YouTube is a hub of official music videos that lets you enjoy sublime music worldwide. It also covers millions of audio-only uploads, audiobooks, talk shows, and more for you to listen to.
Want to download YouTube videos and convert them to MP3 for playback on portable devices like Apple devices and MP3 players? Here I introduce the best YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac, including professional software, online tools, and browser extensions.
To help you get the top YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac, I have undertaken efforts in 3 aspects: criterion confirmation, testing, and analysis. Below, I will unveil the process.
To begin with, I need to identify what makes a good YouTube video to MP3 converter. I considered 5 criteria: ease of use, quality, batch processing capabilities, supported file formats, and safety.
Tested video converter number | 12 apps, 27 online converters, 21 browser extensions |
Tested YouTube video number | 50+ |
Tested YouTube type | YouTube Shorts, playlist, single movie & music video on YouTube |
Tested YouTube duration | Convert YouTube more than 20 min, 60 min or 2h, also include videos under 5 min |
Based on the tests, I picked out the best tools to convert YouTube to MP3 on Mac and wrote this report. It took me 3 weeks to complete it.
There are many video downloader programs on the market, most of which support downloading YouTube videos, but they may not provide MP3 output options because the default audio format of YouTube is M4A. The following 4 apps all allow you to convert YouTube videos to MP3, feel free to use them.
Cisdem Video Converter proves to be a winner among YouTube converter apps. It's a robust and stable video toolbox for Mac with a wide array of features.
The app can download and convert YouTube songs, podcasts, playlists, and more to MP3 with no degradation. Also, it ensures that you can download MP3s from social video sharing sites like Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, etc.
Besides MP3, it offers other output formats like M4A, FLAC, AAC, M4R, MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, and so on for you to choose. Thanks to AMD VCE/VCN hardware acceleration, it allows for simultaneous and quick processing.
For further control, head to "Setting" to change output audio parameters, like quality, encoder, sample rate, channel, etc. It’s not mandatory. The defaults are great for novices.
After you have installed this best YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac, launch it.
Matching its name, MediaHuman is a simple YouTube to MP3 app for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc. It facilitates effortless downloading of YouTube playlists and channels.
Your MP3 file will be downloaded, along with the artist's name and track title. And it is possible to alter YouTube Music cover art or artwork. MediaHuman integrates with iTunes and the Apple Music App, thus you can export downloaded audio directly to them.
Does iTubeGo have what it takes to be among the best YouTube to MP3 converters for Mac? Absolutely! It will be fine for queuing multiple YouTube music or movies and saving them in excellent audio quality. Except for parsing out the URL, it is also matched with a built-in browser to visit and download YouTube video to MP3 in the App directly. Plus, it covers many popular websites and 20 formats.
You can configure the speed from 128KBps to 8MBps, or convert all files at Turbo-fast speed. It can be useful if you do not want to allocate all your resources to iTubeGo due to bandwidth issues.
ClipGrab is widely expected to be one of the best free YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac. Only copying the YouTube video URL, it will automatically detect, paste and analyze the video within seconds. Meantime, it offers multiple output formats for users to choose, including MPEG4, WMV, MP3, and OGG. Surprisingly, it is designed with a search engine in the app, allowing users to input keywords to search for related YouTube videos directly.
Online converters are full of unsatisfying advertising and pop-up banners. If you click it by accident, you may enter into a troublesome. Since there is no installation and no money to pay, online YouTube to MP3 converters for Mac still have their perks.
Also read: Top 8 online YouTube video converters
EzMP3 is definitely one of the simplest, cleanest online YouTube to MP3 converters. There are no ads during the whole process, probably because some users provided donations.
It lets you download and convert YouTube videos to MP3 format on Mac with different bitrate options. It can also trim YouTube audio for ringtones, video background sounds, best music moments and more.
For how many YouTube videos can be converted to MP3, it has no limit. But for the length of conversion, it is limited to 90 minutes.
ClipConverter is a popular free YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac that enables you to download and convert tracks without hassle. There are 3 major audio formats for YouTube including MP3, M4A, and WebM.
In the output format list, it delivers multiple video resolution options. But if you choose MP3, its bitrate can only default to 320kbps.
Plus, ClipConverter can download audio with the URL from other 700+ websites, including Instagram, Reddit, Odnoklassniki, Facebook, etc.
MP3ify is a one-stop tool specially designed to search and download YouTube videos. Type in a keyword and you'll instantly find the target video.
It lets you download and convert YouTube to MP3 on Mac, and there is also an option to download the MP4 file. All download history will be saved.
It just requires you to register and log into your account to make the conversion, which may leak your email information.
Y2Mate.is, having been around 10+ years, is an old web-based YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac.
It has undergone several revisions and has become what it is now. It's able to save YouTube as 48k to 160k MP3, and they are in various sizes. The smaller the size, the worse the quality.
Besides MP3, it empowers you to convert YouTube to MP4 on Mac as well, but which merely download all videos to 1080p or lower.
Web-based extensions can also rip YouTube video to MP3 easily. Compared to online downloaders, browser extensions don’t need to copy-n-paste the URL. However, as time goes by, more and more extensions cannot work on YouTube. Eventually, through hard work, I found 3 YouTube to MP3 extensions that actually work.
Avaiable for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Yandex, Safari, Vivaldi, Brave
Addoncrop is a powerful extension accessible for the public, which is an easy-to-use tool to download YouTube video to MP4 in 720p resolution safely. It is also matched with a built-in MP3 converter that can also convert YouTube to MP3 free online on Mac directly. Furthermore, it provides more features for people to make further editing, such as resizing the file length, deciding audio quality, saving cover thumbnail, taking screenshots, etc., allowing you to undergo a satisfactory experience.
Avaiable for Firefox
Easy YouTube Download Video Express is also a useful YouTube download extension, focusing on a handy learning curve to grab YouTube content. It is capable of saving YouTube video to MP4 up to 1080p resolution, or MP3 format with 256 kbps, aiming to provide a high-quality enjoyment for users. However, currently downloading YouTube video to HD video quality or MP3 format turns to a paid service.
Avaiable for Firefox
YouTube Video and Audio Downloader (WebEx) produced by feller is slightly different from other extensions, which builds an intimate cooperation with the third-party extension or online tool, making it save YouTube to MP4 and WebM in optional quality.
Due to this reason, it is a little bit more complicated than other extensions to extract YouTube as MP3 format. Meantime, it offers 3 tabs (Quick Download, Download Panel and Conversion Tool) that gives more variable methods to get videos offline.
After 3 weeks of testing, I have something to say. If you want to keep a YouTube to MP3 converter for Mac for a long time, I think it is better to choose a dedicated software. 2 main considerations are as follows:
- Functionality. Converter apps usually offer high-quality audio and versatile features, such as more output options, batch conversion, editing, or others, ensuring a better user experience.
- Security. There is a high probability that online converters and extensions will be banned. You will find no plugins related to YouTube downloads at all in the Chrome web store. And if they require a login, they may leak your privacy and information.
Emily is a girl who loves to review various multimedia software. She enjoys exploring cutting edge technology and writing how-to guides. Hopefully her articles will help you solve your audio, video, DVD and Blu-ray issues.