Soundcloud is a global music platform where musicians, producers, DJs share their music of different genres. It is a free-to-listen service and in the Standard Plan one can upload up to three hours of audio. Authors can also specifically allow downloading their songs or forbid it. Thus, there are basically two ways to save music off Soundcloud: official and unofficial. The latter implies third-party apps, online services, extensions, and we’d like to talk about this variety of Soundcloud downloaders for Mac.
Some of these tools can download music in 128 kbps and higher quality MP3. Still, Soundcloud itself streams in 128 kbps no matter what, so even if you download music in 320 kbps, the quality of audio is not actually 320. In this article we’ve collected two dozens of most reliable services. But first, let’s go through how to download music that is published without download restrictions.
How to download songs from Soundcloud the official way? Some songs are marked as “Free Download” in the file name by an owner. Below the track click the More button and check if there’s the Download File option in the dropdown. This is the only way to get the best, or original, quality audio, for example in WAV format.
We recommend you stick with this method. Other ways are questionable in terms of copyright and distribution, and we do not encourage it. Yet to stay informed we have to see what is out there. So is it possible to download any music from Soundcloud? Yes, there are apps and services designed precisely to do that. We’ve selected the most relevant ones as of 2020.
Desktop macOS Soundcloud downloaders
| Product | Developer | Version | Main services | Compatibility | Pro | Download |
| MacX Downloader | Digiarty | 5.1.5 | Youtube, Instagram, Facebook | 10.6 or later | $25.95 | Official Site |
| Downie 4 | Charlie Monroe Software | 4.1.1 | Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook | 10.12 or later | $19.99 | Official Site |
| Youtube to MP3 | MediaHuman | 3.9.9.42 | Youtube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Facebook | 10.9 or later | $9.99 | Official Site |
| Tubeget | Gihosoft | 8.4.19 | Youtube, Facebook, Dailymotion | 10.6 or later | $29.95 | Official Site |
| Tubulator | Faroe Software | 1.1.4 | Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion | 10.10 or later | $12.95 | Official Site |
| Jdownloader | Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. | 2.0 | Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion | 10.7 or later | Free | Official Site |
| AllMyTube | Wondershare | 7.4.2 | Youtube, Facebook, Dailymotion | 10.10 or later | $29.00 | Official Site |
MacX Youtube Downloader
Nevermind the name, MacX is a classic downloader tool that can save video and audio in different formats from numerous websites. Earlier, it also was featured in the list of top video downloaders for Mac. First up, we recommend changing the output folder to Downloads or any other. MacX automatically downloads all media in the highest available quality.
To download music from Soundcloud, follow the next steps: copy the music track link, click Add URL in MacX, paste the link and click Analyze, check available download options, select what you need and click Download Now when ready. We can also download whole Soundcloud playlists.
Downie 4
Similarly, a video downloader that undoubtedly works with Soundcloud too. It has a simple interface with not many buttons and checkboxes. Just copy a song link and paste it straight in the active Downie window. It also has a browser extension, which redirects the download to the Mac app anyway. Considering a 14-day trial, HQ download by default, and a rich set of features, this is definitely one of the top Soundcloud downloaders for Mac.
Youtube to MP3
Youtube to MP3 is the most straightforward download application you can find on the Internet. Playlist downloads, tracking mode (add a favorite Soundcloud profile and get auto-download of new content there), nice design and workflow, unlimited capacity – all point towards a decent product.
Tubeget
Tubeget is a multifunctional download app for various media platforms, including Soundcloud. It has two main limitations in Trial version: maximum speed 1 Mbps, and only 5 downloads per day. When adding a song by URL, Tubeget selects the highest available quality, yet users can change it manually.
Tubulator
There is not much new to add about this app, same as with other Soundcloud download applications. It can extract single songs and playlists in the highest available quality (but keep in mind the notes from the article introduction). Paste a link, wait a few seconds and click the Download button in the middle of the album artwork. A full-feature trial is active for 14 days.
Jdownloader
Jdownloader is free, open-source, and supports media from YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, or Vimeo. Its interface may seem old-school and overloaded at first sight, but all you need to know at this stage is the Add New Links button in the left bottom area.
Of course, it also supports playlist downloads, whether it is YouTube or Soundcloud. Jdownloader has many extra features, it probably deserves a separate review article. Media converter, Anti-Captcha tool, 7Zip archiver, to name a few.
AllMyTube
Wondershare products are popular and reliable. AllMyTube is a multifunctional application that includes downloader, screen recorder, converter, iOS and Android transfer tool, and more. Download progress is visible directly. HQ download is possible too, although there are only 2 downloads allowed in Trial.
Online audio downloaders
Web-based download services are one of the easiest and direct ways to download songs from SoundCloud. Yet there is a significant drawback – no ability to save playlists and lots of ads.
Soundcloud To MP3 acts the usual way, copy/paste a song link and press the Download MP3 button. It has fewer ads than other online audio downloaders. Sounddrain contains a lot of redirect ads almost on every click. Paste SoundCloud link in URL field, click Enter, after a few seconds of processing, click the orange Download button.
Soundcloud Downloader stands out by fast download speed, though contains redirection ads. Scloud Downloader is reliable for songs of any duration, and has 2 options to ensure downloads – the Download Track button and Save Link As right-click option.
Downloader Soundcloud is an ads-free service with a playlist downloader to emerge soon, according to developers. Fast processing, but saved tracks get random names and tags. Klickaud is another excellent Soundcloud downloader online. Paste the URL, click Convert and then Download (or Save as).
ScToMP3 is the only web-based downloader with save-the-playlist option we could find. Track tab and the Playlist tab, respectively for different types of download. It is also ad-free. One more tool to finish off is Save The Video that is fast and stable, with a green main button appearing after link pasting.
Browser extensions (add-ons)
Last but not least on our list of Soundcloud downloaders for Mac are extensions for popular browsers. As there are no download extensions for the macOS native browser, we’ve selected Opera, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, as Safari alternatives. Also note that all of the following extensions are multi-platform, i.e. one can use it on macOS, Windows, Linux, etc.
So, for Google Chrome, we have CrossPilot that feels like a part of Soundcloud, and it can download full playlists. To save a song, click the Download button under it. Video Downloader Ultimate is another one displaying all the available songs to download on a page. In other words, if you open the playlist page, you will be able to download all songs in one place.
Opera browser users can try out Save From Net with the orange download button at the bottom, and is plain and fast, overall. CrossPilot for Opera, the same as Chrome version, can save single songs as well as selected playlists. Easy, stable and fast.
if you’ve got Mozilla Firefox, consider Soundcloud MP3 Downloader, SoundCloud Downloader or Soundcloud to MP3. Each is reliable, free and can get you songs and playlists.
Summary
In conclusion, all these Soundcloud downloaders for Mac are great in their way. Third-party apps can provide additional features such as converter, downloading from other media services, etc., but not all are free. Web-based downloaders are fast and stable, however may annoy with excessive ads. In our opinion, browser extensions are the most suitable option. No cost, ad-free, and almost every utility supports playlist downloads.
