4 MakeMKV Alternatives for Blu-Ray/DVD Ripping on Mac, Windows & Linux

Tired of the MakeMKV website suspending or the endless search for beta keys after the MakeMKV evaluation expired? Although MakeMKV works like a charm when ripping DVDs, there are problems like MakeMKV not working or format incompatible issues.

So we list four DVD ripping software as MakeMKV alternatives. The best alternative to MakeMKV is VideoProc Converter AI, which you can directly get through the button below. Also, there are some other Blu-ray rippers in this article. Please keep reading and choose the one that suits you best as per your needs.

MakeMKV Alternative for Mac and Windows - VideoProc Converter AI

VideoProc Converter AI is the overall best MakeMKV alternative on Mac and Windows.

This DVD ripping software allows you to load DVD discs, VIDEO_TS folder, and ISO image files, ranging from homemade to 99-titles DVDs. Keeping up with almost all mainstream DVD copy protection schemes, VideoProc Converter AI can easily handle copy-protected and encrypted discs. It also supports drag-and-drop, which is much more interactive.

Similar to MakeMKV, VideoProc Converter AI will list the detailed information of each title after parsing. And simultaneously, VideoProc Converter AI will automatically and intelligently select the correct title, so you don't have to worry about issues like MakeMKV angle 1 angle 2.

In addition to remuxing your DVD to MKV just like MakeMKV, VideoProc Converter AI can also convert your DVD to MP4 (H.264/HEVC), AVI, MOV, and other formats compatible with various devices. Novices can directly benefit from the rich presets. Tech-savvy users can customize the parameters of these presets, such as codec, bitrate, frame rate, audio/subtitle tracks, etc.

Even better, VideoProc Converter AI provides faster parse and processing speed than MakeMKV, thanks to the GPU acceleration technology fully powered by Intel Quick Sync, Nvidia CUDA/NVENC, AMD GPUs, and Apple M1/M1 Pro/M1 Max. It also provides options to let the user decide whether to deinterlace and how many CPU cores to use and then to distribute the computing power more reasonably.

Pros:

• Rip DVD and 1:1 backup to digital copies: ISO, VOB, Video_TS, MKV…
• Support various DVDs ranging from homemade to commercial, 99-title DVDs…
• Bypass the region restriction and copy protection schemes
• Convert DVD to MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, MP3, and other formats
• Retain the original quality and improve the quality of old or low-res DVDs
• Fast processing speed powered by GPU acceleration
• Work as MKV editor to trim, crop, add new subtitles, etc
• Low CPU usage of 2% on average

Cons:

• Lack of support for IFO files and Blu-ray discs

MakeMKV Alternative Linux - HandBrake

HandBrake would be the best free alternative to MakeMKV.

This video transcoder can serve as a DVD ripper as well. Just like MakeMKV, HandBrake can process DVD and Blu-ray discs. It will start parsing the DVD when you click the Open Source button. After that, the program will automatically select a title, which is usually correct. But it will not list details of all titles, unlike MakeMKV, so you'll have no clue why to choose this title or whether you should select another one. But it does provide a feature of title/chapter and range selection.

As for the audio and subtitle streams, HandBrake displays one each by default. You have to go to the Audio and Subtitle tabs separately, then click Add Track > Add All Remaining Tracks to see all the audio tracks and subtitle tracks in that title.

One more thing you need to know: compared to MakeMKV, HandBrake will rip, re-encode, and wrap the re-encoded video into another container. That is, you will not be able to bypass the re-encoding process, which may affect the video quality.

Note that this program can only process DVD or Blu-ray sources without any copy protection, and you may encounter issues like HandBrake won't rip DVD as a result. Nevertheless, HandBrake still has a clear advantage in outputting the digital copies in MKV, MP4, and WebM containers. In contrast, MakeMKV can only output MKV files.

Pros:

• Free, open source, and multi-platform (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
• Support for output formats including MKV, MP4, and WebM
• Rich presets for various devices and platforms
• Optional filters to deinterlace, denoise, detelecine, deblock, etc
• Lots of customizable parameters for experienced users

Cons:

• Force to re-encode
• Very high CPU usage
• Lack of support for copy-protected DVDs

MakeMKV Alternative Windows - WinX DVD Ripper

WinX DVD Ripper is one of the best choices if you want to convert a DVD to digital over the decade. As the name suggests, it's only compatible with Windows OS.

This program supports DVDs, ISO files, and the VIDEO_TS folder as the input source, just like MakeMKV. One of the advantages of WinX DVD Ripper is its ease of use. The interface is simple and clean only with all the necessary features. You only need three steps, at least, from loading the DVD to the final output of the ripped video.

The whole process of parsing and outputting is very fast, thanks to the GPU acceleration technology. The program also builds in several simple editing features, such as adjusting audio volume, cropping/trimming the video, adding external subtitle files, etc.

As for the outputs, different from MakeMKV, WinX DVD Ripper offers more output formats, including MP4 (H.264/HEVC), AVI, WMV, MPEG, and MOV. But unexpectedly, WinX DVD Ripper cannot output video in MKV format. The DVD backup profile will give back an MPG video, which may be a little troublesome when playing.

Pros:

• Support various DVDs: homemade, commercial, damaged/workout/99-title DVD…
• Good output image quality
• Fast DVD ripping speed with GPU acceleration
• Unlock region codes and remove commercial DVD copy protections
• Clear & easy to use UI
• Rich output presets for different devices and platforms, iPhone iPad…

Cons:

• Lack of support for MKV output
• Cannot rip Blu-ray discs

MakeMKV Free Alternative - DVD Shrink

DVD Shrink is another MakeMKV alternative on Windows OS to back up DVDs. It's freeware that can only run on Microsoft Windows systems. As with MakeMKV and most other DVD rippers, it can open DVD files in a VIDEO_TS folder or a disk image (ISO, IMG, NRG, or MDS/Ixx).

As the name implies, DVD Shrink is designed to reduce the size of DVD videos. It operates in two main modes: Reauthor and Full Disk. Both modes allow you to freely set the compression ratio to adjust the output file size, and some loss of quality is inevitable. You can also choose which audio and subtitle track to keep as needed.

Commercial DVDs are often encrypted, and DVD Shrink features a DeCSS decryption algorithm to open and decrypt many currently available DVDs. But for some newer copy protection techniques, this algorithm seems somewhat inadequate. And the resulting output would be an ISO file or a DVD VIDEO_TS folder, which wraps a VOB file. You may need a video converter to convert VOB to a more playable format.

One last thing you need to be aware of is that DVD Shrink is no longer updated, and the final version in English is 3.2.0.15. All other versions, such as DVD Shrink 2010/2011 or DVD Shrink 2001, are scams. And the official website is not operated by the original developers. You'll have to get the program through other third-party channels.

Pros:

• Freeware
• Able to remove DVD regional lockout
• Shrink DVD content size
• Option to remove or keep audio or subtitle tracks

Cons:

• The relatively time-consuming analysis process
• Not very playable output format
• Powerless for some newer copy protection techniques