Top 15 Free YouTube to MP4 & MP3 Converters Online Tools (2024)

How to save your favorite videos and music to your devices from YouTube? Due to Internet or local policies, some regions are unavailable to access YouTube streams. Thus, to save videos from YouTube to MP4 or MP3 offline, the universal formats, is a foolproof method.

YouTube enables you to free download your uploaded YouTube videos to MP4, in either 720P or 360P, to an SD card. And you can pay for a YouTube Premium account to download other creators’ videos, viewing them on YouTube’s Downloads page. But you need to reconnect YouTube to confirm your premium membership every 30 days, otherwise the downloaded video will be removed.

Sounds complicated and full of restrictions? There are safe ways to convert videos from YouTube to MP4 or MP3 for free. This article will walk you through the optimal solutions and help you find your preferred YouTube to MP4/MP3 converter.

Why Convert YouTube to MP4 & YouTube to MP3?

“Can I download videos and audio from YouTube via its official site or app?” Absolutely, there are a lot of limitations, which are discussed above. So, to convert videos from YouTube to MP4 or MP3 is the best try, and Why?

Here are the reasons.

Why convert?

1. YouTube doesn’t allow randomly downloading videos to local devices, and it re-encodes videos to protect the intellectual property rights of creators. Surely, fair use is legal.
2. Format conversion can easily transfer YouTube videos into usable files, which is a simple process, easy to operate, and most converters are free to use.

Why MP4 and MP3 formats?

MP4 videos and MP3 audio are widely-used on multiple platforms, most media players and devices, which are convenient for transmission quickly.

MP4, a container format, can store audio, images, and subtitles. Its strong compression results in smaller file sizes, lossy, but also retains high video quality.

MP3, a popular ubiquitous audio format, provides a high-quality, smaller file size, lossy but good enough bitrate (96-320 kbps), approved as sounding very close to CD quality.

Declaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. This article is not aimed at or encouraging users to illegally use audio and videos from YouTube.

5 Ways to Convert Videos from YouTube to MP4 & MP3

The listed 5 ways below are applied to both YouTube long-term videos and YouTube Shorts. Get to learn about each way in the following content, and check how they convert YouTube videos to MP4 and MP3 on multiple devices in the next section.

Way 1. Online YouTube to MP4 Converters

Online YouTube to MP4 converter refers to a type of a web-based tool, without compatibility or login limits. It grabs the video info that you want to download into MP4 or MP3, listing down the detailed parameters, including wide choices of video resolutions from 144P-4K, and audio bitrate from 64kps-320kps, meanwhile, the corresponding file size varies by what quality you opt for. In addition, part of YouTube to MP4 converters provide no-sound video download options.

Best Recommendations:

Way 2. YouTube to MP4 Software

YouTube to MP4 Software is a desktop YouTube to MP4 converter, equipped with more features and faster conversion speed. It supports adjustable format, video resolution, audio bitrate, file size, and so many detailed settings enable you to convert videos from YouTube to MP4 and MP3. Most desktop software will offer a free trial for the first month, and requires a paid subscription after 30 days. And its batch downloading feature saves users a lot of time and effort.

Best Recommendations:

• 4K Video Downloader
• Gihosoft TubeGet
• MiniTool uTube Downloader

Way 3. VLC Media Player

VLC is not only a free and open source multimedia player, it also works as a YouTube to MP4 converter. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, etc. When using it to convert videos from YouTube to MP4 and then convert them to MP3, there is no choice for video resolution, audio bitrate, and file size. In most practices, it takes about 20 minutes to convert a one and a half hours YouTube video to MP4. Overall, it is a good enough free YouTube to MP4 converter.

Way 4. Browser Extensions

Similar to online YouTube to MP4 converter, a browser extension is also free, easy to use, and convenient to cross-system, supporting video resolution from 360p to ultra high definition 4K. It may be a perfect selection to convert YouTube video to MP4 if there is no prohibition in Google’s policies: plug-ins that support downloading YouTube videos are usually removed.

But you can install a Foxified extension from Chrome web. It can emulate firefox extensions in Chrome, Opera and other Chromium based browsers. So accessing a YouTube video to MP4 and MP3 converter is 100% possible again. Otherwise, you can try the browser extensions from other browsers directly which can convert videos from YouTube to MP4 as well.

Best Recommendations:

• For Chrome: Addoncrop YouTube Video Downloader
• For Firefox: Video DownloadHelper
• For Safari：Airy Video Downloader Extension

Way 5. Screen & Audio Recorder

Screen and audio recorder can be a combined tool, which is a worthy alternative to convert YouTube videos to MP4 and MP3 for creators. Generally, a screen recorder is able to record audio and webcam, and also work at editing, compression, noise reducing, etc. Some screen recorders provide unlimited free trial, optional settings for format, quality, and randomly video or audio clip extraction as well.

Don’t worry about the compatibility, each device can find its suitable screen recorder easily.

Best Recommendations:

• For Windows: iTop Screen Recorder
• For Mac: Mac’s QuickTime Player
• For Android: AZ Screen Recorder
• For iPhone: DU Recorder

Also Read:

Convert Videos from YouTube to MP4 or MP3 via Online Converters

Compared to other YouTube to MP4 converters, online converter is more convenient, compatible, usable, no downloading, fast conversion, and easy to proceed.

Take en.y2mate.is for example.

Quick Guide - Convert YouTube to MP4 & Convert YouTube to MP3

Step 1. Get URL. Copy and paste the YouTube video URL in the search box.

Step 2. Select format. Once the online converter fetched the video info, choose the video resolution or audio bitrate you preferred. Also, the corresponding file size can be your reference either.

Step 3. Convert and download. Click “Convert” and wait for a while. Finally, hit the “Download” button to get a successful YouTube to MP4 or MP3 file.

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Convert YouTube Videos to MP4 and MP3 via Desktop Software

Take a 4K Video Downloader for example.

Step 1. Downloaded 4K Video Downloader from its official website and successfully installed it.

Step 2. Go to YouTube, find the video you want to convert to MP4 or MP3, and copy the URL.

Step 3. Land on the 4K Video Downloader’s interface, paste the link, and the software will automatically get the video details.

Step 4. Choose MP4 format and select the quality of the video.

Step 5. Click "Download".

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Convert Videos from YouTube to MP4 and MP3 via VLC Media Player

Download and Install the "VLC Media Player" on your device system such as Windows, Mac, Android, etc. And copy the URL of the YouTube video for preparation.

Quick Guide - Convert YouTube to MP4

Step 1. Open VLC Media Player > “Media” > “Open Network Stream”.

Step 2. Under the “Network” tab, paste the YouTube video link into the Network Protocol area, and click the “Play” button.

Step 3. Back to the interface > “Tools” > “Codec Information” > copy the info in the “Location” zone.

Step 4. Paste the info in a browser’s search bar > right-click the appeared video > “Save Video as”, and store it on your device.

Quick Guide - Convert YouTube to MP3

You have to download the YouTube video via VLC on your device first, then VLC can extract the audio in YouTube video to an MP3 file.

Step 1. Open VLC Media Player > “Media” > “Convert / Save”.

Step 2. Click “Add” to fetch the video file > “Convert/Save”.

Step 3. Under “Settings” > confirm “Audio – MP3” in the “Profile” drop-down menu.

Alt: Extract Audio from YouTube Video to MP3

Step 4. Hit “Browse” beside the “Destination File” to rename and save the file > click “Start”.

Convert YouTube Videos to MP4 and MP3 on Mac or Windows via Browser Extensions

Take Addoncrop YouTube Video Downloader for example.

Step 1. Download and Install Foxified from Chrome extension. Then Addoncrop YouTube Video to MP4 and MP3 converters can be used on Chrome browser.

Step 2. Open the video you want to convert on the browser, you’ll see a row of icons under the video, including video, music, thumbnails, subtitles, and so on.

Step 3. Click on the video or music icon, and select the video format, MP4, and the audio quality, from 144P to 1080P. Click “Download”.

Surprisingly, this YouTube to MP3 converter permits you to grab any part of the background music in this video.

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Convert Videos from YouTube to MP3 and MP4 via Screen & Audio Recorder

Using a screen recorder to convert YouTube video to MP4 and MP3 is a time-wasting way. So if you are aiming to get clips for creation, this is the least recommendation.

Take the iTop Screen Recorder for example.

Step 1. Get the recording tool. Download and install iTop Screen Recorder on your Windows PC.

Step 2. Set format. Launch the screen recorder > “Settings” > “Format” > confirm your demand on video and audio quality.

Step 3. Choose recording mode. Open the YouTube video you want to convert to MP4 or MP3.

• Convert YouTube to MP4: Select the recording area and confirm the audio resource from “Speaker” only.

• Convert YouTube to MP3: Select “Audio Only” mode and enable the “Speaker” button.

Step 4. Start and stop. Play the video > click the “Rec” button. After the recording is finished, click the red square icon to stop.

Step 5. Storage. Proceed to “Files” to locate where the recordings are stored.

FAQs About Online YouTube to MP4 & MP3 Converter

Q: Is it legal to convert YouTube video to MP4 or MP3?

A: The legality is decided by how you use the downloaded YouTube videos. Fair use is included in the copyright exceptions. If you still have concerns, you can seek permission from creators or use royalty-free media.

Q: Does converting YouTube videos to MP4 format comprise quality?

A:Yes, MP4 is a strong compression format, in order to get a smaller size for fast and cross-platform transmission. Any compression damages the file quality, but converting YouTube to MP4 already remains a good quality with the best export.

Q: How do I download a video from YouTube without a YouTube video converter?

A:

1. Log in to your YouTube Premium account.
2. Select a video and toggle the Download icon at the bottom of a video.
3. Click the Download icon and find the downloads in the Downloads area of YouTube.

The Bottom Line

To sum up, this article offers solutions and specific operations on how to convert YouTube videos to MP4 or MP3 format. There are five conversion methods introduced, including online converter, YouTube to MP4 software, VLC media player, browser extension and screen recorder. Each method comes with step-by-step instructions and best recommended tools. Read through the full article to find a proper way for you to safely convert videos from YouTube to MP4 and MP3 for legal use.