Is MakeMKV Still Worth Using in 2026? Full Review

Quick Verdict

By 2026, MakeMKV is still worth using, capable of creating perfect 1:1 lossless digital copies of your physical discs while fully preserving all HDR and audio data.

• Choose MakeMKV if: You run a Plex/Jellyfin server, care about absolute maximum video/audio quality, and have plenty of storage space.
• Skip MakeMKV if: You want to convert videos directly to small MP4 formats, or need to edit video clips.

This cry for help from Reddit perfectly captures the dilemma many movie enthusiasts face in 2026. Looking at MakeMKV today, its Windows 98-style interface seems like a suspicious relic from a bygone era, leading many to question whether it’s still a practical tool. However, it remains the top choice in the home server community. In this hands-on review, I’ll take an in-depth look at how MakeMKV performs in real-world use to help you decide whether its lossless extraction method is still worth using today.

1. What is MakeMKV?

MakeMKV is a powerful piece of software that can extract video and audio from physical discs—including 4K UHD discs—and save them in MKV format. It does not transcode or compress the data, ensuring that the original video quality remains intact.

In addition to its core conversion capabilities, MakeMKV is widely known for its unique, ongoing “free trial key” model, which has been in operation for over a decade.

If you find obtaining a beta key too much of a hassle, or if your main goal is to save storage space by converting standard DVDs to MP4, or if you want to quickly convert Blu-ray discs to MKV format (while avoiding overly large files), then it might be better to try some modern alternatives to MakeMKV.

2. Key Features I Tested

To determine whether MakeMKV truly met current needs for archiving physical media, I focused my tests on its three main features. Here are the results of those tests.

2.1 1:1 Lossless Conversion (No Re-encoding)

MakeMKV performed a strict 1:1 format conversion without any transcoding or compression. It directly encapsulated unmodified video, unprocessed multichannel audio (such as Dolby Atmos), and native subtitles into the MKV container, ensuring zero loss of quality.

2.2 BD+ and AACS Decryption

MakeMKV easily bypasses some basic protection measures on discs. My tests on commercially available encrypted discs show that it natively supports CSS, AACS, and BD+ encryption without requiring external plugins or third-party decryption tools running in the background.

2.3 UHD Drive Compatibility via LibreDrive

Using its proprietary LibreDrive mode in conjunction with a compatible optical drive, MakeMKV successfully bypassed strict hardware restrictions and directly read the raw 4K UHD data. It fully preserved the advanced Dolby Vision and HDR10 metadata layers.

3. Performance Test: Putting MakeMKV to Work

Here is how MakeMKV performed across three different disc formats during my hands-on testing.

3.1 Test environment

3.2 Testing Process

My steps for using MakeMKV are as follows:
Step1: Insert the disc, launch MakeMKV, and click the large optical drive icon to let the program scan the encrypted structure.
Step2: Once the titles loaded, right-click the menu and choose Unselect all. Check only the title with the largest file size and longest duration, which represents the main feature.
Step3: Expand the main movie dropdown and uncheck any unnecessary foreign language tracks or commentaries, leaving only the primary audio and necessary subtitle tracks.
Step4: Select the target folder under Output folder, click the green Make MKV button, and wait for the conversion to finish.

3.3 Test Result

I pushed MakeMKV through a series of hands-on tests with my own disc collection to see how it genuinely performs.

Test Case 1: Standard DVD

To establish a benchmark, I first chose a standard DVD-9 movie with a length of just over two hours. Here’s how MakeMKV handles this traditional format:

Test Case 2: Standard 1080p Blu-ray

I then used a standard BD-50 Blu-ray disc (1 hour and 58 minutes) to increase the pressure. At this point, the relationship between speed and data size becomes crucial:

Test Case 3: 4K UHD Blu-ray

For the ultimate test, I inserted a 2.5-hour 4K Ultra HD disc into the system. Here’s how it performed under this load:

4. Pros and Cons I Encountered

After a series of tests, I have gained a general understanding of the features of MakeMKV and have summarized them as follows.

5. What Users Are Saying?

To verify whether my experience aligns with public opinion, I collected user discussions and comments from the past year (2025–2026).

5.1 The Good: What Users Love

5.2 The Bad: Common User Complaints

6. MakeMKV Alternative: What Else Did I Consider?

As the user reviews suggest, MakeMKV isn’t ideal for every scenario. Therefore, during my 2026 testing, I also evaluated several MakeMKV alternatives and found that Leawo Blu-ray Ripper serves as the perfect counterpart to address MakeMKV’s distinct shortcomings.

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is a very useful conversion tool. Although it is paid software—unlike MakeMKV’s free trial version—it offers a much wider range of features. Leawo not only copies the original data, but also allows me to directly compress large-capacity discs into MP4 files, instantly convert file formats, and use its built-in editing tools to trim and crop videos so they fit perfectly on my mobile devices.

Here is a detailed comparison table of both.

The comparison table below clearly shows that MakeMKV is slightly superior to Leawo in certain respects; however, in terms of overall performance, Leawo offers more comprehensive functionality, compensating for MakeMKV’s shortcomings.

Let’s look at user feedback (source: Trustpilot). MakeMKV has only 5 reviews, whereas Leawo has 154; this significant disparity arises primarily because Leawo’s reviews include feedback for other software products in its lineup. In terms of review distribution, Leawo has a slightly higher proportion of positive reviews and a slightly lower proportion of negative ones, indicating better overall user feedback. However, since the majority of MakeMKV user feedback is concentrated in community forums rather than on Trustpilot, a direct comparison based solely on Trustpilot data has certain limitations.

7. Final Verdict

After extensive testing in 2026, MakeMKV continues to offer excellent value for money thanks to its unparalleled free 1:1 lossless ripping feature. In summary, MakeMKV is ideal for home theater enthusiasts with ample storage space, while Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is better suited for general users who want to quickly compress files and convert them for use on mobile devices. Finally, please check your country’s or region’s applicable copyright laws regarding disc ripping before copying any media files.

FAQs

Q1: Is MakeMKV still free in 2026?

Yes. It is still in beta. You can use it completely free by copying the new registration key from their official forum every month. If you want to skip this hassle, you can check out other free blu-ray rippers.

Q2: Is MakeMKV safe to use?

Yes. I downloaded it from the official site and found no malware or viruses. It is completely safe and trusted by the community.

Q3: Is it legal to use MakeMKV to rip my personal disc collection?

This is a gray area. In countries such as the United States, circumventing a disc’s copy protection is technically illegal, but making a personal backup copy of a purchased disc for personal use is generally not subject to penalties.

Q4: Can MakeMKV handle copy-protected DVDs or Blu-rays?

Yes. It easily bypasses almost all standard DVD and Blu-ray protections, and the developers update it regularly to handle newer discs.

Q5: Does MakeMKV compress video or reduce quality?

No. It does not compress anything. My tests show it copies the exact video and audio data from the disc into an MKV file with zero quality loss.

Q6: What is the difference between MakeMKV and HandBrake?

MakeMKV extracts raw video from a disc without losing quality or changing its size. HandBrake compresses video files to make them smaller but cannot decrypt commercial discs on its own.