The best free music downloader apps for your PC 2024

Woman listening to music on headphones
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Download one of the best free music downloader apps for your PC if you'd rather not pay for a music streaming service. The ubiquity of steaming services like Spotify and Apple Music is understandable - they let you listen to pretty much whatever song you want whenever and wherever, so long as you have Wi-Fi connection. However, they do require a subscription, which costs money.

There are other ways to get your music fix, especially if you'd like it to be free. If you're looking to reduce your monthly outgoings, there are plenty of free tools and apps that can be used to get your fill of music.

With a free music downloader, you're in control, and that's what's especially appealing for many people. The beauty of downloading music is that you have it available offline without the need to pay a monthly fee, and you can easily transfer files between devices as you need to. While not terribly common, it is certainly not unknown for tracks or even entire back catalogues of artists to disappear from individual services - this is simply not an issue if you have downloaded the tracks you love.

Music download can be a tricky subject. The first question that comes to mind is, is it actually legal to do so? It is, but only if you're downloading music that's not copyrighted; otherwise, you will need permission. However, asking this from major music companies may be a stretch. As long as you can find non-copyrighted music, you're perfectly in your right to download it for your listening pleasure.

Join us as we take a look at five of the best free music downloaders to give your ears the treat they deserve.

Looking to download your favorite YouTube videos instead? Get the best YouTube downloader to save your YouTube video on your PC. 

The best music downloader available right now is:
Audials One 2023

<a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6361382/type/dlg/sid/hawk-custom-tracking/https://audials.com/en/one/what_is_new_2020.html" data-link-merchant="audials.com"" target="_blank">The best music downloader available right now is:
<a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6361382/type/dlg/sid/hawk-custom-tracking/https://audials.com/en/one/what_is_new_2020.html" data-link-merchant="audials.com"" data-link-merchant="audials.com"" target="_blank">Audials One 2023
Audials One isn't free, but it's the most comprehensive music downloader we've tried. It takes you back to the good old days of recording songs from the radio; just specify a track you want, and it will scan online radio stations and 'record' it live when it's played. Audials One also serves as a hub for all your digital streaming services (music and video) and can even download from YouTube.

The best free music downloader apps for your PC 2024

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The best free music downloader: Any Video Converter Free

(Image credit: Anvsoft Inc)

1. Any Video Converter Free

A music downloader for saving tracks from YouTube

Specifications

Operating system: Windows, macOS

Reasons to buy

+
Supports 100+ sites
+
Wide range of output options
+
Easy to use interface

Reasons to avoid

-
Pop-up requests to upgrade

There are a number of programs that let you download music from YouTube, SoundCloud or Facebook, but very few support as many sources as Any Video Converter. In fact, the software lets you paste a link from any of over 100 popular video, music, and social media sites to quickly download content to your computer. 

Any Video Converter supports downloading high-def files up to 4K and even includes a basic editor for clipping and merging audio or video files. The software also supports native ID3 tag editing, so you can organize your music files according to artist, album and genre. Finally, Any Video Converter can output audio to MP3, AC3, OGC, WMA, M4A and many more, allowing you to choose your preferred file type.

With an easy-to-use and intuitive interface, a huge range of supported sites like YouTube and SoundCloud, and multiple output formats, Any Video Converter will help you keep your music collection growing and fresh. 

Read our full Any Video Converter Free review

Soundcloud Downloader

(Image credit: Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson)

2. Soundcloud Downloader

A music downloader specifically made for SoundCloud

Specifications

Operating system: macOS, Windows

Reasons to buy

+
Easy to use interface
+
Online and cross-platform
+
Support for playlists

Soundcloud Downloader is an online tool rather than a downloadable app, but this makes it no less noteworthy. In many ways, the fact that this is a website rather than an app works in its favour as it not only means that Soundcloud Downloader can be used on just about any operating system, it is also incredibly quick and easy for the developers to update.

It is a very simple tool that can be used with both individual files and playlists -- although, strangely, the site splits these up into two separate tools. Whichever you decide to download for posterity, the tracks you select will be saved as MP3s.

There are no fancy options, just paste in a URL and start downloading. If you're looking for quick and simple, you can't go far wrong.

qBittorrent

(Image credit: The qBittorrent Project)

3. qBittorrent

Another torrent client that makes a great music downloader

Specifications

Operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux

Reasons to buy

+
Simple interface
+
Open source and ad-free
+
Sequential downloading

Reasons to avoid

-
Limited features for power users

For those looking for a simpler and more streamlined torrent client, qBittorrent has everything you need to download torrents quickly and securely, and nothing you don’t. It’s completely free, with no ads or hidden fees, and 100% open-source. When it comes to exchanging files online, this transparency can give you some extra piece of mind. 

There are a number of handy features here for finding and downloading music. For example, the search feature supports user-made plugins to expand its capabilities and search the most popular torrent sites. This also means you can stay away from pirate sites, which certain ISPs monitor. Like Vuze, qBittorrent also lets you manage your downloads remotely by setting up a WebUI. You’ll need to select a port and enter your IP address each time you want to connect. 

qBittorrent is great for beginners or users looking for a simple interface without any bells and whistles, and is free of pesky advertising. 

Read our full qBittorrent review

FrostWire

(Image credit: FrostWire)

4. FrostWire

An old-school peer-to-peer client that searches multiple sources

Specifications

Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android

Reasons to buy

+
Excellent search tools
+
Open source

Reasons to avoid

-
Bundled extra software
-
Fairly intrusive ads

FrostWire combines two powerful methods for downloading new music: peer-to-peer (P2P) torrent sharing, and cloud-based downloads. FrostWire is a fork, or off-shoot, of LimeWire, created after the latter imposed stricter sharing protocols for audio files. Since that time, it has gone through numerous evolutions, and several useful features have been added.

An easy-to-use search bar connects you to a large P2P network of users sharing content as well as cloud-based sources like SoundCloud and Archive.org. Once you have your search results, you can check you’re getting the right file by streaming directly from the cloud source or by previewing torrents before they finish. Plus, you can easily navigate the file directory of any torrent and select which audio files to download, saving you both bandwidth and disk space. 

A built-in media library and player makes managing, growing, and enjoying your music collection a breeze. For users looking to leverage both torrent and cloud-based downloads, this is the program for you.

Christian Rigg

Christian is a freelance writer and content project manager with 6+ years' experience writing and leading teams in finance and technology for some of the world's largest online publishers, including TechRadar and Tom's Guide.