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How to Convert YouTube to MP3 (Free, No Ads)

Extract the audio from any YouTube video — or an entire playlist — as an MP3 at up to 320kbps. This uses a desktop app rather than an online converter, which removes the two things that make web converters painful: the upload/processing queue, and the ads.

Why not just use an online converter?

Online YouTube-to-MP3 sites work, but they share a set of constraints. Your request goes through someone else's server, so there's a queue and a length cap (often 10–15 minutes, which rules out mixes, sets and podcasts). Most are funded by aggressive ad networks and pop-unders. Batch conversion is usually unavailable, and quality is frequently capped at 128kbps regardless of what the source offers.

A desktop tool converts locally: no queue, no length limit, no upload, and the audio never touches a third-party machine. The trade-off is that you install software rather than opening a tab — which is why it's worth checking that the software is open-source and inspectable, as PurffleGrab is.

Step by step

1. Install

Download the latest release for Windows, macOS or Linux. FFmpeg and yt-dlp ship inside the installer, so there are no separate dependencies to set up and no Python to install.

2. Paste a link — or search

Paste any YouTube URL and click Analyze. No link handy? Use the Search tab to find videos by name inside the app, tick the ones you want, and send them straight to the downloader.

3. Choose Audio only → MP3

Switch to Audio only and pick MP3, or click the MP3 320 preset to set format and bitrate in one go. Bitrate guidance is below.

4. Download

Click Download. Live progress, speed and ETA are shown throughout, and the finished file can be opened, revealed in its folder, or played in the built-in player without leaving the app.

Searching YouTube inside PurffleGrab to convert videos to MP3 without needing a link — Searching YouTube in-app — pick results and convert them to MP3 directly.

Which bitrate should you pick?

Bitrate	Size per 4-min track	Best for
320 kbps	~9.6 MB	Music you care about. Effectively indistinguishable from the source stream.
256 kbps	~7.7 MB	A sensible balance for large libraries.
192 kbps	~5.8 MB	Casual listening on phones and earbuds.
128 kbps	~3.8 MB	Podcasts and talks. What most online converters cap you at.
64 kbps	~1.9 MB	Audiobooks and long spoken-word recordings.

One thing worth knowing: YouTube's own audio is already compressed, typically around 128–160kbps AAC. Exporting at 320kbps MP3 will not add detail that isn't in the source — it just avoids throwing any more away. 320 is the right choice for archiving; anything above it is wasted space.

Beyond single videos

Whole playlists at once

Paste a playlist URL and every video is listed for individual selection. Downloads run up to six at a time.

Skip the sponsor segments

Turn on SponsorBlock to strip sponsor reads, intros, outros and self-promotion out of the audio automatically, using the community segment database.

Split a long mix by chapter

Split by chapters writes one file per chapter marker — the practical way to turn a two-hour DJ set or a full album upload into individual tracks.

Grab just one section

Set a start and end time under Clip / trim to extract only the part you want, rather than converting the whole video and editing afterwards.

Troubleshooting

Downloads suddenly started failing

YouTube changes its internals regularly. Settings → Update engine fetches the newest yt-dlp and fixes the overwhelming majority of sudden breakages.

The MP3 has no title or artist

Enable Embed title & artist. YouTube metadata is much messier than Spotify's, so tags come from the video title and channel — use the Rename files tool or the player's tag editor to tidy them.

Windows SmartScreen blocks the installer

The build isn't code-signed, since a certificate costs several hundred dollars a year for a free tool. Choose More info → Run anyway. The full source is on GitHub if you'd rather build it yourself.

Can I convert files I already have?

Yes — the Convert tab takes any local audio or video file and converts between MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, Opus, OGG, AAC, MP4, WebM and MKV. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Is there a length limit?

No. Conversion happens on your own machine, so an eight-hour stream archive works the same as a three-minute song.

Is this legal?

Downloading videos generally breaches YouTube's terms of service, and converting copyrighted music you haven't licensed may infringe copyright where you live. Clearly legitimate uses include your own uploads, Creative Commons and public-domain material, and content the rights holder permits you to keep offline. You are responsible for how you use the tool.