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A Blu-ray ripper is a software application that extracts data from a Blu-ray disc and converts it into a file that can be stored on your computer.
Most Blu-ray rippers come with a fairly steep price tag, but some free options get the job done if you’re willing to do extra work. We’ve compiled a list of the best free and paid options to help you choose the best Blu-ray ripper for your own needs.
Be sure to comply with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act when using any Blu-ray copying method.
What We Don’t Like
Can’t handle encryption, so it’s useless on many Blu-rays.
Too complicated for some users.
Handbrake is a fantastic free Blu-ray ripping app that also works with DVDs. It provides many output options, quick settings for specific formats and devices, and it’s completely free.
The catch with Handbrake is that it can’t handle encryption. That means it doesn’t work with most commercial Blu-ray discs. You can still use it to compress or change the format of movies or shows you’ve ripped with another app, but Handbrake itself can only rip unencrypted Blu-rays.
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What We Like
Free to download and use.
Doubles as a great media player.
Can handle some encrypted blu-rays.
What We Don’t Like
Procedure to work with encrypted blu-rays is poorly documented and difficult.
Ripping is extremely slow.
Doesn’t work with all blu-rays.
VLC is a great media player that also can rip DVDs and Blu-Rays. It’s open-source software that’s free, so there’s no barrier to entry. Even if it doesn’t end up being your Blu-ray ripper of choice, it’s still a highly competent video player that can handle most video and audio formats.
The biggest issue with VLC is that, as open-source software, it doesn’t come with the ability to play encrypted Blu-ray discs, let alone rip them. You need to jump through some hoops to add the ability to play encrypted Blu-ray discs, and even then, you’ll find that the ripping process is pretty slow and that VLC can’t handle some Blu-ray menus.
If you’re willing to put in the work to get this free app up and running, it doubles as a great way to play Blu-rays on Windows 10.
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What We Like
Handles encryption with ease.
Excellent quality output.
Preserves meta data when ripping.
Fully functional free trial.
What We Don’t Like
Only outputs in MKV.
Very large file sizes.
Rips slowly.
MakeMKV is a little rough around the edges, but this app is the gold standard for ripping Blu-rays. It can handle encrypted discs, the overall quality is excellent, and it’s entirely free to use. It isn’t perfect, as it can only output to the MKV format and is very slow, but the results are fantastic when it’s done.
The biggest concern with MakeMKV is that while the app is free, the ability to rip encoded Blu-rays is only free while the app remains in beta. That means you need to obtain a beta key from the developers to unlock the functionality required to rip encoded discs.
The software has been in beta for around a decade, though, and a new MakeMKV beta key is only a short Google search away, so this remains our top recommendation for the best Blu-ray ripper.
If you need a different format or smaller files, we recommend pairing MakeMKV with another free app like Handbrake to convert the large MKV files into something more manageable.
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CloneBD is a simple Blu-ray ripping app that’s easy to use yet offers many output options. The catch is that it can’t handle encrypted Blu-ray discs, so it’s only valid if you’re trying to rip unprotected Blu-rays.
This premium app is a bit on the pricey side for lacking decryption functionality, but it’s a decent option if you’re looking to clone unprotected discs.
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DVDFab is an excellent pick if you’re looking for a premium option. It isn’t cheap, and you have to pay more if you want to take advantage of the upscaling feature, but it is an excellent choice if you’re looking to move away from the headaches and extra work often associated with free software.
While this software isn’t cheap, it provides value. It’s capable of handling most encrypted discs with ease, it gives a ton of options for encoding to various file formats, and you have a lot of freedom to adjust the quality of your videos versus the file size.
If you’re ripping standard Blu-rays, you can even add their Enlarger AI to upscale to 4K video.
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LosslessCopy from EaseFab is a highly competent Blu-ray ripper capable of reading and converting encrypted discs, does the job with lightning speed, and has a price tag to reflect that. It does offer a free trial, but it’s minimal. If you want to rip an entire TV show or movie, you’ll have to pay for a yearly subscription or lifetime license.
The killer feature here is quality without sacrificing speed. As the name implies, this app can rip your Blu-rays to lossless MKV format with flawless quality. Unlike our favorite free options MakeMKV, which moves glacially, LosslessCopy can do the job in about five minutes.
This software is an excellent option if you’re willing to pay for speed, although the cumbersome interface does make it a bit difficult to work with at first.
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