Forum Discussion
Recommend a best free youtube mp3 converter for Windows 11
Hello everyone, I am going to take a month-long cruise recently. Since there is no network at sea, I want to download some MP3 audio in advance for offline listening. I now have some YouTube videos that I want to convert into audio files, but I have tried some online tools, but I always feel that there are too many ads, the conversion speed is slow, and the sound quality is not ideal.
I need a free YouTube MP3 converter with the following requirements:
- Can batch download audio to save time
- Support high-quality audio output without losing sound quality
- No ads or restrictions, preferably an offline tool
Because there will be no network for the next month, I want to download some of my favorite songs and audio as much as possible so that I can listen to them safely on the cruise. Does anyone have any tools that you have used and recommend? Thank you very much for your help! 🙏
16 Replies
- JaxonRyderIron Contributor
The command line youtube to mp3 converter is not recommended, especially for entry level users.
This type of youtube to mp3 converter too need to enter commands manually is not friendly to users who are not familiar with the terminal (CMD/PowerShell). Errors can cause downloads to fail, and error messages are not easy to understand (e.g. coding errors, missing dependencies).
Need to install Python and configure environment variables. May require additional installation of FFnmpeg (for video merging or transcoding), adding complexity. Ordinary users only need to simply download it, but the command line tool provides a lot of parameters (e.g. subtitle grabbing, format selection), which increases the learning cost instead.
Downloading tools from third-party repositories may carry risky code (especially unofficial modified versions). Some commands require administrator privileges, which is a security risk.
In short, it is more safe and convenient for desktop youtube to mp3 converter!
- Timothy310Iron Contributor
In addition to yt--dllp, there are several simple youtube to mp3 methods. Here is one for you:
If you have downloaded YouTube videos (such as .mp4 format), you can use fffmmpeg to extract the audio and convert it to MP3. fffmmpeg is a very powerful command line tool that can handle various video and audio formats.
Install fffmmpeg (if it is not installed yet):
bash brew install fffmmpegExtract audio and convert to MP3: Assuming you have downloaded the video file, then use the following command to extract the MP3 audio:
bash fffmmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -ar 44100 -ac 2 -ab 192k -f mp3 output.mp3
This command will extract the audio from the video and convert it to MP3 format.If you prefer the command line, yt--dllp and fffmmpeg can help you easily.
- AspenFrostIron Contributor
You can convert youtube to mp3 by recording the audio while playing the youtube videos. This can be done with the free PowerPoint app on Windows 11.
1. Start PowerPoint and create a new blank presentation.
2. Click “Insert” in the top menu bar → find the "Screen Recording" button (icon is a red dot) in the Media group.
3. Drag the mouse to select the area you want to record (full screen or customized range is supported).
4. Click the "Record" button in the control bar (or press Win + Shift + R) and count down 3 seconds to start.
5. Press Win + Shift + Q to stop recording. Click anywhere on the screen to pause/resume (supported by PPT 2019 and above).
6. After recording, the video will be automatically inserted into the current slide.
7. Right-click on the video → choose "Save Media As" → choose the path and format (default is .mp4)
8. Go to the default video saving folder and convert the recorded videos to mp3.
This is a totally free way without using youtube to mp3 converter at all. However, you need to convert and edit the mp3 audio.
- TomilsonwSilver Contributor
If the video has multiple audio streams or the video and audio are separated, you really need to find the right audio file to youtube to mp3. At this time, the command line method will be more convenient. You can try using yt--dllp, which can accurately extract audio files and even help you convert directly from YouTube to MP3.
âś… Use the command line tool yt--dllp to youtube to mp3:
Install yt--dllp: First, make sure you have Homebrew installed (if not, install it first). Then run in the terminal:
bash brew install yt--dllpDownload audio with yt--dllp: Open the terminal and use the following command to download audio and convert to MP3:
bash yt--dllp -x --audio-format mp3 "YouTube video link"This command will extract the audio and automatically convert it to MP3 format. -x means extract audio, and --audio-format mp3 specifies the output format as MP3.
Batch download: If you have multiple videos that need to download audio, you can put the links in a text file and then use this command to batch download:
bash yt--dllp -a links.txt --audio-format mp3This method is super fast, and you don't have to worry about separating the video and audio streams. yt--dllp will automatically grab the correct audio stream for you. Youtube to mp3 is that simple, no need to rely on third-party tools, just get it done through the command line!
- ElliotRobinsonIron Contributor
Let me tell you how I convert YouTube to MP3 using the browser developer tools. This method is a little technical, but you definitely don’t need to install any additional tools, you can do it with just your browser. If you want to download MP3s directly from YouTube without relying on third-party tools, this method works great!
- Open the YouTube video: First, open the video you want to convert YouTube to MP3.
- Right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect or press Ctrl + Shift + I (Cmd + Option + I on Mac).
- This will open the DevTools window.
- In the DevTools window, click the Network tab.
- Refresh the page and play the video. You will see some files start loading, usually audio files will be in .m4a or .mp4 format.
- Find the audio file under the Network tab, right-click and select Copy link address.
- Open a new browser tab, paste the link you copied, and press Enter. The audio file will start downloading, and you can save it as MP3 or other formats.
With this method, you can directly convert YouTube to MP3 without any additional software tools, relying entirely on browser developer tools.
Although the process is a little cumbersome, as long as you master it, you can extract your favorite audio at any time!
- GaissnbunIron Contributor
If you subscribe to YouTube Premium, you can actually use its offline feature to achieve YouTube to MP3 converter. Although it downloads the entire video, you can listen to the audio directly without an Internet connection. The specific steps are as follows:
- Subscribe to YouTube Premium: First, you need to subscribe to YouTube Premium so that you can enjoy the download function.
- Download the video: Open the YouTube video you want to download and click the download button below the video. You can choose different qualities. Although YouTube does not provide an option to download the audio (MP3) directly, you can choose a lower quality so that the audio can also meet the requirements.
- Offline viewing: After downloading, you can watch the video and extract the audio without an Internet connection. Although it is a video format, you can actually listen to the audio content offline without an Internet connection.
Although this method cannot directly convert youtube to MP3, you can achieve a similar effect through YouTube Premium, which is especially suitable for people who need to listen to songs or lectures offline. If you need a real YouTube to MP3 conversion, you still need to use a third-party tool.