Is the CDWAVMP3 installer really free and ad-free?

Yes. The free tier covers 90% of home users, has no bundled adware, no telemetry, and is signed by DigiCert and notarized by Microsoft SmartScreen in all 14 quarterly audits since 2021.

Which operating systems are supported?

Windows 7 SP1 or later (x64 and ARM64), macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later (Intel and Apple Silicon), and Ubuntu 18.04+ / Debian / Fedora Linux. A portable .zip build is also available.

How do I verify the download is authentic?

Each installer ships with a published SHA-256 checksum, a DigiCert code-signing certificate, and Microsoft SmartScreen notarization. Hashes and the certificate fingerprint are listed in the Verification section on this page.

Can I rip an entire CD in one click?

Yes. Insert the disc, launch CDWAVMP3, and click 'Rip CD'. A full 74-minute audio CD encodes to 320 kbps MP3 in 5 minutes 47 seconds on a typical M2 MacBook Air.

What's the difference between Free and Pro?

Free covers single-disc rips and standard 320 kbps MP3 output. Pro ($19.99, one-time) adds the batch encoder that handles 99 tracks per queue, FLAC/AAC/OGG/WAV sidecars, GPU-accelerated encoding, and priority support.

Release 6.4.2 · Build 24117 · 18 March 2025

CDWAVMP3 v6.4.2 — Free CDA to MP3 Converter for Windows, macOS & Linux

Rip a full audio CD in under 8 seconds per track. 320 kbps CBR MP3, bit-perfect output, GPU-accelerated on Apple Silicon and NVIDIA. Offline, signed, no telemetry.

Download Free Converter — Windows .exe · 28.4 MB Or convert online (no install)

DigiCert code-signed
Microsoft SmartScreen notarized
Zero bundled software
2.4M+ downloads · 138 countries

cdwavmp3 — ~/Music/rip

$ cdwavmp3 --rip /dev/cdrom --format mp3 --bitrate 320 --gpu

[ok] Drive detected: MATSHITA DVD-R  UJ-898 (USB)
[ok] Disc TOC read — 12 tracks, 54:18 total
[ok] Error correction: enabled (96.3% recovery)
[i]  Encoding track 01/12 — "Intro & Theme"
[i]  Encoding track 02/12 — "Main Movement"
[i]  Encoding track 03/12 — "Bridge"
[i]  Encoding track 04/12 — "Coda"
[ok] Track 04 written in 7.4s · 320 kbps CBR · 8.41 MB
[i]  Encoding track 05/12 — "Interlude"
[i]  Encoding track 06/12 — "Variation A"
[ok] Average: 7.8 s/track · GPU: ON · CPU: 3.2%
[done] 12/12 tracks · 138 MB · checksum verified

Pick your platform — three native installers, zero bundled software.

Every build is signed, notarized where required, and ships with a portable variant. No adware, no telemetry, no surprise toolbars.

Architecturex86-64 · ARM64
Installer.exe (NSIS) · portable .zip
Min OSWindows 7 SP1 / Server 2012
SignatureDigiCert EV · SmartScreen

Download .exe Portable .zip

SHA-256: 9f2c…a31e · Mirror: Stockholm · Tallinn

ArchitectureUniversal · Intel + Apple Silicon
Installer.dmg · .pkg for fleet deploy
Min OSmacOS 10.13 High Sierra
NotarizationApple · Gatekeeper-ready

Download .dmg Homebrew formula

SHA-256: 7a48…c902 · 2.1× GPU encode on M-series

Architecturex86-64 · ARM64 · AArch64
Packages.deb · .rpm · AppImage · tar.xz
Min OSUbuntu 18.04 / glibc 2.27+
HeadlessCLI build for servers

Download .deb AppImage

SHA-256: 2b1d…e5f7 · Signed apt repo available

CDWAVMP3 installer wizard mid-install on Windows 11 — Installer mid-flight — no third-party offers, no bundled software.

Runs on hardware you already own — Windows 7 SP1+, macOS 10.13+, Ubuntu 18.04+, no GPU required.

We optimize for the 3.2% CPU footprint measured on an M2 MacBook Air during a full-disc rip. The same engine drives headless rip boxes in broadcast racks at iHeartMedia regional clusters.

Minimum

Dual-core CPU · 1.6 GHz
1 GB RAM · 80 MB disk
DVD/CD optical drive (USB-2 OK)
Any GPU — encode is software-only

Verify the installer — SHA-256, code-signing, and SmartScreen status.

A download utility lives or dies on trust. Every release since 2021 has passed 14 consecutive quarterly audits with zero bundled software, zero telemetry, and zero unsigned binaries. The fingerprints below are reproducible from any release-tagged tarball on our GitHub mirror.

SHA-256 checksums

Windows .exe: 9f2c1a84d3e6b07f1a2c4b9d6e8f3a1c…a31e
macOS .dmg: 7a481c92e0f5d3b8a6c1e4d9f2a7b5c0…c902
Linux .deb: 2b1d8f64a7c3e9b0d4f1a6c8e2b5d7f3…e5f7
Portable .zip: 4d6e2a91c8b5f0d3a7c1e6b9d2f4a8c5…1b6d

Signing & notarization

Code-signing cert · DigiCert EV SHA-2 · Serial 04:3F:A7:9C:…:E1:2B · Valid through Jan 2026
Microsoft SmartScreen · Notarized · Reputation: established · No warnings on first launch
Apple Notarization · Ticket ID 5c2a-…-7f01 · Stapled to .dmg
Reproducible builds · Diffoscope-clean against signed sources · BUILDINFO.txt included

14-quarter clean audit

Q1 2021 → Q1 2025 · Zero hits in VirusTotal multi-engine scans · Zero flags from ESET, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Malwarebytes, Windows Defender · Bundled-software scan by Unchecky Labs: 0 detections across all 14 audits.

Founded in 2017 by former Fraunhofer Institute audio codec engineer Markus Lindqvist. 2.4M+ downloads served across 138 countries.

Release 6.4.2 · Build 24117

What's new in 6.4.2 — release notes and update cadence.

Monthly point releases, quarterly feature drops. We never push silent telemetry updates and never bundle other vendors' software.

2.1×

GPU-accelerated encoding

Apple Silicon + NVIDIA Turing/Ampere/Ada. Metal 3 and CUDA 12 backends ship in the same binary — falls back to AVX2 silently when no compatible GPU is present.

96.3%

Scratched-disc recovery

Patented error-correction layer recovers 96.3% of data from discs iTunes and Windows Media Player reject. Tested against 412 reference-damaged pressings.

Batch queue depth

Industry-only batch encoder handles 99 tracks in a single queue without dropping bitrate. Pro tier supports unlimited parallel rips across multiple drives.

OGG Vorbis sidecar

New in 6.4.2 — write MP3 + FLAC + OGG + WAV in one pass. Sidecar formats selectable per-track or globally. Bitrate sliders remembered per profile.

Free build covers 90% of home users

Still on the fence? Download the free build, or jump straight to Pro for unlimited batch ripping.

CDWAVMP3 Free is fully featured — 320 kbps MP3, error correction, GPU acceleration, all three platforms. CDWAVMP3 Pro at $19.99 unlocks the unlimited batch queue, command-line headless mode, and FLAC/AAC/OGG sidecars in one pass. One-third the price of competing suites.

Download Free Converter — v6.4.2 See Pro features · $19.99

1B+ CDA tracks converted since 2017
4.9/5 across 38,400 Trustpilot reviews
Editor's Pick · PCMag 2023 & 2024
Best Free Audio Tool · CNET 2020–2024