YTMate MP3: YouTube songs as MP3

Audio quality, honestly

Expect the MP3 to land between about 128 and 160 kbps. That is the level most streaming apps use on mobile data and sounds clean on earphones and car speakers. We do not advertise "320 kbps": re-encoding YouTube's own audio at a higher bitrate makes the file bigger without adding any detail.

How big is an MP3?

Roughly one megabyte per minute, whatever the picture looked like, which is why MP3 is the sensible choice on a small data plan.

Songs, podcasts and long mixes

MP3 works for videos up to about two hours, four times longer than MP4. That covers DJ sets, lectures, sermons and full podcast episodes. For a longer stream, look for the same recording split into parts.

Finding the right version of a song

Search shows the duration and the channel on each result. The artist's own channel or a "Topic" channel usually has the cleanest audio; live recordings and fan uploads often have crowd noise or cut intros. Press Preview to listen for a few seconds before you convert.

Music video or just the track?

Pick MP4 when the clip itself matters to you: a dance routine, a lyric video you want to sing along to, a concert you would like to rewatch on the bus. Go for the MP3 when the screen stays dark anyway, for running, driving or falling asleep to a long mix. Nothing stops you from pressing both buttons on the same tile and keeping one of each.

Adding the MP3 to your music

Android

Most music players scan the Download folder by themselves. If yours does not, move the file into the Music folder with the Files app.

iPhone

The MP3 sits in Files › Downloads and plays from there. To keep it with your music, add it to a player that imports from Files, such as VLC.

Computer

Drag the file into your music library or into a folder your player watches.