This is an updated list of 2021 best free DVD rippers for MacOS (Big Sur incl.). You can free download any free DVD ripping software for macOS and rip DVDs on Mac freely as per the detailed steps here.

1. Dvd Converter Free Download For Mac
2. Best Video Converter For Mac
3. Dvd Mp4 Converter Free Mac
4. Free Dvd Converter For Mac
5. Free Mac Dvd Converter
6. Dvd To Mov Converter Mac Free

The advent of Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ changes the way of home entertaining from physical media to digital video. So the internet is abuzz with views of physical discs heading for the graveyard, especially when Apple and Microsoft gradually phased out DVD drives from Mac and Windows. Ah, there is a U-turn. You can revive your movie library by digitizing them with the help of a DVD ripper for Mac.

Any Video Converter Free for Mac is a free tool that can convert movies to AVI, FLV, MPG, MP4, 3GP, etc., and edit movies and create files for portable devices including iPad, iPhone, iPad, Samsung smartphones, etc. The following tutorial tells you how to use this program correctly. Free DVD to MP4 Converter. Free DVD to MP4 Converter from Freemake. DVD Converter (DVD Ripper) is your best partner to convert DVDs to most popular video formats on Mac OS X. It also helps to convert DVD and playback on iPad, Apple TV, iPhone, iPod with high quality. 7x24 email support. All your questions will be replied within 24 hours or shorter. Contact email: support@seasky.co. IOrgsoft Free DVD Maker for Mac. It is a dedicated MP4 to DVD converter free program. IOrgsoft Free DVD Maker for Mac is time conscious because of supports batch import and conversion of video files. Also, burn videos to a wide range of DVD formats like DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD+RW.

Ideally, a good DVD ripper can extract digital files from DVDs to hard drive in such a way to free up space in your room and protect cherished discs against scratch or damage. It further extends the viewing option to your Macbook, iMac, iPhone, iPad, or any other media players. Therefore, you won't drop the DVD in the disc drive, download an MPEG2 decoder, or take along the bulky DVDs any more. For that reason, we handpicked a list of 10 best free DVD ripper software for Mac, at no cost at all. Keep reading.

Download Best yet 100% Free DVD Ripper for Mac

MacX DVD Ripper Free - Convert any DVD without a Hitch! [Most Recommended by Users]

• Copy and digitize any DVD to MP4, MKV, MOV, H.264, HEVC, ISO, etc.
• Convert DVD content for playing on Mac, Hard drive, TV and mobile devices.
• Unique! Support any new DVDs, 99-title DVDs, damaged DVDs, etc.
• Hardware acceleration supported: It takes 5 mins Only to rip a full DVD with original quality.

Top 10 List of Free DVD Rippers for Mac

What Is the Best DVD Ripper for Mac

There are plenty of free DVD ripping software for Mac, which claims to rip any DVDs to any formats, say DVD to MP4, MOV, MPEG, H.264, etc. But most often, you endure a whole day long sitting aside your Macbook, trying to get the contents off DVDs yet find it crashes constantly, makes scratching high frequency sounds, gets choppy video on output, or keeps giving messages like no valid source found, etc. Therefore, you shall take 'something' into consideration prior to download a free Mac DVD ripping software. Here are the 5 decisive criteria that make up the best one.

macOS Compatibility: macOS Big Sur and M1 Macs weed out 32-bit apps, causing many non-Apple apps incl. DVD rippers hang at launch. So make sure you download a 64-bit DVD ripper on Mac if you've upgraded to Catalina and Big Sur.

Fast Speed: Some DVD converters rely on CPU while some others can accelerate the speed twice or more with GPU's concurrent computing. If you have hundreds of DVDs to be digitized, choose a DVD ripper with GPU acceleration enabled.

High Quality: DVD transcoding involves in codec compression that leads to quality degradation inevitably. Good DVD ripping software manages to create high-quality movie file with almost imperceptible loss of quality (preferably the bitrate is around 1500kbps), by virtue of advanced video transcoding kernel.

Ease to Use: Great tools will feature intuitive interface, with features that are clearly marked and locally placed, leaving little room for guesswork. Preferably, Mac users can go DVD to digital process within 3 clicks, regardless of the computer skills.

DVD decrypting ability: DVD studios adopt copy protection schemes, incl. well-known CSS and region code, to prevent illegal redistribution of commercial DVDs. When facing with the schemes, free DVD rippers no longer hold water but end up with errors like halfway encoding, unwatchable rips, etc. Click to see the complete DVD ripping errors & fixes >>

So the ability to defeat encryption codes is a key factor to consider when searching for a good DVD ripping software for Mac.

No.1 - MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition

MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition is a free DVD for Mac (macOS Big Sur) that offers excellent DVD ripping performance. What makes it the top way to rip a DVD on Mac is its ability to read DRM-protected discs. It supports almost all the common and latest encryption schemes on the market, including CSS, Region Code, RCE, ARccOS, Disney X-Project DRM, etc. No third-party tools or extra actions required.

It can freely convert DVDs to HEVC, MOV, M4V, H.264, MKV, AVI, ISO, any other formats you need. With just clicks, you can watch DVD movies on QuickTime, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, other mobiles, TVs, or save DVDs on SSD, NAS, USB, cloud storage. There is a full range of basic editing features to let you cut, crop, merge, add subtitles, etc. 4 unique DVD backup modes are provided for those who want to save a lossless DVD copy.

With GPU acceleration, hyper-threading, and multi-core CPU techs, ripping DVD on Mac is super fast. On a newer MacBook or iMac, it's able to rip a full DVD to MP4 in 5-10 minutes. That's about 300% the speed of Handbrake. The High-quality engine and De-interlacing engine are built-in to produce remarkably high quality.

Free download the DVD ripper on Mac >>
Free download the DVD ripper on Windows >>

No.2 - iSuper DVD Ripper

iSuper DVD Ripper is a useful tool to convert homemade DVDs on MacBook Pro, Air, iMac. It's safe and free to download from the Mac App Store. You can use it to rip non-protected DVDs to MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, FLV, M4V, HD MP4, HD AVI, HD MKV, HD WMV, and extract the DVD audio in MP3, AAC, WMA, etc.

For un-encrypted DVDs, iSuper DVD Ripper is very helpful to extract the contents from the disc, add some simple video effects, and convert to different output formats. If you want more features to, for example, rip DVDs with copy protections or make an intact copy of DVD in ISO image or DVD folder, you will need to purchase its upgrade version at $26.25.

How do I rip a DVD to my Mac for free?

1. To rip DVD on Mac with iSuper DVD Ripper, download it from the Mac App Store. It may require your Apple ID or tough ID to finish the download. Then start the free ripper.
2. Insert the disc to the Mac drive or an external disc drive, click the Load Disc button on the top to import the disc.
3. Select the DVD chapter you want to rip and click on the menu profile to select an output format.
4. You can crop, edit, adjust the video settings if needed. Once finished, select an output folder on your Mac and click the Convert button to start ripping the DVD on Mac.

No.3 - HandBrake

Handbrake is an open-source DVD ripper for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It can freely convert DVD to MP4 and MKV in H.265, H.264, H.265 MPEG-4 and MPEG-2, VP8, VP9, and Theora. There are several profiles for Apple, Android, Roku, PSP, Xbox, Web, etc. Handbrake only rips DVD that is homemade or unprotected. It cannot rip commercial DVDs without third party-tool like VLC or DVD decrypter, not to mention the Disney newer protections.

Handbrake is one of the best free choices to rip a DVD to MP4 on Mac. Why? Because it supports AMD VCE, Apple VideoToolbox, Intel Quick Sync Video, and NVIDIA NVENC GPU acceleration for H.264/HEVC encoding. Generally, Handbrake auto enables HW acceleration for DVD ripping tasks and switches to pass 2 for better encoding. That means Handbrake will rip DVDs to MP4 fast on a Macbook or iMac equipped with a powerful video card.

How do I use Handbrake to rip a DVD on a Mac?

1. Go to its official site to download and install the freeware. Handbrake works with Mac OS X 10.12 to Big Sur.
2. Insert DVD disc into Mac's DVD drive and run Handbrake. Click the Source button to load the DVD. To rip protected DVDs, download libdvdcss on Mac to remove the CSS.
3. Click 'Browse' to set where you want to save the output files. Then click 'Presets' and select an output format.
4. What's the best setting for Handbrake ripping a DVD? Unless you aim for a target filesize or speed, we recommend you use Constant Quality with an RF of ~21, Contant Frame Rate, Very Slow encode speed, High Encoder Profile, and 3.1 Encoder Level.
5. Apply other filters if needed. Once finished, click 'RUN' to rip DVDs for free on Mac now.

Tutorial: download Handbrake for Mac to rip DVD movies >>

No.4 - MakeMKV

To rip protected DVDs on Mac for free, MakeMKV is among the top solutions. It's an easy free DVD/Blu-ray ripper for Mac, Windows, and Linux to free rip DVD to MKV format. MakeMKV remuxes the movie content from DVD MPEG2 to MKV without affecting the quality, reserving all video/audio tracks and subtitles with meta-information. That also means the whole DVD to MKV converting is pretty fast. Therefore, MakeMKV is your premium choice to backup and store your movie contents on your hard drive, NAS or USB.

However, the output MKV files tend to be really big in size. Normally, a converted DVD movie takes 6 GB on the hard drive and a Blu-ray movie takes 30 GB. This is not good especially when you import the DVD movie into iPhone, iPad, devices with limited storage. In addition, don't expect the ability to customize the DVD video.

How do I rip a DVD on Mac with MakeMKV?

1. Free download MakeMKV on Mac. It's completely free to rip a DVD disc to Mac during the beta-testing phase, and if you want to decrypt Blu-Ray disc, you will need to pay $50.
2. Open the software and insert the disk. It accepts both DVD and Blu-Ray discs. Then click 'Open Disc' to load in the information.
3. MakeMKV will scan and identify the titles correctly and pop up a list of disk chapters. Choose the chapter, normally the longest and biggest title.
4. Select a folder on Mac to save the output MKV files and click 'Make MKV'. It shows a fast DVD to digital processing speed on Mac, with an average of 30 minutes to rip Blu-ray disc. The output MKV keeps high video and audio quality, but MKV file is enormous (6.73GB MKV file for a 7.84GB DVD in our test).

No.5 - VLC

Among the many ways to rip a DVD on a MacBook Pro, Air, or iMac, there is no doubt the easiest one. Whether you're on Mac, Windows, Mac, Linux, and even mobiles, chance that you have VLC player installed on your system. VLC is not the most powerful DVD ripper for Mac, but it can get the job done. It offers a handy option to convert DVDs to H.264, H.265, MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, DIVX, H.263, VP8, WMV, MJPEG, Theora, and Dirac.

Like Handbrake, VLC itself supports homemade DVDs only. The good news is that you can use the extra library to decode a protected DVD with VLC. On Mac computer running El Capitan and later, you need to open the Terminal window by hitting Command + Space keys and execute the command brew install libdvdcss to download and install the library (http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.11/macosx/libdvdcss.pkg).

How do I rip a DVD on Mac with VLC?

1. Free download VLC on Mac if you haven't installed it. It works on Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later.
2. Insert the DVD to Mac and open VLC. On the top menu bar, click File and select Open Disc. It has no problem loading any non-protected DVDs. For commercial DVDs, you need to download libdvdcss, or it'll keep recording the menu video repeatedly.
3. At the bottom left corner, check the box forStream output and click the Setting button.
4. First, click Browse and a window will pop up to let you name the converted DVD and select an output folder on Mac to save it. Next, open the drop-down menu at the Encapsulation Method and choose an output format. You can rip DVD to QuickTime for Mac. Below are some basic options for video and audio settings.
5. Then click Open to convert DVD on Mac with VLC. See the detailed guide on ripping DVD with VLC on Mac.

No.6 - MacTheRipper

MacTheRipper, also called for MTR, has long been a popular tool that helps Mac users to create backup copies of DVDs. It has many versions, and MacTheRipper V2.6.6, V3, and V4 are the most downloaded versions. You should note that only Version 2.6.6 and earlier is free and supports protected DVDs (UOPs, ARccOS, RCE, CSS, APS, etc.). But it doesn't work on Mac OS X newer than Snow Leopard. You need to send gift on its official forum for a license to use MacTheRipper 3.0 and MacTheRipper 4.1.

There are 3 modes provided to rip DVDs on Mac: Auto Full Disc Extraction mode, Auto Full Disc ISO Extraction mode, and Full Disc Rip And Rebuild mode. You can't use it to convert a DVD for QuickTime, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, other devices as it only extracts DVD and won't convert DVD to video. It's the best choice to save a DVD backup copy on Mac hard drive for later burning.

How do I rip a DVD on Mac with MTR?

1. Download the latest version of MactheRipper on your Mac, install it for ripping DVD on Mac.
2. Insert your DVD disc into your Mac and launch the Mac The Ripper application.
3. MTR will detect and scan titles in the disc. If RCE Region Protection was detected, it will ask you to modify the 'RCE Region' number. The RCE Region should be set to the region the DVD was purchased in. For example, the US is Region 1, while Europe is Region 2.
4. Click Extract to starting ripping DVD on Mac with MacTheRipper. The converted DVD will be saved as a folder on Mac.

No.7 - FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a powerful, free and open-source command-based project used to handling videos, including ripping DVDs on Mac. FFmpeg supports most video formats, from the most obscure ancient formats up to the latest ones. The libavcodec, libavutil, libavformat, libavfilter, libavdevice, libswscale and libswresample libraries contained in it can satisfy any needs when ripping a DVD on Mac.

However, the command lines require a steep learning curve, making FFmpeg an unfriendly choice for beginners. For advanced users, you can simply brew install ffmpeg GUI on your Mac, input a command line to do many flexible tasks. For example, to rip a DVD with FFmpeg, browse for the DVD files in the Finder and get the .vob file name you want to convert in the VIDEO_TS folder:

To rip DVD to MP4:
ffmpeg -i concat:VTS_02_1.VOB|VTS_02_2.VOB|VTS_02_3.VOB|VTS_02_4.VOB|VTS_02_5.VOB -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 -codec:a libvo_aacenc -ab 128 -codec:v libx264 -vpre libx264-ipod640 movie.mp4

To rip DVD to H.265:
ffmpeg -i 'concat:VTS_01_1.VOB|VTS_01_2.VOB' -vcodec libx265 new-video-h265.mp4

No.8 - Cisdem Video Converter

Cisdem Video Converter for Mac, though not free, is an all-in-one solution for various audio and video processing operations. It has a strong DVD ripper built-in to rip both homemade and protected DVDs. Most encryptions currently applied on discs are supported, including CSS, region code, RCE, RPC, UOP, and more. Simply load any disc, you can rip it to MP4, MKV, MOV, H.265 MP4, H.264 MKV, and etc. More than that, 300+ ready profiles for Apple devices, Android devices, TVs, etc. are here to make things easier.

The overall DVD ripping speed on Mac is fast with its advanced accelerating tech. You can further adjust the video parameters like resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, etc. to get the best output quality. However, it won't let you copy DVD intactly to formats like ISO image. Therefore, it can hardly reserve 100% output quality.

No.9 - DVDFab DVD Ripper

DVDFab DVD Ripper for Mac has free and paid versions. With the free version, you're allowed to rip DVDs to MKV and MP4 at 480P only. Don't expect ripping the DVD at a satisfactory speed, as the free version relies on the CPU for encoding. You may also find that newer DVDs are not supported. But if you upgrade to its paid version at $84.99, you will get a far more comprehensive Mac DVD ripping solution.

The paid version is updated with the latest encryptions. Here, you can find almost all the possible output formats or specific devices you may need. You'll have full control over settings for frame rate, output resolution, video, and audio bitrates, audio sample rate, image cropping, and many more. The DVD ripping is GPU accelerated to offer a fast conversion speed. The best part is, its unique Enlarger AI (sold separately) can be applied to upscale the DVD video from 480P to 1080P with high quality.

No.10 - Any Video Converter Ultimate

Any Video Converter Ultimate lets you rip DVD, convert videos, record screen, burn DVD, and download videos. After downloading it on Mac running on Mac OS X from 10.7 to 10.15, you can easily convert DVDs to MP4, M4V, AVI, WMV, MOV, WMA, MP3, and 200+ other formats. If you need to extract the CD music to a playable audio file, it also helps. With GPU acceleration, you don't need to worry about the ripping speed.

However, before you download the DVD ripper on Mac, there are things to note. The biggest drawback of it is the lack of support for ripping protected DVDs. To remove the DVD encryptions, you will need to download another program called DVDSmith Movie Backup. This free program can help AVC deal with encrypted discs. But it's available for Windows only. Also, avoid it if you want one click to convert DVDs to the latest devices.

How Do I Rip a DVD to My Mac for Free

The above-mentioned Mac DVD rippers are equally matched. What matter most is whether the program fits your bill. For a quality-loss DVD ripping, MakeMKV and Mac The Ripper are second to none. But if you have hundreds of discs and want to have your entire DVD library backed up onto hard drive at fast speed without exhausting your storage space, MacX DVD ripper, Handbrake, VLC, iSuper DVD Ripper are your good options.

While if the last thing you want to do is to end up with errors just because the new title comes with tricky protection scheme or the DVD is formatted unnaturally, the ultimate choice is to download MacX DVD Ripper, which not only features great DVD decryption ability, but also comes with unique level-3 hardware acceleration tech that can speed up the whole process and maintain good balance between quality and size.

You can follow the tutorial below and learn how to rip a DVD on a Mac using MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition with best balance in speed, qulaity and size.

Step 1: Insert DVD into your Mac drive

Prior to the ripping, make sure to spare some space to save the final rip. Then free download the DVD ripper on your Mac and insert your disc. Run the software and click 'Add DVD' button to load the disc. You can also convert DVD folder or ISO image to a digital format.

MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition will easily find the accurate main title. For DVDs with tough protections, MacXDVD's unique title check mechanism and DVD analysis algorithm automatically scan the title, crack severely protected DVDs and smooth the ripping process.

Free download the DVD ripper on Mac >>
Free download the DVD ripper on Windows >>

Step 2: Choose the output format

The Mac specific library also offers diversified options, ranging from back up DVD to ISO image, MKV, MPG, to convert DVD to Apple, Android, TVs, Web. Here are the further suggestions:

• To view DVD on players, phones, tablets, TVs, or so, choose digital format MP4 H.264 for better compatibility, quality and smaller file siz. With no further tweaking, it achieves an H.264 file with crisp picture.
• To play DVD on newer iPhones or iPads running on iOS 11/12, choose digital format MP4 HEVC for higher quality and smaller space.
• To save an original copy with menus and extras, copy DVD to ISO image. The disc image contains the whole data of the disc at 1:1 ratio for later burning but ha s less compatibility with media players and devices.

You can also enable the editing features, available for you to cut the commercials, merge the useful parts, add subtitles to the movie rip, etc.

Step 3: Start ripping the DVD on Mac

Click Browse button to specify the output folder and press RUN to begin DVD ripping. Just leave the rest to the DVD ripper. It will finish the process quickly.

Optional: Transfer Ripped Movies to iPad or iPhone.

After the DVD ripping, you can use Finder to transfer the ripped file to your phone or tablet. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using a USB or Wi-Fi connection. Select the device in the Finder sidebar > Movies > check the box “Sync movies onto [device name]”> choose the movie you want to sync > click Apple. Or you can rely on third-party data transfer software such as MacX MediaTrans for help.

Performance Test:

MacXDVD's ripping performance is impressive on an iMac 5K (3.2 GHz Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon R9 M380, 2048MB, on Big Sur). We tested several titles, including the classic Star Trek, and new releases Frozen 2, Venon, Incredible 2. It did a great job selecting the right title. While Handbrake, VLC or other free Mac DVD rippers, though with the help of third-party tool like libdvdcss, either popped up error message, quitted unexpectedly, or produced problematic rips.

The conversion frequency of MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition reached averagely 240 fps, twice as high as that of Handbrake. It took 12 minutes to convert the full-length Frozen 2 DVD to MP4, while we could still view web pages and do other tasks since the CPU usage remains as low as 131-134%. Bear in mind, DVD encoding speed is greatly dependant on your computer configuration. Higher config will lead to great performance.

As to the quality, MacXDVD repackages the movie content from DVD MPEG2 to MKV, which doesn't affect the output quality at all while preserving all video, audio and subtitle tracks. We also tested the DVD transcoding feature, which is known to lead to some quality loss inevitably. Fortunately, MacXDVD created a small .mp4 file with 720x480 (16:9) in 1.61GB from the 7.84GB DVD, and there wasn't any noticeable change between the source DVD and ripped file, but merely pixel-level difference.

You can definitely download MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition for a try.

FAQ about DVD Ripping

Q1. Is It Legal to Rip DVDs on Mac?

Many users who want to space-shift or format-shirt their legally purchased DVD or Blu-ray discs often concern about the legality of DVD ripping. The fact is, currently it is considered illegal to rip copyrighted DVDs in US, even if you bought the DVDs yourself. Some other countries have already made it legal. In practice, as the DVD conversion happens locally on your computer, you won't get prosecuted or caught if you don't distribute the digital copies. However, you're highly suggested to obey to the law where you live. Check if it's legal to rip copy protected DVDs in your country.

Q2. Can I Rip a DVD to My Mac with Mac Build-in App?

No. The DVD ripping process on Mac doesn't go as simple as burning, which can be achieved with Mac's built-in app like Finder or iDVD. While the former is still out of reach with Mac unless you own a third-party DVD converter software.

This is because almost all DVD movies or TV shows bought or rented are technically copyrighted and DVD rips will inevitably involve in breaking DVD copy protections, e.g. the Content Scramble System. Such action is currently unlawful in the US and UK. Apple is of course unwilling to set against law or money in consideration of continuous cooperation with U.S. studios for iTunes movies. Therefore, there is no built-in method to rip DVD to Mac. This makes it a sense to download a third-party DVD ripper for Mac instead.

Q3. How do I Rip a Protected DVD on a Mac?

For DVDs encoded with CSS or region code, you can install libdvdcss on Mac or windows to crack the DVD copy protection and then rip the DVD with Handbrake or VLC.

Chances are DVDs from major film studios like Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., etc. often impose strong protections on DVDs. These discs are deliberately placed with bad information and hide the true titles. As a result, 99% of DVD rippers for Mac will go awry like DVD won't load, encounter a large number of tracks with the same runtime, show impossibly 40gb or more of data but output just several KB.To rip the severely protected DVDs, the workaround is to resort to MacX DVD ripper that is built in DVD analysis scheme to crack Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project DRM, UOP, 99-titles, and more.

Q4. What Is the Best Format to Rip DVD to Mac?

Apple apps such as Mac's default player QuickTime, Photos, and Keynote work with many video formats, among which MP4 and MOV are well-known with the best compatibility. When digitizing DVD with free DVD ripper for Mac, many users are at a loss whether to choose MP4 or MOV.

* MP4 - Both MP4 and MOV use lossy video compression to sacrifice minimal quality for file size. MP4 is popular for streaming over the internet and playable on Mac, Windows and almost all media players, say VLC, 5KPlayer, QT, etc. But P-frames or B-frames in MP4 makes it difficult to edit.

* MOV - As MOV is originally developed by Apple for its QuickTime player, it's much friendlier in Apple ecosystem. MOV contains one or more tracks, meant to store each type of data including audio, video, subtitle, etc in a hierarchical structure, which is good for editing. So for Mac computers, to convert DVD to digital MOV for Mac QuickTime is more preferred than MP4.

Q5. Is it Prossible to Rip Scratched DVD on Mac?

DVDs are too fragile, that's why we need to backup the DVD collection. If your discs are already damaged or scratched, there are measures to remedy.

• For a bit of stretches on the surface, polish the surface with cotton balls and abrasive white toothpaste or Brasso plolish. You need to polish across the grain and do not in circular direction. This need patience.
• For deep scratches and servere damages, you can take the damaged disk to a local DVD store with a polishing machine or other places like Phoenix to resurface the badly scuffed disc. This will cost for a couple of dollars. Or if the standalone DVD player with error-recovery scheme can ignore the errors and play the DVD, you can capture the movie with a DV. But this will lost the selectable audio, subtitles streams and original menus.

Note: if the program refuses to rip a well-conditioned DVD with an error stating that there is a bad sector, it's because the DVD is protected by a copy protection scheme from Sony named ARccOS. The system deliberately mixes corrupted sectors with the correct one to mislead DVD copying software.

Need to convert a video on Mac like a breeze? Free download the best free video converter software on Mac to get started.

Your video footages come from everywhere, be it YouTube, Ins, GoPro, DJI, camcorder, screen recorder, mobile device or Windows. Yet, you can't control your video source codec or format. When it comes to play video on iMac or MacBook, QuickTime won't open or QT quits unexpectedly issue occurs. In most cases, that's because your video file is in the wrong format for Mac (MacBook/iMac) default QuickTime player. That's where free video converters for Mac make their mark.

Hunt high and low for a qualified free Mac video transcoder or instead stay here to read on the top 15 video converter freeware for macOS, with their specific pros and cons covered. If you're in a rush and have no time for every converter, just get the hang of our top pick:

Download BEST Mac Video Converter Free

MacX Video Converter features 370 video/audio codecs to convert any (4K) video to MP4, MOV, M4V, HEVC, H.264, AVI, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iMovie, QT, etc. 420+ profiles with virtually no quality degradation (High Quality Engine). 'Auto Copy' mode gives you 1:1 original quality for only format conversion (codec no change). 5X faster speed & NO input size limit!

Top 15 Video Converting Freeware for macOS

Part 1: Why Need a Video Converter for Mac?

Video conversion is a Mac video converter's bread and butter. And most free video converters for Mac does it simple and painless. Yet, that's not all you resort to them. Instead, you need a video converter for MacBook/iMac with more reasons:

You want to play all videos on your device properly

MP4, MOV, and M4V are pro-Apple ecosystem while WMV and AVI are frequently used in Windows platforms. Formats of high-definition videos shot by camcorders include DV, AVCHD, MPEG-2, H.264, MTS and others. Chances are that you want to import 4K camcorder footages into your iPhone iPad iMovie or put a media file from Windows 10 to macOS.

You want to reduce the size of HD/4K 60FPS videos

Even though Apple employed HEVC codec, 4K videos still chew up iPhone storage space quickly, not to mention videos using H.264 codec. Compressing video to reduce the amount of data will have your needs covered, whether you want to save iPhone iPad space, or transfer through Emails faster. Best video converter for Mac can convert H264 to H265, AV1, VVC with higher compression efficiency, lower parameters, or shorten video duration to reduce (4k) video size for you.

You want to upload videos online smoothly

Videos can be uploaded within allowed length, formats, codecs, aspect ratio and more. Anything incorrect will destroy the upload process. A Mac video converter will address the issues by converting video to YouTube supported MP4 H.264, shorten the video within 15 minutes, downsize video within 128GB, and change the aspect ratio to 16:9, if it isn't.

You want to edit and archive video records and downloads

Some Mac video transcoders, if not all, also help you bulk convert your records or downloads to formats recognized by your Macbook Air/Pro/iMac so as to get well archived on your macOS. They are normally equipped with basic editing features for you to cut, trim, crop, merge, rotate and add subtitles to video to turn your memorable moments into masterpiece. Follow the complete guide to edit videos on Mac >>

Without needing to go to Mac Apple Store for a reliable media converter, here we list the 15 most welcomed free Mac video converter software that features speedy video encoding and delivers a good-looking image. Below is an overview for each of them to help you better know the overall quality.

#1. MacX Video Converter Free Edition

If you have a swelling video library spanning years of 1080p downloads, rips, saved copies, or 4K records taken by your iPhone, action cam, drone, or any other camera, MacX Video Converter Free Edition is absolutely a good option for you to get a head start on the sources, especially when you want to have them well organized, playable, editable or sharable.

MacX supports 370+ codecs and formats, ranging from HEVC, H.264, MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, VOB, DivX, to AAC, MP3. It simplifies the whole converting process by providing you with as many as 420 preloaded profiles, which automatically set proper video parameters, yielding an optimal balance between quality and file size. That means you can re-encode any 4K/HD/SD video file tailored to fit your device, be it Mac, PC, TV, mobile, or media player.

The video converter for Mac is known for its dramatically fast transcoding performance, thanks to the full GPU acceleration tech. Additionally, you are allowed for precise control of video resolution, codec, bitrate, frame rate, etc, and the source video can be downsized by up to 90%, with no quality loss visually. This is especially helpful to accommodate large 4k videos or high-frame files in storage-limited phones or share them over the internet.

Fast converting speed.

Support 4k/8K video.

Includes video recorder, downloader, and editor.

Keeps a good balance between file size and quality.

Unable to convert audio files on Mac.

No DVD burning feature.

[Tutorial] How do I convert videos on Mac?

When you first launch the free media converter for Mac, you will be very pleased with its low-key and clean interface, with no overwriting or obscure options. Just free download it on your Mac and follow the steps below to start video transcoding. It works well with Apple M1 chip.

1. Import the video source by clicking the 'Add Video' button. Or just drag-and-drop the file. Batch converting is supported. You can add more than one file at a time.
2. Choose output format. MacX is perfused with 420+ device profiles that are clearly classified, from Mac-specific video, web video profile, Apple device profile to DVD profile. Select one as per your needs without further tweaking. Preferably, you can choose MP4 H.264 as the output format.
3. Opt for the destination folder via 'Browse' to save the converted file, and tap 'RUN' to begin the video conversion.

#2. Handbrake

HandBrake is hailed as one of the most favored Mac free video converters to handle pretty much anything you throw at it and to repackage into the most useful formats MP4, MKV and WebM. Though the output formats are limited (only three), the presets are numerous, from general profiles Fast 1080p 30, Super HQ 1080p 30 Surround, web Vimeo YouTube HQ 1080p/720p 60 to device Apple 2160p60 4K HEVC Surround, Apple 1080p30 Surround.

Output video quality won't let you down. Balance your quality and file size by means of Constant Quality (RF value) or Avg Bitrate on HandBrake. Read the below detailed tips on how to calculate Handbrake bitrate and adjust constant quality if needed. Also a boon for conversion speed: its support for Apple VideoToolbox will hardware encode H264 & H265 video so as to accelerate converting speed as well as shift compute burdens from CPU to GPU (lower CPU usage).

All in all, HandBrake is a decent option if you don't mind its old-fashioned yet non-intuitive interface or limited 2 output formats, alongside with lack in video editing features.

Provide a slew of customization options.

Built-in settings to improve quality and conversion speed.

Open-source and 100% free.

The interface is not overly intuitive at first glance.

Plagued by the issue of slow conversion speed.

Basic video editing features are absent.

Only hardware encoder is available for HandBrake macOS version, no hardware decoder.

[Tutorial] How to convert a video on a Mac with Handbrake?

1. To free convert video on Mac with Handbrake, load video via the 'Open Source' button (no drag-drop option).
2. Select a preset from the drop-down list. There are readymade profiles including General, Web, Devices such as Amazon, Apple, Chromecast, Roku, etc, and Matroska. Each offers detailed video resolution from 480p to 2160p and a frame rate from 25fps to 60fps, meant to suit your device screen or web upload requirement.
3. Adjust the quality settings. Handbrake provides a slew of customizable settings. For newbie users, it's OK to stick with the defaults. For advanced users, there are a lot of available options, incl. video codec, Bit rate, 2-path encoding, audio sample rate, subtitles, etc. Generally, increasing quality will make converted video take up more space on your device. For the best result, we recommend RF 20-24 for 1080p, and RF 22-28 for 2160p 4K video. For more details, check here.
4. Click Browse and select a destination where you can save your converted video.
5. Afterwards, just click the 'Start' button on the toolbar. This Mac video converter freeware's decoding & encoding engine will go into action.

1. There is no large gap between Very Fast and Fast profile or HQ and Super HD in file size, but a big difference in conversion speed. If you have a bunch of videos to convert, you'd better choose Fast if speed matters a lot to you. But if you care about the quality, go for the HQ preset.

2. Unlike HandBrake for Windows, HandBrake for macOS has no options for you to manually enable or disable hardware encoder. Instead, HandBrake for macOS will auto show up the Apple VideoToolbox hardware encoders (H264 VideoToolbox or H265 VideoToolbox) under the encoder control on the Video tab if you're running on 2015 or later Macs. Option of the underlying hardware encoder (AMD VCE or Intel Quick Sync Video) is inaccessible currently.

#3. Smart Converter

Smart Converter is the only free media converter you can download directly from Mac App Store. It is a preset-based video converter that's able to handle 100 file types and convert them quickly so you can play on Apple TV, QuickTime, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and more without any additional settings. If you don't want the fuss of additional iTunes sync, Smart Converter is a good helper, which adds the converted movies or music to iTunes automatically.

The converting speed is pretty commendable. By categorizing the conversion speeds in 4 modes: Fastest, Fast, Slow, Slowest, it immediately targets the part of your video that needs converting and leaves the rest alone. This dramatically saves converting time and avoids undertaking the unnecessary processes. There is a ceveat: Smart Converter always adds your converted files to iTunes, TV, music app. You have to upgrade to the Pro version if you want to get control over the automatic syncing.

Intelligently convert the stuff you need once you drop it.

Preloaded with profiles for various devices.

Add the converted video to iTunes automatically.

No advanced options.

No support for adding subtitles.

[Tutorial] How do I onvert a video file to Mac with Smart Converter?

1. Select the video file that you want to convert. You can either drag the file onto the program, click the Select Files, or choose File > Open or use the shortcut Command + O.
2. Choose the desired output format from the preset profile such as Apple TV, iPad, etc.
3. Click Convert. It will do the rest task.

#4. MPEG Streamclip

If you are a Mac user, you are definitely familiar with the tool, a high-quality free video converter for MPEG files, QuickTime and transport streams. It is able to export all supported formats to QuickTime, DV, AVI/DivX, and MPEG-4 with high-quality encoding.

It is additionally embedded with a reliable encoder, DivX editor, player, and url downloader, all in a single program. You can open and play most movie formats, transport streams, cut, trim and join movies, and download videos by entering the page URL. These advanced features culminate into a go-to program. However, MPEG Streamclip's confusing interface may hold you back, and you may need some time to get the hang of how things work as there are no instructions available.

Convert and play most formats.

Support online video download.

No annoying ads.

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Limited video editing options.

Newbies cannot get the hang of the controls quickly.

[Tutorial] How to transcode video files on Mac with MPEG Streamclip?

1. Launch the program on your Mac computer or laptop.
2. Click File > Open Files > select the video file you need to convert > tap the Open button.
3. Click File > choose to Export to QuickTime if you want to have the converted video played on your Mac. There are some other options available, where you can change the format to iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, AIFF, etc, change the frame size, rotate video, deinterlacing video, and more.
4. Rename the converted file and save it by tapping the Save button. Then it will begin encoding movies.

#5. VLC Media Player

VLC is a free and open-source video player that works on different platforms. It's very popular for extensive support of almost all formats without the need to download extra codec packs. In fact, a reliable video file converter is also housed in the fully-fledged media player. You can use it to decode and encode video to H.264, H.265, MPEG4, MPEG2, WMV, Android, etc. It even allows you to convert non-encrypted DVDs to digital formats. The video converting on Mac is very simple.

However, there are some limitations such as slow conversion speed. Maybe it's not the best Mac video converter, but it works for most of us and makes your video files viewable on devices like MP4 for your iPhone.

Extensive file format support.

Advanced features such as basic editing.

Create and connect to a video stream.

Editing metadata isn't straightforward.

Cannot use tags.

[Tutorial] How to convert a video file on Mac with VLC?

1. Open VLC on your Mac.
2. Click File > Convert / Stream from the drop-down list.
3. Choose the profile when the Convert & Stream window pops up. Here you are suggested to convert video to H.264 + MP3 (MP4) since it is a more broadly playable format you can rely on. Optionally, you can customize the video file, such as encapsulate the video, change video codec, frame rate, resolution, edit subtitles, and more.
4. Click Browse to save your converted file and tap Save.

#6. DivX Converter

DivX software is award-winning video software that includes three components: high-quality DivX Player, DivX Media Server, and DivX Converter. The latter is able to free convert popular video formats and Blu-ray discs into DivX, HEVC, and H.264 files up to 4K. You can even add files from Google Drive and Dropbox.

Though not very many format options, it's enough to convert videos to iPad, iPhone, Mac, most other mobiles & platforms. You can freely adjust the encoding settings like resolutions, bitrate, and more. More than that, it's also a 4K video player and media server. All of them come at no cost.

DivX offers a Pro version at $19.99, with which you have more choices on the output formats, get more conversion modes to maximize quality or prioritize speed, connect to cloud storage, enjoy ad-free products, convert non-encrypted DVDs, and get more advanced features.

The free version is decent.

4K video available.

Decent speeds.

Installation on Mac is a little bit complicated.

Ads and upsells in the free version.

#7. QuickTime Player

QuickTime is the pre-installed media player on Mac computers. But it works more than a video player. It can be used to record movie, audio and screen. And if you want to extract the audio (or music) from a video and save videos in other formats, especially for Apple devices, you don't need to install another movie converter software on Mac. QuickTime will be the handy choice for you.

It lets you export videos in 1080p, 720p, or 480p in H.264 or HEVC H.265 codec using MOV extension. (You can't convert videos to MP4 or any other formats.) Or if you only want the audio, you can easily save it in Apple MPEG4 audio.

No need to install third-party software on Mac.

It's simple and convenient.

Work with iTunes files.

No 4k option.

Slow video conversion.

#8. Any Video Converter Free

Any Video Converter, short for AVC, is one of the most useful and simple free video converter software working on Mac and Windows. It supports standard video, HD video and Ultra HD 4K video. It's able to free convert video on Mac to more than 13 video and 15 audio formats, e.g. MKV to MP4, AVI to MOV, RM to FLV, AVI to WMV, etc. For those users who don't want any interaction in parameter settings, click the device icon and there are profiles for Apple, Android, game console, and 70 profiles. But the device profiles don't get constantly updated and there is no latest iPhone, Samsung models.

You can even use it to free download online videos from websites including Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc. Then you can also customize your video before converting, add effect, adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, crop the black borders from the video, adjust image size or add external subtitles to a video. Note that it lacks the ability to rotate, trim, adjust aspect ratio, etc. You can upgrade to the Ultimate version or resort to other Mac free media converters if needed.

Support 4k video conversion.

Converting a video takes a long time.

Additional software is installed.

#9. FFmpegX

FFmpegX is a graphic user interface for macOS designed to easily operate more than 20 Unix open-source video and audio processing tools like FFmpeg, mpeg2enc, and mencoder. It works as a free video converter for Mac users to convert among different formats, including DIVX, H.264, MOV, MPEG4, AVI, 3GP, and more using mpeg2enc. In most cases, the video conversions are faster than in realtime. More than a Mac video movie converter tool, there are many other tools such as video player, DVD author, subtitle converter, bitrate calculator, video recorder, etc.

However, the GUI is not very friendly, the very first glance at the app may hold you back, especially for the non-tech savvy users. But it can be very useful once you get familiar with it. It's recommended for those who don't mind a steep learning curve.

Support a wide range of codecs and formats.

Fast and reliable.

Handle subtitles.

It's not easy for beginners to use.

Not often updated.

#10. Movavi Video Converter

Movavi Video Converter is listed as the best video converter for Mac simple because it provides a pretty intuitive interface, through which you will know how to handle it as soon as you launch the app. For novice users who are unknown of the obscure settings, the long list of preset profiles categorized in Popular, Video, Devices, Audio, Images, Custom is a good helper. That means you can directly convert the video file optimized for your device without the need to tweak the complicated parameters.

The agile video conversion speed is the top-selling point of Movavi. You can have a try for its performance by taking advantage of the 7-day trial version for free, which, however, only allows you to convert half of each video using conversion acceleration. But the constant reminders of purchasing the full license can be too much annoying.

Fast video converter for Mac.

Flexible video file size adjustment.

There is only 7-day trial version for free video conversion.

#11. Wondershare Free Video Converter

Wondershare Free Video Converter is a very versatile video converter for Mac that supports the Apple M1 processor. It's able to re-encode videos and DVDs to MOV, MP4, AVI, MP3, and other 1000+ formats with high quality. No matter you want to download online video, record screen, burn DVD, or make GIFs, Wondershare can cut the buck.

However, as a free version, it has some limitations. First, the output video comes with the watermark or audio advertisement, and if you want to transcode video to audio format, like MP3, you will need to watch the ads first. There are limits on the number or length of videos in other functions. However, you can upgrade to its premium version to get rid of the issues.

No ads or upsells.

User-friendly interface.

Support burning DVD.

Free version is limited and paid one is expensive.

#12. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free and open-source software for non-linear video editing and transcoding multimedia files. It's also a simple and powerful video converter freeware for Mac, Windows, and Linux. You can use it to convert videos from any formats into AVI, MPEG, TS, MKV, MP4, and FLV. Flexible video encoding options are built-in to let you adjust the video settings, audio parameters, encoding mode, and more. One of the best free Mac video converters for those who need a quick video converting, but not the ideal choice for 4K/HD video converting as it doesn't work well with the newer codecs like HEVC.

The best part is, it allows lossless editing by enabling the Video/Audio output copy. You can add filters, cut unwanted materials, cut down a clip, split several videos into segmentsetc. without encoding.

Offer a wealth of editing features, incl. filters, advanced interlacing, cropping, splicing, etc.

Open-source and free.

No instructions.

Slow video exporting process.

#13. Video Converter Online

As its name suggests, Video Converter Online is a web video converting tool that will convert video files, change the video format, resolution or size right in your browser. The process is easy: open the link, load the video from your local computer, select an output format, and it will convert the video for you. The free video converter for Mac lets you re-format videos to MP4, AVI, MOV, MPEG, MKV, Apple, Android, and 300+ formats.

You can upload videos up to 4GB to convert. It has no limits on the number of videos you can convert. No registration required. The only drawback is that the upload and conversion relies highly on your internet. Therefore, it's not the best video converter to convert 4K or other large-size videos on your Mac.

No need to install third-party software.

It's simple and convenient.

There is no 4k option. You cannot upscale video to 4K for higher quality.

Slow video conversion.

#14. VidConvert

VidConvert is a lightweight Mac-stylish application with a metallic gray interface. The buttons at the top and bottom toolbars are well arranged, providing everything you need to get the app working. It allows you to convert almost any type of media file. Plus, setting the video quality, either normal or high, is mandatory.

Although the output formats are not as many as the above-mentioned video converter freeware, it still optimizes the video for such devices as Mac, PC, iDevice, or even media players. There are some potential bothers. For example, you cannot preview the duration and size of the video file you add straight away. And VidConvert needs to install a Conversion Engine additional to finish the installation.

Simple and clean interface.

Add converted video straight to iTunes library.

Best Video Converter For Mac

Limited features.

Additional download from a separate site is required.

#15. Cloudconvert

As its name suggests, CloudConvert just converts video files in the cloud, without the need to install any third-party video converter software on your Macbook Air/Pro or iMac. All you need to do is to upload your file online and CloudConvert will do the rest. The web-based video converter supports to convert an array of video and audio formats.

Apart from video conversion, you can also convert other files such as documents, eBooks, images, presentations, and more. However, it's worth noting you need to opt for a subscription if you want to convert a video file larger than 1 GB in size.

Simple and no need to install additional software.

Support a wide range of file formats.

Up to 25 file conversions per day are allowed for free.

The file size is limited to 1GB.

It's a waste of time and the internet.

Summary

Now you might have your own answer about which one you favor. In short, the overall performance of MacX gets the highest mark in our top video conversion freeware Mac review. The untouched video quality plus outstanding compression ability earns it the first place here. Its flaws are small and its advantages are great. No user's remorse with this program.

Handbrake acquits itself quite well when it comes to free transcode video on Mac. It offers even more detailed profiles to let you convert video with preset parameter settings, no user interaction. That's quite thoughtful. Online video converter is convenient and simple to use, needless to install any 3rd party application. Yet, it's suitable for small-sized video (less than 500MB or 1GB). And other Mac free video converters are worth a try too. They will get your video files altered from even the most obscure format to the ones that you will have no problem to work with. Choose one to give it a whirl!

Part 3. FAQ about Mac Video Converting

1. Does Mac have a video converter?

Yes. Your MacBook Pro/Air or iMac has built-in Finder to help you transcode video files free on macOS. To use Finder for video converting, read the instructions below:

1. Launch Finder and right click on a video file inside of Finder.
2. Choose 'Encode Selected Video Files'.
3. Select the output video settings, resolution, greater compatibility or higher quality.
4. Tap 'Continue' to convert the video file you choose.

Note: Finder is the most simple way to free decode and re-encode video on macOS. Yet, it allows you to yield an resulting video file up to 1080p only. As for 4K 2160p or even 8K Ultra HD video, you can't save the original video resolution unless you resort to the above-mentioned best video converter for Mac.

2. What is the best video converter for Mac?

No fixed answer. Different strokes for different folks. If you concern quality most, a Mac video transcoder with highest possible output quality wins your thumb up. And the one with a wide range of output formats comes at the top of your converter list if output formats matter most to you. Certainly, a feature-rich video converter for Mac ingests them all, like quality, speed, input/output formats, bonus features, etc. MacX Video Converter, Movavi and Uniconverter are typical cases.

Note: if you have one Mac video converter program installed on your macOS, remember to check its type 32bit or 64bit product before you upgrade macOS to Big Sur or Monterey. Because macOS Big Sur (or later) and M1 chip Macs don't run 32-bit apps. So stay with your old operating system or upgrade your 32-bit Mac video converter to 64-bit one.

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3. How do I convert a video to MP4 or MP3 on Mac?

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Here's how to free convert a video to MP4 or MP3 on MacBook or iMac with MacX Video Converter.

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1. Load your input video or video files. Bulk conversion is supported here.
2. Choose 'MP4 (H264)' or 'MP4 (HEVC)' under General Profiles section. Or move your mouse to 'to Music' category and choose 'MP3' if you need to rip MP3 audio from video.
3. Tap 'Browse' to opt for the destination folder for resulting file storage. Then hit 'RUN' button to begin converting video to MP4 or MP3 on macOS.

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