Top 11 Best FREE DVD Rippers 2023 to Rip DVD for Free
It has been more than a dozen years since Blu-ray’s official worldwide release on June 20, 2006. Nowadays, Blu-ray still cannot supersede the DVD format completely. Believe it or not, when this best free DVD rippers review was first published in June 2012, about 584 thousand DVDs were available on Amazon, which were almost 26 times as many as Blu-ray Discs (22 thousand). At that time, DVD undoubtedly took up the dominant position in optical disc storage medium. In 2022, search results of DVD decrease to 80 thousand in the Movies & TV department on Amazon, while those of Blu-ray reach 60 thousand. Besides, we can see similar changes of search volumes in Google via Google Trends as well, the ratio of “DVD” to “Blu-ray” related search terms stood at 86:14 in June 2012, and goes nearly 14:4 in Jan, 2022. Though Blu-ray closes the gap with DVD continuously, DVD is undoubtedly still the King of optical disc storage medium.
Nowadays, video streaming services and short-form video apps become more and more popular, and they are even changing our lifestyle. Phones and tablets take up the majority of our entertainment time, and we tend to enjoy movies and TV shows on our mobile devices more often. Then, how about our DVD collections? As we all know, DVDs can only be played with DVD players, DVD drives, or some Blu-ray Disc players on TV or computer. If you are out of home and office, it may be unlikely to enjoy your DVD movies on a TV or PC. Instead, tablets, mobile phones or media players will be the best choices to enjoy movies when you are out. So many people want to rip and convert their DVD movies to videos for playback on tablets (such as Apple iPad, Amazon Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, Lenovo Tab), laptops without DVD drives, iPhone, cell phones (from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus) or iPod touch.
In a word, no matter you want to play the DVD movies or TV shows on any device without a DVD drive or need to make digital copies to save space or protect DVD discs from scratches, you deserve a free DVD ripper.
Usually, I see a lot of discussions about looking for a free DVD ripper in forums or various questions on best free DVD ripping software in Yahoo! Answers:
"I'm looking for a good DVD Ripper (freeware) so i can convert video files to my MP4, can anyone recommend?"
"Can anybody aware me of a free DVD ripper (not an imaging program) that I will not have to pay for, can download and isnt full of viruses?"
"Anyone know of any good free dvd ripping software that doesn't leave a watermark? I'm trying to put my dvds on my computer so I can watch them whenever I want and not have to carry them all around."
"What's a user friendly free DVD to iPad converter? Im trying t transfer DVDs to my iPad but I haven't been able to find any easy converters that are free."
"Is there a completely free dvd to ipod converter?"
"I only wanna get a FREE dvd to iphone 12 converter for mac? Be quick!?"
Actually, there are lots of good free DVD rippers available. In this article, I have collected almost all the free DVD rippers for you to convert DVD movies to videos for free.
Best free DVD ripper #1: WinX DVD Ripper
OS Platform: Windows & Mac
Editor Rating:WinX DVD Ripper, developed by Digiarty Software, may be the most excellent but totally free DVD ripping software available for removing DVD CSS, UOP, RCE, region code and even Sony ARccOS. However, it doesn't support DVDs encrypted by Disney X-project DRM adopted by Disney, Paramount and Warner as its paid version does. The free DVD ripper also has other restrictions like Multi-core CPU nonsupport, poorer image quality, and outputs, inputs and advanced features limitations, which force the users to buy their Platinum version. In addition, WinX DVD Ripper has a free Mac version called WinX DVD Ripper Mac Free. As another free Mac DVD ripper of a different sub-brand under the same company, MacX DVD Ripper Mac Free Edition has even more limitations. These 3 free DVD rippers keep up to date and the latest versions are available on the corresponding pages.
Best free DVD ripper #2: DVDFab HD Decrypter
OS Platform: Windows & Mac
Editor Rating:DVDFab HD Decrypter is a powerful yet free DVD ripper. It not only decrypts nearly any DVD (except for adult DVDs and those containing multiple VTS protections) by removing all the known DVD protections such as CSS (Content Scramble System), APS (Analog Protection System), RC (Region Code) and Sony DADC (Digital Audio Disc Corporation), but also removes AACS, BD+, BD-J (Blu-ray Disc Java), RC, UOPS and BD-Live Blu-ray protections from Blu-ray (released before 2018). This free DVD/Blu-ray copy and ripper can copy the whole content of a DVD & Blu-ray disc (Full Disc Mode) and the feature-length movie title (Main Movie Mode) to blank discs, as ISO files saved on computer HDD, or converts to MKV and MP4 videos for playback on compatible portable and mobile devices, completely free of charge. In addition, converting non-H.265 and non-4K videos with “MKV.Passthrough” and “MP4.Free” conversion profiles is also free with this video converter. Though the free features of DVDFab HD Decrypter are super powerful, there are still lots of limitations on decryption technologies, copy modes, conversion profiles, output quality, GPU acceleration, advanced settings and DVD burning, etc. If you need to bypass the limitations, you can choose the paid versions of DVDFab DVD Copy, DVD Ripper, DVD Creator, DVD to Blu-ray Converter or DVD Cinavia Removal according to your needs.
The most current Windows and Mac versions of the free DVD ripper DVDFab HD Decrypter are available at http://www.dvdfab.cn/hd-decrypter.htm.
Best free DVD ripper #3: BDlot DVD ISO Master
OS Platform: Windows
Editor Rating:The official site of BDlot has been down since 2013.
BDlot DVD ISO Master is a free DVD ripper for users to back up any DVD to ISO and burn any ISO to DVD/CD/Blu-ray Disc. It can rip common and encrypted DVD to ISO without support from a third party DVD decrypting software, as it has the ability to remove both DVD region codes and other DVD protections like CSS, CPRM, CPPM, APS, UOPs, ARccOS, Rip-Guard, and Disney X protection. Though it's equipped with the most powerful DVD decryption technology, its output is limited to ISO. Thus, a third-party DVD to video converter is still necessary for converting ISO files to videos playable on portable devices. It was lastly updated with the version 3.0.2 on February 8, 2012. The final version of this free DVD ripper can be downloaded at Softpedia.
Best free DVD ripper #4: DVD43
OS Platform: Windows
Editor Rating:The official site of DVD43, dvd43.com, went down on March 4, 2020.
DVD43, standing for “DVD for Free”, is another free DVD ripper. It works as a driver for optical drives, stopping zone and copy protection information working. It gives help for the creation of the digital backup copies of DVDs one legally owns and assists the use of DVDs outside of the original region of release. DVD43 runs in the system tray, detects when you insert a new DVD, and automatically removes most copy protection schemes. When the decryption succeeds, the smiley face turns green.
The standalone DVD43 (EXE version) was discontinued owing to incompatibility with Windows 8 and all 64 bit versions of Windows, and the final stable version of this free DVD ripping software was 4.6.0 published on October 23, 2009. As the standalone program have been obsolete, it’s now only available on unofficial sites like Softonic, VideoHelp, Uptodown, etc.
Besides, DVD43 also provides a free decrypter plug-in, DVD43 Plug-in (DVD43.DLL), instead. The plug-in version provides an interface that can be used by copy or conversion programs to decrypt DVDs on Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2000 (32 and 64 bits).The latest stable version of this DVD ripping plugin was 1.0.0.6 released in Feb, 2013, which is available only on third-party software download sites such as FileForum, TechSpot, BrotherSoft due to the close of the official site.
Best free DVD ripper #5: DVD Shrink
OS Platform: Windows 9x/2000/XP
Editor Rating:Note:
Some malware may also be installed when you are installing the free DVD ripper on your computer. See the details in the malware scan report of DVD Shrink. If you care about such issues, please download other free DVD ripping software. In addition, a list of checksums for other valid DVD Shrink versions is available at the DVD Shrink Forum as well as at the doom9 forum, which can be used to check whether the downloaded DVD shrink file has been altered or corrupted.
DVD Shrink is a piece of DVD backup freeware for Windows users. It acts as a DVD copy to back up DVD discs and save as DVD folders or ISO image files to hard drive. With the built-in decryption algorithms, removing DVD region codes and copying copy-protected commercial DVD titles become possible. Working in conjunction with DVD burning software, it can easily make a backup copy of any DVD video disc. If you need to convert the output DVD folders or files to video formats for playing back on portable or mobile devices, you may have to turn to a third-party video converter for help. As its name suggests, this free DVD ripping software can also compress or shrink the amount of data stored on a DVD with minimal loss of quality and lets you re-author DVD as well. The latest as well as final official English version of DVD Shrink is 3.2.0.15 (released on July 25, 2004), and German version is 3.2.0.16. Please note that all other versions are illegitimate and scams, as the development was discontinued in May 2005. Since it has not been updated for years, it might not be able to decrypt some DVDs with newer copy protections. Currently, this DVD transcoder has been moved to donationware through the Sellfy platform, and the official site (dvdshrink.org) is not operated by the original developers. Thus, you cannot download DVD Shrink directly from the official site for free, and you may be asked to pay at least $5 for the download. Of course, its clean and adware-free download is still available free of charge at Filehippo, VideoHelp, TechSpot, Softonic and Softpedia.
Best free DVD ripper #6: DVD Decrypter
OS Platform: Windows 32bit
Editor Rating:Note:
Some malware may also be installed when you are installing the free DVD ripping software on your computer. See the details in the malware scan report of DVD Decrypter. If you care about such issues, please download other alternatives to free DVD rippers.
DVD Decrypter, developed by Lightning UK!, is a completely free DVD ripping software program to back up disk images of the DVD-Video structure of DVDs and record images to disc. Owing to the powerful features of tearing through pesky copy protections such as Macrovision content protection, CSS, region codes, and user operation prohibition without limitations, this excellent yet free DVD ripper becomes one of the most popular free solutions for folks to rip and digitalize DVDs to files, or ISO images on HDD, or burn to blank discs.
On June 6, 2005, Lightning UK! announced that the development of DVD Decrypter had been halted due to a cease and desist letter from Macrovision. Right after the official site dvddecrypter.com had been shut down, the unofficial mirror site dvddecrypter.org.uk went up on June 7, 2005. The final version of DVD Decrypter is 3.5.4.0 (released on May 21, 2005), available at dvddecrypter.org.uk. As the technology of copy protection develops, DVD Decrypter may not deal with latest DVDs with new copy restrictions.
The burning engine of DVD Decrypter was later used in the optical disc authoring software ImgBurn by Lightning UK! on October 4, 2005. Nevertheless, the ability to circumvent copy protections of encrypted DVDs was removed.
Best free DVD ripper #7: MakeMKV
OS Platform: Windows XP or later, Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Linux x86 or amd64
Editor Rating:MakeMKV is a Blu-ray & DVD to MKV ripper available gratis but with 60-day limitation. It decrypts Blu-ray (protected by latest versions of AACS and BD+), 4K UHD and DVD discs, converts video clips as fast as the drive reading data from proprietary discs to the free and patents-unencumbered format MKV that can be played everywhere, while preserving all the video and audio tracks (including HD audio), chapters information and meta-information (like track language and audio type). More importantly, this free DVD ripping software is capable of streaming decrypted videos without intermediate conversion to almost all the popular players, which makes it super convenient to enjoy DVD and Blu-ray discs on any device or OS as you wish.
There are many advantages of MakeMKV’s unique output video format - MKV: it is a free and open container format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, or subtitle tracks in one file; with MKV, MakeMKV makes an exact and lossless copy of the content on DVD, Blu-ray (including 3D Blu-ray), or 4K UHD discs and, meanwhile, preserves the original quality without changes and compression; and the output MKV files are not degraded in any way and have no time or usage restrictions even in the beta version. However, if you wish to reduce the sizes of the output MKV files or transcode MKV to other formats such as MP4 for playback on other devices, you may need to turn to a video transcoder for help.
The functionality to rip DVD discs is free and will always stay free. Nevertheless, the features of Blu-ray decryption and processing are free for only 60 days during beta. After the 60-day trial, you may have to pay USD $60 to purchase a registration key to continue converting and streaming Blu-ray discs. As the expiration date will be reset in the latest version, if a newer version is available, you can also download it from the official site to gratis use for another 60 days.
MakeMKV Beta is one of the few DVD rippers that can run on all the top 3 desktop operating systems: Windows, MacOS X and Linux. Please note that computer administrator privileges will be required when you run the beta version on Windows.
MakeMKV keeps updating continuously in the past years. The latest version of MakeMKV is v1.16.7 put out on Feb 27, 2022 and downloadable here.
Best free DVD ripper #8: Handbrake
OS Platform: Windows, Mac & Linux
Editor Rating:HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for macOS, Linux and Windows. It supports any DVD or Blu-ray sources which are NOT copy-protected as well as videos of nearly any formats as inputs. (It is apparent that the removal of copy protections from DVD and Blu-ray is not supported.) It outputs the modern, widely supported .MP4 (.M4V), .MKV and WebM videos with H.264 and H.265 (including hardware acceleration support), MPEG-4 and MPEG-2, VP8, VP9 and Theora codecs, and has various preset General (Very Fast, Fast, HQ, Super HQ), Web (Gmail), Devices (Android, Apple Surround, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Playstation, Xbox, Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Apple TV and more), Matroska, Legacy profiles for choosing from without limitations. In addition, there are also lots of advanced features such as point-to-point encoding, video filters and encodes queue waiting for you to explore. The free open-source DVD ripper was initially launched on August 24, 2003, and has been keeping updating continuously in the past years. The latest version is 1.5.1, which was released on Jan 10, 2022. To download different HandBrake versions for different OS, please visit http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php.
Best free DVD ripper #9: Format Factory
OS Platform: Windows
Editor Rating:Format Factory is an ad-supported freeware multimedia converter with 60 languages supported that can convert video, audio, and picture files. It is also capable of ripping DVDs and CDs to other file formats, as well as creating .iso and .cso file. However, DVD copy protection removal is not supported. The newest version of Format Factory is 5.10 becoming available on Feb 10, 2022. Download it here, if you like this DVD ripping tool.
Best free DVD ripper #10: VidCoder
OS Platform: Windows
Editor Rating:VidCoder is a free DVD/Blu-ray ripping and video transcoding application for Windows with batch encoding and multiple threads supported. It uses HandBrake as its encoding engine. Compared with HandBrake, it has a relatively rich UI. The same as HandBrake, it does not defeat the CSS encryption found in most commercial DVDs. The latest version of VidCoder is 7.13 announced on March 9, 2022. To download this free DVD ripper, check its download page.
Best free DVD ripper #11: MediaCoder
OS Platform: Windows
Editor Rating:MediaCoder is a free video/audio transcoding program for Microsoft Windows to compress, convert files and extract audios from video files. A wide range of popular video & audio formats are supported by MediaCoder, including MP3, AAC, AVC, AVI, MP4, FLV, MOV, AVI, etc. As a universal media transcoder, it also is able to rip DVDs, but only limited to early version CSS-protected DVDs. In addition, MediaCoder uses OpenCandy (a bundling software recommendation service) in its installer. Also, there are annoying text ads in the software GUI, web page containing ads loading every startup, even hardhanded donation. The latest version 0.8.63 was released on Jan 2, 2021 and can be downloaded at http://www.mediacoderhq.com/dlfull.htm.
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