6 Best Free DVD Rippers for Mac 2026 (No Watermark)

Looking for a DVD ripper to digitize your DVD collections? The good news is that there are some free DVD rippers for Mac on the market. But we know, ripping DVD is a time consuming task. We don’t want a dodgier free tools that:

• Bombards you with unwanted ads
• Rips DVD with poor quality
• Adds a watermark on the output video

Below are the best free Mac DVD rippers we found, all tested to be safe and watermark-free.

 

How Free Is a Free DVD Ripper?

Reddit often recommends HandBrake and MakeMKV as best free DVD rippers. What about the others? Are they really free?

Some limit the number of DVDs you can rip or only let you rip part of a DVD. Others offer basic ripping for free but charge for advanced features. And some are really free but outdated, like ffmpegX, which isn't working on macOS 10.15+. Check the free version’s limits before choosing one.

 

Our Tests of Free DVD Rippers for Mac

We tested 13 DVD rippers for Mac over 3 weeks and evaluated their compatibility with different types of DVDs, including homemade DVDs, CSS-protected DVDs, region-locked DVDs, and commercial discs. We finally selected 6 free DVD rippers for you. Below are tests from a single DVD.

Testing setup

• DVD: Homemade, unencrypted DVD (2 hours 35 minutes, 4.68 GB, 720×480)
• Macs: Intel iMac (Late 2015, macOS Monterey 12.6.5) and M2 Mac mini (macOS Tahoe 26), to compare ripping speeds
• Output formats: MKV for MakeMKV, MPEG-4 for VLC, and MP4 for the rest

The comparison

Notes on the test results

• Unprotected DVDs usually rip faster because they don't require decryption.
• Ripping a 2-hour DVD in 2 minutes is unlikely from a disc because the optical drive read speed limits it. Times this fast likely refer to ISO files or DVD folders already on the computer.
• An M2 Mac doesn’t always make DVD ripping much faster. Tools that mainly copy DVD data, like MakeMKV, are often limited by the DVD drive rather than CPU performance. Re-encoding tools like HandBrake can benefit more from the M2's processing power.

 

List of the Top 6 Free DVD Rippers for Mac

These 6 free DVD rippers are designed for different needs:

• HandBrake is best for video customization.
• MakeMKV is best for lossless DVD backup.
• VLC is best for video conversion and playback.
• DVDFab HD Decrypter is best for handling older protected DVDs.

All of them are better suited for basic ripping of homemade DVDs. If you want an all-in-one alternative to convert, edit, compress, and merge protected DVD videos, consider a paid alternative.

 

#1 HandBrake

OS Platform: Current version 1.11.1 supports macOS 10.13 or later. macOS Tahoe included.

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

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip DVD, convert video to MP4/MKV/MOV/WebM

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.

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: x64 or ARM64 Mac OS X 10.7 or above. macOS Tahoe 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 at

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 Tahoe included.

DVD Types: Homemade, basic CSS-protected DVD

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip and play 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. The free app makes it effortless to convert DVD disc or VIDEO_TS folder to MP4, AVI, MOV, TS, VOB, MPG, OGM, ASF, and RAW format. It offers transcoding capabilities to help you fine-tune the codec, scale, bitrate, and audio channel.

As a powerful open source media player, we can use it to play selected DVD titles and chapters. But when it comes to ripping DVDs, VLC for Mac will digitize the entire DVD even after we specify specific titles and chapters. This is not the case with the Windows version. And you also have to accept the fact that it will result in a loss of quality.

What VLC excels at

1. Can be a DVD player to play DVDs with menus, and select episodes, language for audios/subtitles.
2. Provide some encapsulation methods and transcoding options for selection.
3. Available for Mac, Windows, Ubuntu, Mint and many other platforms.

What to expect when using VLC to rip DVD

Once the DVD disc is detected, be sure to “Disable DVD menus”, otherwise VLC will loop to rip the DVD menu.

You need to manually select the output format and encoder. The most commonly used are MP4 (H264, AAC) and MP4 (H265, AAC). But VLC does not provide H265 in DVD output. So the combination we recommend for you is Encapsulation (MPEG 4) + Video (h264) + Audio (mp4a).

Although VLC includes libdvdcss, it can’t bypass newer or more complex copy protection.

How to start VLC for free:

Go to https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ to download and install VLC. In VLC, click “File” > “Open Disc” to load the DVD, check “Stream output” and open the “Settings” window to set streaming and transcoding options.

 

#4 DVDFab HD Decrypter

OS Platform: macOS 10.13 to the latest version

DVD Types: Homemade or older encrypted DVDs/Blu-rays

Watermark: No

Free Features: Decrypt older commercial DVDs with MKV Passthrough for lossless backup

DVDFab HD Decrypter is the free edition of DVDFab's DVD ripping software. It supports homemade DVDs and some older commercial DVDs with basic copy protection. Unlike many free DVD rippers for Mac, it can remove certain DVD protections without requiring additional tools.

The app supports Full Disc and Main Movie modes, allowing you to keep the entire disc or extract only the main content. If you only want a few episodes, just select those titles and chapters before you start. Don't want to re-encode? Use MKV Passthrough and the original video and audio stay untouched. Or if you'd rather keep the whole disc, save it as a folder or ISO. It also includes a video editor to edit video and enhance audio.

The free version has several limits: output is restricted to MP4 and MKV, GPU acceleration is only available in the paid version, and newer commercial DVDs/Blu-rays with updated protection may not work. For more details about DVDFab DVD Ripper and the differences between the free and paid versions, check the review.

 

#5 iSuper DVD Ripper

OS Platform: Mac OS X 10.7 Lion or higher

DVD Types: Homemade DVD only

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip homemade DVD to MP4, MOV, AVI, etc.

iSuper DVD Ripper, provided by Anymp4.com and available on the Mac App Store, is a straightforward free DVD ripper for Mac. It allows you to convert DVD titles to common formats like MP4 and MKV without any cost. The ripping speed is pretty good, producing playable digital files from your DVDs at 640×480 resolution.

Mac App Store are only permitted to handle un-encrypted DVDs, and iSuper DVD Ripper is no exception. Users who need to rip protected DVDs are advised to contact support for guidance.

The core ripping feature for unencrypted discs is free, while advanced functions require a one-time payment of $9.99, including:

• Converting DVDs to H.265, 4K, HD, 3D, MP2 formats, or using device-specific presets
• Applying editing features such as rotate, crop, effects, or watermark (video clipping is free)
• Selecting specific subtitle or audio tracks
• Recording DVDs

 

#6 Aiseesoft DVD-Video Ripper Free

OS Platform: macOS 10.10 or later

DVD Types: Homemade DVD discs and DVD folders

Watermark: No

Free Features: Rip home made DVD to basic formats

Aiseesoft offers a free DVD ripper for Mac users on the App Store. We tested it with homemade DVDs, and it converted the videos without adding any watermark. The downside is that it only works with non-encrypted DVDs, commercial DVDs with copy protection are not supported.

When opening a DVD, Aiseesoft lets you choose between Main Title and Full Title List. For a regular DVD, Main Title usually picks the longest video automatically. During my test with a TV series DVD, we used Full Title List to find and select individual episodes. Before conversion, you can choose the chapter, audio track, and subtitle track you want to keep (or export subtitles separately).

This free DVD ripper also supports a simple cutting tool that lets you trim video segments manually or automatically with "Fast Split". Hardware acceleration is available, which may help when converting longer videos to common outputs such as MP4 H.264, MOV, MKV, and AVI.

The paid upgrade mainly targets users who need more than basic ripping. It adds the full video editor, enhancement tools, and more output options, including Lossless, HEVC, ProRes, and 5K/8K format.

 

7 tips to help you make a better choice

Free DVD rippers all share the same basic purpose, which is to help you rip DVD for free. But their features and performance can vary. When choosing a free DVD ripper for Mac, there are more aspects you should take into consideration. 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. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Additional Customization Features - Features like output parameters, title/chapter selection, and basic editing give you more control over the final video.

6. 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.

7. macOS Compatibility - As we are ripping DVD on Mac, support for the new macOS Tahoe and M1/2/3/4 Macs is also very important.

 

Limitations of free DVD rippers

Based on the factors above, free Mac DVD rippers may fall short in some areas:

• Limited support for copy-protected DVDs
• Fewer output formats and device profiles
• Limited customization options, such as video editing
• Slower ripping speeds in some cases
• Limited support for newer macOS versions

For basic DVD conversion, free rippers can be enough. But if you need better compatibility, more helpful features, or a simpler workflow, consider a paid DVD ripper.

 

A Paid Alternative for Mac DVD Ripping

If free DVD rippers don’t meet your needs, Cisdem VideoPaw is a simple and powerful alternative for Mac, it can:

• Rip general or protected DVDs to 300+ video/audio formats
• Rip DVDs to device-ready presets
• Preserve high-quality output with customizable settings
• Support Blu-ray ripping
• Convert, download, compress, record, and edit videos
• Batch process multiple videos efficiently
• Support macOS 10.15 and later

The free trial lets you rip the first 5 minutes of a DVD before purchasing. For more options, check out our guide to the 10 best DVD rippers for Mac.

Free Download

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

Step 1. Launch Cisdem VideoPaw

After installation, run the software. You will see a grid of function modules. Locate and click the DVD Ripper module.

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 VIDEO_TS folder to the interface of Cisdem Mac DVD ripper.
2. Navigate to "File" > "Add DVD/Blu-ray" in the menu bar to import your DVD titles.

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".

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

Step 4. Choose titles and tracks

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

Step 5. Rip DVD to digital files

Hit "Convert" at the lower right corner to begin ripping your DVD to MP4, Apple TV, or other formats.

Pro tip: edit your DVD videos

Click button, and you'll be able to edit the DVD movies by trimming, rotating, adding effects/external subtitles, and more.

 

FAQs

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.