dlp does this by default. If you need an MP3 for an older device, convert once from that original file.

Why did the converter I used last year stop working?

Because YouTube keeps tightening its defences, and shared public websites are the easiest ones for it to block. That is exactly what happened to cobalt. Its public site has been blocked since mid-2025, while people running their own copy carried on without any problem. As a rule, tools that run on your own computer last much longer.

Are these tools safe to install?

Mostly yes, but the risk is usually what comes bundled with the software rather than the software itself. yt-dlp has no installer at all, and cobalt bundles nothing. 4K YouTube to MP3 and MediaHuman both have clean records. ClipGrab and Any Video Converter have offered extra software during setup, so read each screen and decline anything you did not come for. For extra safety, I would scan any installer with Google Play Protect or VirusTotal before running it.

Which of these are actually free?

yt-dlp and MediaHuman are completely free with no limits. Stacher is free too, with no cap on downloads, and only charges for extras like themes and its Library. Any Video Converter Free has no usage limits either. The one to watch is 4K YouTube to MP3, because its free tier stops at 15 files a day and three downloads at a time.

Can I do this on my phone?

Not easily, no. This is where the converter websites look most tempting, and it is also where they are most dangerous, because a phone browser gives you far less protection against a fake button. I would use YouTube Premium on mobile. If you really need the files, convert them on a computer and transfer them across.

Do I need FFmpeg to use yt-dlp?

Yes, for most conversion work, and it is a separate install. Stacher and the desktop apps handle FFmpeg for you in the background. For those who are unaware, FFmpeg is the free tool that does the actual audio conversion, and a lot of what you are paying for in the paid apps is simply not having to set it up yourself.