6 Best Free DVD Rippers for Mac 2024 (No Watermark)

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Jenny Hung
February 20, 2024 Preview 83.8K Preview 1
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With the rapid rise of streaming services, it’s time to use a DVD ripper to digitize your DVD collections.

The good news is that there are many free DVD rippers for Mac on the market. Some even have almost all the features of a paid one, just without the cost.

But we know, ripping DVD is a time consuming task. We don’t want a dodgier free Mac DVD ripper that:

  • Bombards you with unwanted ads
  • Rips DVD with poor quality like output video in 480p or worse
  • Adds a watermark on the output video

Below is the best free Mac DVD rippers we found that are safe without watermarks or other limits. We’ve used all of these programs and our favorites are Cisdem DVD Ripper for Mac, HandBrake, and MakeMKV.

Mac DVD Ripper Testing Statistics

Number of DVD Rippers we tested on Mac 16
How long we took to take and exam DVD Rippers 2 months
Type of DVD we test Home DVD, CSS, region-locked DVDs, Disney DVD, Japanese DVDs, old and new DVDs
Device we test the quality of the output DVD Mac, MacBook, iPhone, Android, HDTV, iPad, Xbox One S

 

8 Tips to Choose the Best Free DVD Ripper for Mac

There is a vast variety of free Mac DVD ripper software on the market. Each of them has a common advantage, which is to help you rip DVD for free. But it's not enough, and more aspects you should take into consideration while choosing a free DVD ripper for Mac. I've sorted out several tips below for your reference.

1. Rip Copy Protected DVD - Now many DVDs are copy protected, the ability to defeat copy protection is a key factor to consider.

2. Support for Blu-ray - Ideally, you want a program that can also rip digital files from Blu-ray Disk. As of the end of December 2023, revenue of Blu-ray disk was $21.91 million.

3. DVD Ripping Speed - DVD videos are usually in large sizes and need to spend some time to convert. Using a super-fast free Mac DVD ripper will save you a lot of time.

4. The Output Quality - To enjoy the high-definition video is of great pleasure. Or else, not only your eyes may get hurt, but also the annoying jumpy and mosaics will also bother you.

5. Supported Format - The output format compatible with your digital player device is another point you should take in. The more output options, the better the DVD ripper.

6. Additional Customization Features - It will be the icing on the cake if a free DVD ripper lets you configure the output parameters and edit DVD videos before ripping them out.

7. Easy to Use - A good free DVD ripper for Macintosh should also be simple to set-up and use and doesn’t get in the way of your workflow.

8. macOS Compatibility: As we are ripping DVD on Mac, support for the new macOS Sequoia and M1/2/3 Macs is also very important.

 

The List: Top 6 Free DVD Rippers for Mac (Updated in February 2024)

#1 HandBrake

OS Platform: Current version 1.7.3 supports macOS 10.13 or later. macOS Sequoia included.

Supported DVD Type: Homemade DVD,VIDEO_TS Folder, Blu-ray

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip DVD, convert between video and audio files.

HandBrake is an open-source video transcoder. It's the most welcomed free DVD ripper for Mac and Windows. The app was produced by Eric Petit and originally designed for ripping movies from DVD.

Today, Handbrake allows you to rip non-protected DVDs, Blu-ray to MP4, MKV, and universal device presets like iPhone, iPod, Apple TV (3/4), Android Tablet, etc. But this free Mac DVD ripper can only output MP4 or MKV video files. If you wish to make the ripped video compatible with other formats such as AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP3, etc., HandBrake can't help.

Its ripping speed depends on the files upload. For a small file, it won’t take too long. For a large one, it maybe takes a long time. The final quality is not bad. If you are not hurrying to get your converted video, you could take it.

HandBrake

The Features that makes Handbrake as the best free DVD Ripper on the list

1. Free and open source DVD ripper and video converter.
2. Supports multiple platform (Windows, Mac and Linux)
3. Supports converting DVD and Bluray sources.
4. With the help of libdvdcss handbrake can also rip copy protected DVDs.
5. Tough it is totally free, it get free update at a relatively high frequency.

What to expect when using Handbrake to ripping DVD

When ripping DVD movies, handbrake will re-encodes the video into AVC, this will output the video in smaller size, but this also means there will be quality loss. So if you want to get the exact 1:1 copy of the DVD, then handbrake is not what you need.

If you get error messages like "no valid source or titles found" using Handbrake, it means that is DVD is encoded with CSS or region code, please go and download libdvdcss.

Even pared with libdvdcss, handbrake can only handle basic DVD encryptions, for complex DVD copyright, you may found it will failed to rip or the converted video and audio are often out of sync.

On DVD ripping speed, we find that on a normal machine ripping a 3h DVD disc on Mac it needs about 45 minutes, output in a 2.2GB around file. But for copy protected DVD it will become very slow sometimes.

How to use HandBrake to free rip DVD:

1. Just download handbrake totally free at https://handbrake.fr/
2. Choose the platform you need, and here we will choose macOS.
3. Follow the detailed guide here to rip DVD with Handbrake.

 

#2 MakeMKV

OS Platform: Mac OS X 10.7 or later. macOS Sequoia included.

DVD Types: Homemade/Copy Protected DVD Discs, Blu-ray

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip home made or copy protected DVD to MKV.
For users who want to free rip DVD movies for archival and have a very strong demand on original quality, MakeMKV is the best free DVD Ripper for them. it only repackages the DVD contents and changes the container from DVD to MKV. Also, the ripping speed is quite fast.

What MakeMKV Excels

1. Supports DVD and Blu-ray discs.
2. Support ripping copy protected DVD.
3. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

What to expect when using MakeMKV to rip DVD

Just as its name suggests, MakeMKV can only rip DVD to MKV. which is not compatible with most of the Mac software like quick, iMovie, etc.

MakeMKV is the best free software that will rip DVD while maintaining 1:1 quality. But at the same time you will get gigantic file, so be prepared to have large space for storing it. in this case we recommend using a cloud storage.

Also MakeMKV don’t supports any editing and adjusting

How to use MakeMKV for free:

Download MakeMKV at:https://www.makemkv.com/ it is extremely easy to use. Insert a disc, process it, then save it in MKV format.

 

#3 VLC

OS Platform: Mac OS X 10.7.5 or up. macOS Sequoia included.

DVD Types: Homemade

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip home made DVD, VIDEO_TS/BDMV folder.

VLC, we mean the popular media player you may already installed on your Mac. It has a hidden feature of ripping DVD. It runs well on Mac, Windows, Android, and Ubuntu.

The free app makes it effortless to rip a single title from DVD to MP4, AVI, MOV, TS, VOB, MPG, OGM, ASF, and RAW format. Plus, it offers transcoding capabilities to help you fine-tune the codec, scale, bitrate, and audio channel. The process of using VLC to rip DVD is a little bit complicated, but you can easily find loads of tutorial on YouTube.

However, it is only a sub-function of VLC, it is not dedicated to rip DVD movies, it can not process videos, DVD folders, or ISO images in batches and won’t defeat any kind of DVD DRM. And you have to accept the fact that using VLC to free rip DVD will cause quality degradation.

VLC

 

#4 MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition

OS Platform: Mac OS X 10.6 to 10.14

DVD Types: Homemade/Copy Protected DVD Discs

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip home made DVD.

MacX offers a free DVD ripper for Mac users. The free version can rip DVD movies to MP4, MOV, M4V, MP3, AAC, AC3, Apple TV, and iTunes.

But compares with its paid version, it's unable to back up & rip the latest copy-protected DVDs for free, and rip DVDs for some hot devices, like iPad Pro, iPhone (15/Pro/Max), Android, Samsung Galaxy S series, HTC, PS5, etc.

If you can bear the limited output formats and unsatisfying speed, this Mac DVD ripper free is a decent option. Anyway, it can meet your basic DVD ripping necessary.

Note: MacX seems to have given up upgrading and promoting DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition. The download link on its official website has been replaced by MacX DVD Ripper Pro (the paid program). Fortunately, you are able to find its free version on some app download sites like softonic.com, download3k.com, etc. Since it's a 32-bit app, it can’t be installed on macOS Catalina and newer versions.

MacX DVD Ripper

 

#5 ffmpegX

OS Platform: OS X 10.7 Lion to 10.14 Mojave

DVD Types: Homemade

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip home made DVD.

ffmpegX is an open resource free DVD ripper for Mac. It was first to run on Linux, and later it can be compiled under most operating systems, including Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, AmigaOS.

ffmpegX is a very experimental and developer-driven project. It supports the most popular formats except HD video. Based on the customers' review, its output quality is not too bad. The components mpeg2enc (mpeg-2 encoder and multiplexer), mencorder (mpeg-4 encoder with subtitles support), myplayer are not distributed with ffmpegX and must be self-installed.

This free DVD ripping software for Mac has not been updated for over 10 years. When you start encoding, it's prone to failure. Meanwhile, ffmpegX doesn't recognize a DVD disk device, just a DVD folder & VOB file, and can't remove any DVD decryption.

Note: The download link is not available on its official website. You can head to videohelp.com or macupdate.com to get the app. On videohelp.com, there are old versions for OS X 10.3 to 10.6 users.

ffmpegX

 

#6 MacTheRipper 2.6.6

OS Platform: Mac OS X 10.6 Leopard or older

DVD Types: Homemade/Copy Protected DVD Discs

Watermark: No

Free Features: Copy home made or encrypted DVD.

MacTheRipper (a.k.a. MTR) is Mac’s oldest and smartest DVD backup application. The copying speed of MTR is good. It merely takes a short time to convert a DVD, even with encryption measures, to the VIDEO_TS folder. It will retain the entire data contents from the disc and keep the original structure.

However, this free DVD ripper for Mac doesn't allow you to rip DVDs to digital files, and only version 2.6.6 and before are free.

The latest version is 5.4.0.9, which supports OS X 10.10 or above but needs to pay. Licensed owners of version 5.3 who paid after December 5, 2019, can upgrade to 5.4.0.9 without charge. Those who paid before then should upgrade for $15. If you are using an older version, full upgrade cost is necessary.

MacTheRipper

 

Where Free Mac DVD Riper Software Fall Short?

From the above introductions, we can judge that the free Mac DVD ripper has obvious shortcomings, for example:

  • Can't preserve high-quality output
  • The speed is not always fast
  • No further video editing feature
  • Limited output formats and profiles, such as MakeMKV
  • Can't rip DRM encrypted DVDs, like Handbrake and VLC
  • Stop updating, like ffmpegX
  • Not free in the new versions, such as MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition and MacTheRipper

It seems that no free Mac DVD ripper meets the criteria mentioned in part 2, but paid one does. Therefore, you are better off using the commercial and effective DVD ripper instead.

 

Perfect Alternative - The Robust yet Simple DVD Ripper for Mac

Cisdem Video Converter is the best alternative to the free DVD ripper Mac. It's a highly interactive program that delivers lossless ripping of media content at an ultra-fast speed and obtains high-quality possible results. It provides a free trial version for you to test its performance before purchasing. The trial version can rip the first 5 minutes of the DVD. If your DVD video is less than 5 minutes, it will convert half of the content.

Features of the best DVD ripper for Mac:

  • Rip general or copyrighted DVD to mainstream video/audio formats
  • Rip movie or music DVD to ready-made presets for all popular devices
  • Adjust the frame rate, resolution, bit rate, etc. of DVD video
  • Also allow you to rip Blu-ray discs
  • Convert digital video from one format to another
  • Download videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and other 1000+ sites
  • Rip discs, convert, download & compress videos in batches
  • Crisp and easy-to-use interface
  • Available on OS X 10.13 or higher, including macOS Sonoma, Sequoia

Free Download

How to Rip DVD via the Best Alternative to Free DVD Ripper for Mac:

Step 1. Launch Cisdem Video Converter

After installation, run the software. You will see five tabs for different functions. The second tab is for DVD ripping.

cisdem interface

Step 2. Import DVD videos

Insert your DVD into the Mac slot. Its icon will appear in the sidebar of the Finder app. Then you have two ways to add the DVD disc:

  1. Straightly drag the DVD or VIDEO-TS folder to the interface of Cisdem Mac DVD ripper.
  2. Navigate to "File" > "Add DVD" in the menu bar to import your DVD content.add dvd

Step 3. Configure output profiles

Click the format icon to open the output file panel. All the output formats have been already divided into various categories. For example, if you desire to play the DVD movie on your iPhone, you can go to "Device" > "iPhone", and choose your phone model. Or select the universal format - MP4, just head over to "Video" > "MP4" or "HEVC MP4".

choose format for dvd cisdem

For further configuring video/audio quality, click the setting icon to open a window, and tweak the output parameter settings.

advanced settings

Step 4. Choose titles and languages

A DVD movie may contain multiple titles, audio languages, and subtitle languages. You can manually choose what you want.

select titles and languages cisdem

Step 5. Rip DVD to digital files

Hit conversion icon button at the lower right corner to begin ripping your DVD to MP4, Apple TV, or other formats.

Free Download

Pro tip: edit your DVD videos

Click tick icon button to find your ripped videos. Drag-n-drop them to the “convert” interface.

Click button, and you'll able to edit the DVD movies by rotating, adding 3D effects, and external subtitles & audio.

edit dvd videos

 

FAQs about Free DVD Ripper for Mac

Will ripping DVD damage the physical DVD?

No, Though it is called ripping a DVD, not infact ripping does not damage the physical DVD and it will not change the content on it. All it does is reading the data from a DVD disk.

How long does it take to rip a DVD?

The time to rip DVD movies varies greatly based on DVD-ROM performance, HDD performance, CPU performance and cleanliness of the disc itself. Typically, it will take 10-30 minutes to rip a standard DVD movie.

What is the Difference between DVD Ripping and DVD Copying?

DVD ripping is aimed at ripping DVD movies into video and audio files for playback on media players and devices. While, DVD copying is aimed at back up DVD movies as DVD folder or ISO image file.

  DVD Ripping DVD Copying
Destination Plex, HardDrive, Cloud, SSDs, PCs, Mobile Device Back up
Output Format MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV, H264, HEVC, MP3, etc. ISO, OBs, IFOs, BUPs
Idea For Change DVD to digital for playing back on devices or for edit For backup and save for a long time

Free DVD Ripper for Mac vs paid – which should you get?

If you’re considering whether to get a free DVD ripper or go for a paid dvd ripping software for Macintosh. You first need to figure out what you want to digitize you DVD for.

If you just need a digital copy of DVD movies, The DVD is not copy protected and you have no or little requirements on output quality? A free Mac DVD Ripper might be a sensible choice. However, if you’re looking to rip copy protected DVD, have high demand on out put quality or you need advanced features like video editing or converting to a specific format, a paid DVD Ripper is what you need.

 

Bottom line

These are the 6 free DVD rippers for Mac you should have a try. If you only want to rip DVD to a common-used format without editing feature, I recommend Handbrake, MakeMKV, and VLC for beginners. For users who are using macOS 10.14 or lower, MacTheRipper 2.6.6 and ffmpegX are nice options. To make everything easy and efficient, an all-in-one DVD ripping software for Mac like Cisdem Video Converter is the best choice, which can rip copy-protected DVDs as well.

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Jenny Hung

Jenny is a technology editor who has been blogging since she was a student. Since joining Cisdem, she focuses on writing articles about video software and how-to guides. She loves exploring new tools and techniques.

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  • Dennis Mahaffay

    Great article, Rosa. Thank you! Dennis

    1 years ago commonReply

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