Paste your YouTube link
YouTube to MP3 Converter
Paste a link and ytmp3 turns a YouTube video into an MP3 you can keep. It takes one press: the video is looked up, the audio is built, and the download starts on its own when it is ready. There is no account to create, nothing to install, and no limit on how many links you put through it.
The converter runs in the browser you already have open. An Android phone, an iPhone, a Windows laptop, a Mac, a Chromebook — the page behaves the same way on all of them, so there is no app to keep updated and nothing that only works on one machine.
How to convert a YouTube video to MP3
- Open YouTube and find the video you want the audio from.
- Copy its link: the share button on a phone, the address bar on a computer.
- Paste the link into the field at the top of this page.
- Leave the switch on MP3 for audio, or move it to MP4 if you want the picture too.
- Press the button. The video is looked up and the file starts building straight away — there is nothing else to press.
- Watch the button fill. The download starts on its own the moment it reaches 100%.
Files land wherever your browser normally puts downloads. On Windows and on a Mac that is the Downloads folder. On an iPhone it is the Files app, under On My iPhone and then Downloads. On Android, look in Files or Downloads. If your browser is set to ask where to save, it will ask.
Downloading YouTube MP3 files on a phone or a laptop
The same page does both, and it does not care which you are holding. On a phone the field sits under your thumb and the paste button fills it from the clipboard, so it is two taps once you have copied the link out of the YouTube app. On a laptop it is a paste and a click.
Nothing has to be installed to convert with. There is no downloader app, no browser extension to approve, and nothing asking for permissions it should not need. The work happens on a server and comes back as an ordinary download, which is why it behaves the same on a Chromebook, an old Android and a locked-down work laptop.
One thing worth knowing on an iPhone: Safari saves downloads into the Files app rather than into Music. Move the MP3 across afterwards if you want it in your music library.
MP3 or MP4 — which one should you choose?
Choose MP3 when the sound is the only part you need. A song, a podcast episode, a lecture, a language lesson, an interview you want to listen to on the way to work: none of them need the picture, and an MP3 takes a fraction of the space. It plays on every phone, every laptop, every car stereo and every cheap speaker made in the past twenty years, which makes it the safest file to keep.
Choose MP4 when the picture matters — a recipe you need to watch, a repair walkthrough you follow step by step, something you want to show to someone standing next to you. The sound is already inside the MP4, so you are not left assembling two files.
You can convert the same link both ways. Fetch the MP3, move the switch, and fetch the MP4 as well; there is nothing to pay and no counter running down.
What quality do the files come back at?
Audio comes back as an MP3, the format every phone, laptop and car stereo already knows what to do with. Video comes back at 360p. There is no quality menu to work through: one setting for each format, chosen so the file is ready quickly and finishes downloading even on a patchy connection.
360p is a deliberate trade. A higher resolution means a much larger file — the same clip can be ten or twenty times the size — and on a phone screen, held at arm's length, most of that detail never reaches your eye. A 4K download that dies at sixty per cent on mobile data is worth less than a modest one that finishes. If a video only exists at a lower resolution than that, you get the best the upload actually has.
How to convert YouTube to MP3 legally
The honest answer is that it depends on the video, not on the tool. Copyright in a video belongs to whoever made it, and YouTube's own terms do not permit most of what is on the platform to be downloaded. No converter can grant you a right the copyright owner has not given.
You are on solid ground with your own uploads, with work published under a Creative Commons licence that allows it, with material that has entered the public domain, and with anything you have the owner's permission to take. Plenty of channels release their audio deliberately — podcasts, lectures, government recordings, artists giving music away.
Beyond that, check what the licence actually says before you download rather than after. Rules differ from country to country, and listening to something yourself is treated differently from passing it on almost everywhere. If a particular download matters enough to worry about, it matters enough to ask someone qualified where you live. What this site will and will not do is set out in the terms of use, and rights holders can find how to send a claim.
Is ytmp3 free?
Yes. ytmp3 does not ask for a card, an email address or a sign-up, and there is no paid tier holding a better version back. You are not asked to install an extension or a desktop client either — everything happens on the page you are reading.
There is no daily cap. Convert one file or convert fifty; nothing changes and nothing slows down to sell you a way past it.
Questions people ask
How do I convert YouTube to MP3 legally?
By starting with a video you have the right to download. Your own uploads, anything published under a Creative Commons licence that allows it, work in the public domain, and anything you have the copyright owner's permission to take are all safe ground. Podcasts, lectures and government recordings are often released deliberately. For everything else, copyright belongs to whoever made the video and YouTube's terms do not permit most of it to be downloaded — the tool cannot give you a right the owner has not, so check the licence before you paste the link.
How do I convert a YouTube video to MP3?
Copy the video's address from YouTube, paste it into the field at the top of this page, leave the switch on MP3 and press the button. The video is looked up and the audio starts building immediately — there is no second button to find. When the progress reaches 100% the download begins on its own.
How do I download a YouTube MP3 on my phone?
Exactly the same way as on a computer. Tap Share under the video in the YouTube app, tap Copy link, come back here and use the Paste button in the field. Nothing needs installing. On Android the file lands in Downloads; on an iPhone it goes to the Files app, under On My iPhone and then Downloads, and you can move it into your music app from there.
Do I have to install an app or an extension?
No. There is no app, no browser extension and no desktop client. The conversion happens on a server and arrives as an ordinary download, which is why it works the same on a Chromebook, an old Android phone and a work laptop you are not allowed to install software on.
Do I need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for and no email address to hand over. Paste a link and go.
Does this cost anything?
Nothing. There is no paid tier, no trial that runs out and no cap on how many files you convert. There is also no counter quietly counting down to one.
Is ytmp3 safe to use?
There is nothing to install, so there is no installer to go wrong. The page sets no tracking cookies, runs no analytics and has no advertising network on it, and the only thing it stores on your device is whether you chose the light or the dark theme. The link you paste is used to fetch the file and is not kept. The privacy policy sets all of that out in detail, and everything in it can be checked against how the page behaves.
What kind of YouTube link can I paste?
Any of them. A normal watch address, a youtu.be short link, a Shorts link, a live link or an embed link all work, with or without the https:// on the front and with or without tracking parameters on the end. The one thing the field will not take is a bare video id on its own — it asks for a link, and accepting loose eleven-character strings would hide typos rather than catch them.
Why did my YouTube link not work?
Almost always because of the video rather than the link. Private videos, unlisted ones you do not have the address for, age-restricted videos, members-only uploads and anything the uploader has blocked from being fetched will all come back as a failure, and region-locked videos can fail too. If the address opens normally in a browser and still will not convert, send it to us and we will look.
How long does a conversion take?
Usually seconds. A short clip is typically ready in under ten; a feature-length video takes a few minutes, because the file has to be built before it can be sent. The button shows the percentage as it goes and the download starts by itself at 100%, so there is nothing to watch for.
Can I convert a whole playlist or channel at once?
No. It is one video at a time, on purpose — batch downloading is where a tool like this stops being a convenience. Paste a playlist address and the converter takes the single video it points at, if it points at one.
Can I choose the quality?
No, and that is on purpose. Audio comes back as an MP3 and video at 360p, so there is no menu to work through and nothing to get wrong. 360p keeps the file small enough to finish downloading on a phone; if the upload was never even that big, you get the best the source actually has.
Do you keep the links I paste?
No. The address is passed to the conversion service to look the video up and is not written to a database or kept afterwards. There is no account, no analytics and no tracking cookie, so there would be nothing to attach a link to even if it were kept.
Where does the file go after I download it?
Into your device's Downloads folder in almost every case. On an iPhone that means the Files app, under On My iPhone and then Downloads. If you have told your browser to ask before saving, it goes wherever you point it.