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Despite being intended for video content, YouTube has become one of the best sources of music on the internet. From the latest pop hits to undiscovered indie artists with talent to spare, YouTube has it all. The only thing it doesn’t have is an option that would allow its users to easily convert YouTube videos to MP3 and download them for offline playback.
Fortunately, there are many third-party YouTube to MP3 converters that let you download YouTube videos and even entire channels and playlists so you can listen to them from any device even when you’re without an internet connection. To help you avoid unreliable YouTube to MP3 converters, we have prepared this list of the top 10 best YouTube to MP3 converters that are guaranteed to work in December 2019.
Is Converting YouTube Videos to MP3 Legal?
Even though there are still many excellent YouTube to MP3 converters, there used to be far more of them. YouTube has been attempting to shut them down because the social media giant believes that YouTube to MP3 converters are robbing it of advertiser revenue.
This is what YouTube has to say about downloading content from its servers:
You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content.
The highlighted part is especially important because it specifically prohibits the use of third-party YouTube to MP3 converters and other YouTube content downloaders to download YouTube content that YouTube itself hasn’t made available for download.
In other words, you can use YouTube to MP3 converters to download and convert your own videos and videos with Creative Commons license. You should NOT use YouTube to MP3 converters to download and convert copyrighter content, such as music videos published by major studios.
Of course, just because you shouldn’t do something doesn’t mean you can’t, but always remember that you’re responsible for the consequences of your own actions. If you really need to download copyrighted content from YouTube that much, you should consider paying for YouTube Premium, which allows you to save videos to your device and listen to music without interruptions.
Best YouTube to MP3 Converters
1. youtube-dl
In truth, youtube-dl is the only YouTube to MP3 converter you’ll ever need, so we could end our article with it instead of giving you nine other options. The reason we decided against it is simple: youtube-dl is a command-line program, and, as such, it’s not really easy to use. What’s more, it requires you to install the Python interpreter.
The entire installation procedure is explained on its GitHub page, which is also where you can find how to use this advanced YouTube downloader. If everything you’ve just read sounds too scary to you, there’s youtube-dl-gui, a cross-platform front-end GUI for youtube-dl. While youtube-dl-gui makes it extremely easy to use youtube-dl, it doesn’t give you access to all of its features.
2. YtMp3
Unlike the previous YouTube to MP3 converter, YtMp3 doesn’t require installation, configuration, or complicated command-line arguments. You simply open it in your favorite web browser, copy & paste the link to the YouTube video you want to download and covert, and let it take care of the rest.
Because YtMp3 is an online YouTube to MP3 converter, it works on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. It always automatically converts YouTube videos in the highest quality available, and you can even choose the MP4 file format instead of MP3. The only downside is that conversions sometimes take more than an hour, depending on how many people are using the service at the same time.
3. @YtbAudioBot
YtbAudioBot is a chatbot for popular instant messaging app Telegram. A chatbot is a program that you control by chatting with it. Of course, you can’t chat with chatbots exactly as you would with a friend because they recognize only certain commands, but that might change in the future thanks to AI.
When it comes to YtbAudioBot, you can go straight to business and simply send it any YouTube link you want it to download for you. Without keeping you waiting too long, YtbAudioBot will reply with an audio track, and you can choose to immediately listen to it or download it to your device. YtbAudioBot works on all devices that support either the web or desktop version of Telegram.
4. MP3 Converter
As its name suggests, MP3 Converter converts videos to MP3 files, saving your bandwidth and allowing you to listen to YouTube videos at any time. You can use MP3 Converter in a web browser, but there’s also a Firefox addon and Tampermonkey user script, both of which make it more convenient to convert YouTube videos to MP3.
What’s also great about this YouTube to MP3 converter is that it doesn’t limit itself to just YouTube. Instead, it allows you to download and convert videos from many other sites, including Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion, VK, Instagram, Metacafe, Soundcloud, AOL, and Vevo. Its developers are planning to add support for even more sites in the future.
5. MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter
Online YouTube to MP3 converters are great until they aren’t. What we mean by that is that any software application that runs on someone else’s computer can be gone tomorrow, so it’s always a good idea to have a backup on your own computer.
MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter is a multi-platform YouTube to MP3 converter that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can download all music from a playlist or channel in the highest quality available from YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Dailymotion, VEVO, and other sites. MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 Converter even includes a simple tag editor with cover art image support.
6. 2conv
2conv offers two distinct YouTube to MP3 converters: one works in a web browser and lets you convert a YouTube video into MP3, MP4, MP4 HD, AVI, and AVI HD with a simple click. The other one is a Windows application that supports far more audio and video file formats and comes loaded with a whole range of advanced features.
For example, the desktop version of 2conv can download up to 99 files all in one go, add the downloaded files to your iTunes library or play them with the built-in audio player, and change ID3 tags according to your instructions.
7. 4K YouTube to MP3
The chances are that you’re already familiar with the company behind this YouTube to MP3 converter because you’ve used their YouTube video downloader application, called 4K Video Downloader. Well, 4K YouTube to MP3 is really just a modified version of 4K Video Downloader, equipped with a handy audio player and several other useful features intended to help you manage your downloaded MP3 files, such as the option to transfer downloaded tracks automatically into iTunes.
In addition to YouTube, this application also supports Soundcloud, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Flickr, Metacafe, and Tumblr. It can even extract audio tracks from videos embedded on random web pages, but don’t expect this feature to work all the time because some websites go to great lengths to make it difficult to download videos from them.
8. VidPaw
Available for Android devices and Mac computers, VidPaw is a video downloader with support for over 1,000 sites, including YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo, NicoNico, VLive, and TED. It can convert downloaded videos into a variety of audio file formats and work as a YouTube to MP3 converter.
The macOS version of VidPaw has a beautiful user interface that would make even Steve Jobs proud. The Android version isn’t nearly as polished, but it still gets the job done, making things easier for you by automatically detecting copied video links. Both versions of VidPaw are free downloads with thousands of 5-star user reviews singing praise to them.
9. Airy
Airy is a YouTube to MP3 converter for Windows and macOS that integrates with all popular web browsers, which allows it to instantly catch videos you want to download. When downloading a YouTube video with Airy, you can simply choose to extract audio from it and avoid having to download a huge video file, only to convert it into a small MP3.
In addition to individual YouTube videos, Airy can also download entire YouTube playlists in SD, HD, and Ultra HD quality. However, this feature is available only in the paid version of Airy, which costs $19.95 per license. The free version downloads only the first two items from a YouTube playlist or channel.
10. Save to MP3
Save to MP3 is one of the youngest YouTube to MP3 converters around, but there are many reasons why it deserves a place on this list. For starters, it offers Firefox and Chrome addon that lets you download and convert videos from YouTube with one click. The plugin is completely free, and you can use it without any limitations.
If you would rather avoid installing a web browser plugin you may use just a few times a month, you can also use the online version of Save to MP3, which works just like any other online YouTube to MP3 converter. Make sure to check out the Top Result page, which displays the most downloaded YouTube videos.
