I logged out of Apple Music on my phone for just a minute to fix an account glitch, and boom: every single downloaded track I had saved for offline listening was instantly wiped from my device. I had to re-download gigabytes of music. Sure, my playlists, library, and listening history were perfectly safe in the cloud and reappeared when I signed back in, but the sheer hassle of it made me realize something important: as long as your music is tied to a subscription app, you don't really own it.
If you want to truly liberate your library, back up your favorite tracks locally, or just prepare for the day you might cancel your subscription, you need a dedicated Apple Music ripper. Over the past few weeks, I've been testing several tools to see which ones actually deliver. Here's a rundown of the top 5 extractors I found to rip Apple Music, based on my own hands-on experience.

Quick Picks: Which Apple Music Ripper Should You Choose?
- Best Overall for Speed & Lossless Quality: DRmare Apple Music Converter — Lightning-fast 30X batch conversion with full Hi-Res bit preservation.
- Best 100% Free DIY Option: Audacity — Open-source software recording for budget users who don't mind manual setup.
- Best Multi-Platform Recorder: DRmare Audio Capture — Great for capturing audio from Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, or Tidal in one workflow.
- Best Quick Web Tool for Single Songs: AAPLMusicDownloader — Fast web downloader for quick 256k/320k grabs without installing software.
- Best Mobile & Browser Option: am-dl — Browser-based downloader built for pulling M4A albums and playlists straight to your phone
Top 1. DRmare Apple Music Converter - Best Apple Music Ripper
If you are serious about building a high-quality local library, DRmare Apple Music Converter is the one I find myself coming back to. During my testing, I found that this software is an absolute beast at ripping music from Apple Music to MP3, FLAC, AIFF, M4A, M4B, and WAV with exceptional efficiency.
It completely bypasses the need for the clunky iTunes app by using a direct-access engine for the Apple Music Web Player. What blew me away was the speed. I threw a massive Apple Music playlist at it, set the output to MP3 (you can also choose FLAC or WAV for lossless), and at its 30X batch speed, it ripped a 3-minute track in about 6 seconds. It also perfectly preserved the ID3 tags, such as album cover, title, artist info, and year.
The Catch: It's premium software. The free trial only lets you convert the first 30 seconds of each track, so you'll eventually need to drop $19.95 for a monthly license if you want to unlock its full potential.
How to Rip Music from Apple Music to MP3 at 30X Speed
- Step 1Sign in and load your playlist

- Launch DRmare on your computer and click "Sign In" at the top-right corner of the built-in web player to log into your Apple account. From there, simply browse your library, open a playlist, and click the "+" button to load all your songs into the conversion queue at once.
- Step 2Choose your preferred audio format.

- Click the "Menu" > "Preferences" > "Conversion" option to select your output settings. If you want max compatibility, pick MP3; if you want uncompressed fidelity, opt for FLAC or WAV. You can also adjust bitrates and sample rates here before clicking "OK".
- Step 3Rip Apple Music lossless

- Click the "Convert" button, and it will rip and convert Apple Music to MP3 or other formats you set automatically at 30X faster conversion speed. Once done, head to the "Converted" button to check the converted Apple Music songs.
🧐Price: Free trial; $19.95/month; $44.95/year; $89.95/lifetime
Pros
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30X batch conversion speed
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Support 6 main output formats
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Keep Lossless sound quality and full ID3 metadata
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Very intuitive built-in web player interface
Cons
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Free trial limits conversion to 30 seconds per track.
Recommends: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Top 2. Audacity - Apple Music Ripper Free
For the budget-conscious audiophiles, Audacity is a classic. It's a completely free and open-source audio editing software, and I've had it installed on my computer for years for various audio projects. However, using it as an Apple Music ripper requires some patience. Because it doesn't directly download the file, you basically have to use the loopback feature to record your computer's internal audio while the song plays.
During my tests, this meant if I wanted to rip a 5-minute Apple Music song, I had to sit there in silence and let it record for exactly 5 minutes in real-time. It's a bit tedious, and you'll have to manually type in the metadata and trim the dead air at the beginning and end of the tracks. It's a solid workaround if you have zero budget, but it's far from automated.
How to Rip Songs from Apple Music Free via Audacity
Step 1. Ensure you have the latest version of Audacity installed on your computer. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Fire up Audacity on your computer.
Step 2. For Windows: Open Audacity and go to "Edit" > "Preferences" > "Devices". Under "Recording", set the device to "Windows WASAPI". Choose the loopback option of your speakers or headphones.

For Mac: Install a virtual audio device like Soundflower or Loopback to capture the system audio. Configure the virtual audio device in Audacity under "Preferences" > "Devices".
Step 3. Open the Apple Music app to play a song you want to rip. Click the red 'Record' button to start capturing system sound. Hit the 'Stop' button to end the process.

Step 4. Choose the 'File' > 'Export' > 'Export as MP3' to save Apple Music MP3 ripping. You can also choose other audio formats in which you would like to save Apple Music.

Pros
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Include rich audio editing and trimming tools.
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Record audio from many sources
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Work on Windows, Mac, and Linux
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100% free and open-source
Cons
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A little bit complicated to use
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Real-time recording is time-consuming
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Lack of metadata preservation
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The recording process may introduce minor quality loss
Recommends:⭐⭐️⭐️
Top 3. DRmare Audio Capture - Apple Music Multitrack Ripper
DRmare Audio Capture is DRmare's other offering, and while testing it, I realized it caters to a slightly different crowd. Instead of directly pulling from the Apple Music catalog, it acts as a highly advanced sound recorder for your PC or Mac.
I actually love this tool for its versatility. I'd start playing a track on Apple Music, and the software would automatically detect the audio stream, record it in lossless quality, and neatly slice the tracks for me. It's fantastic if your listening habits are scattered, meaning you can use it to rip from Apple Music today and grab a rare live performance from YouTube or Spotify tomorrow.
Unlike Audacity, it allows you to open multiple web browsers simultaneously to play tracks and rip Apple Music songs into formats such as MP3 and AIFF. Furthermore, it is smarter when it comes to automatically adding tags and splitting files.
🧐Price: Free trial; $14.95/month; $44.95/year; $89.95/lifetime
How to Rip Apple Music Lossless with DRmare Audio Capture
Step 1. Open the DRmare Audio Capture and click on the "Select/Add an App' option to choose your web browser or the 'Music' icon from the app list.

Step 2. Click the 'Format' button to set output audio parameters for Apple Music. You can also adjust the audio format, bit rate, sample rate, audio codec, and more you want.

Step 3. Press the 'Start' button, and it will pop up the target app you added before. Find and play the Apple Music you like to rip. This Apple Music lossless ripper will automatically detect the sounds and extract audio from Apple Music in Apple Lossless or Dolby Atoms quality.

Step 4. Once recorded, click the 'Stop' button to end the process. You can click the 'Edit' icon of each track to edit Apple Music or directly tap the 'Save' button to save them. You can find the recorded Apple Music files on your computer under the 'History' option.

Pros
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Work with any desktop app or browser stream (Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, YouTube)
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Save audio files as MP3, AIFF, FLAC, WAV, M4B, and M4A
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Preserve lossless sound and ID3 tags
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Built-in audio trimming features
Cons
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Desktop only
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Capture audio in real-time
Recommends:⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️
Top 4. aaplmusicdownloader.com - Free Apple Music Ripper Online
Sometimes you just need a single song for a video edit or a ringtone, and you don't want to install heavy desktop software. That's where this web tool comes in handy. I tried AAPLMusicDownloader out directly from my browser. It claims to download Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists online in high-quality MP3 format.
You just copy the track link from Apple Music, paste it into the site, and hit download. It pulls original 256kbps M4A files, which sound great. However, I quickly hit a wall: the free version strictly limits you to 3 downloads per day. If you're just grabbing a couple of tracks, it’s incredibly convenient. But if you're trying to back up your whole library, hitting that daily cap is going to get frustrating fast unless you pay for their premium tier.
🧐Price: Free with limits; $8.99/month
How to Rip Music from Apple Music to MP3 Online Free
Step 1. Open the Apple Music app or web player, find your target song, album, or playlist, and click'three dots' > 'Share' > 'Copy Link' option.

Step 2. Enter the aaplmusicdownloader.com website from the browser. Paste the copied URL into the provided field on the online ripper.

Step 3. Click the 'Download' button to load all Apple Music songs and choose the 'Generate Download Link' or 'Download ZIP' button to get files. Now, you can customize the output quality of Apple Music and it will start the process and save the file to your device.

Pros
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No need to install an extra app
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Work across any browser on desktop or mobile.
Cons
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Free tier capped at 3 downloads per day
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Require an internet connection and a web browser
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Website URL can occasionally change due to domain updates
Recommends: ⭐️⭐️⭐
Top 5. AM-DL - Online Free Apple Music M4A Ripper Without Number Limits
I stumbled upon am-dl when I was trying to figure out a way to rip music straight from my iPhone without needing to boot up my laptop.
It's another web-based tool, but it feels tailor-made for grabbing full albums or playlists on the go. You paste the link, and it packages your tracks into a neat ZIP file. During my trial run, I was really impressed by how well it grabbed high-resolution album art and embedded the metadata perfectly. The only downside I noticed is that it strictly outputs Apple Music to M4A. If you absolutely need MP3s for an older MP3 player or specific software, you'd have to convert the files again yourself.
🧐Price: Free
How to Rip Music from iTunes and Apple Music for Free
Step 1. Navigate to the website of am-dl on your mobile or desktop. Open the Apple Music app or its web player, and copy the link of the music you want to download. Paste the link into the search box of am-dl and click on 'Download' button.

Step 2. Once the tracks show, click on 'Download' under the album title or next to the song title to extract music from Apple Music to M4A free online.

Pros
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100% free with no restrictive daily download caps
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Work seamlessly on mobile and desktop browsers
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Require no software installation
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Preserve crisp cover art and metadata.
Cons
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Lower output sound quality
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Only support the M4A output format
Recommends:⭐️⭐️⭐
Quick Comparison: Which Apple Music Rippers Fits Your Needs?
Here's a quick breakdown of how these Apple Music rippers stack up side-by-side:
| Tool | Price | Speed | Max Quality | Output Formats | Batch Export | ID3 Tags | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRmare Apple Music Converter | Free trial / $19.95/mo | 30X | Lossless (Hi-Res) | MP3, FLAC, WAV, M4A, etc. | ✅ | ✅ | Fast, high-volume library backups |
| Audacity | Free (Open-Source) | 1X (Real-time) | Good (Software record) | MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG | ❌ | Manual | Free DIY audio editing & recording |
| DRmare Audio Capture | Free trial / $14.95/mo | 1X (Real-time) | Lossless Capture | MP3, FLAC, WAV, M4A, etc. | ❌ | ✅ | Multi-platform streaming audio |
| AAPLMusic downloader |
Free (3/day) / $8.99/mo | Web speed | 256k / 320k | MP3, M4A | ❌ | ❌ | Quick single-track downloads |
| am-dl | Free | Web speed | Standard M4A | M4A (ZIP) | ✅ | ✅ | Direct mobile/browser album downloads |
If you need speed and true lossless quality for a large library, DRmare Apple Music Converter is clearly the most capable option here. However, if you're just grabbing a couple of tracks without spending a dime, am-dl or Audacity will get the job done.
FAQs about Ripping Apple Music
Is it legal to rip Apple Music?
In 2026, ripping for personal, private archiving (Fair Use) remains a gray area. However, sharing or distributing ripped files is strictly illegal and constitutes digital piracy.
Can I rip Apple Music Lossless with an online tool?
No. Due to bandwidth costs and encryption, online Apple Music rippers are capped at lossy formats. For Lossless (ALAC/FLAC), you must use a desktop solution like DRmare Apple Music Converter.
Why does Audacity record a "flat" sound?
Ensure your system's "Sound Check" or "Volume Normalization" is turned off in Apple Music settings before recording to preserve the track's original dynamic range.
Can I rip Apple Music to FLAC with ID3 tags?
Yes. Professional tools like DRmare Apple Music Converter use advanced decoding to bridge the gap between Apple's encrypted AAC and open FLAC, ensuring all metadata (Artist, Album, Cover Art) remains intact for your local media server.
In Conclusion
If you want to rip a massive Apple Music library quickly with zero quality loss, DRmare Apple Music Converter is undeniably the most painless route. But if you're just grabbing a couple of tracks without spending a dime, am-dl or Audacity will get the job done. With them, you can listen to your Apple Music tracks offline on any device.
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