How to Make a Ringtone from YouTube (iPhone & Android, 2026)

That perfect hook in a song would make a great ringtone — and you don't need a paid app or a computer to get it. The trick is two steps: cut the exact 20–30 seconds you want into an MP3, then set that clip as your ringtone. This guide covers both, for iPhone and Android, start to finish.

Step 1 — Cut the clip from YouTube (both platforms)

Ringtones are short, so downloading the whole song and trimming it later is wasted effort. Cut it first:

1. Find the song on YouTube and copy its link (Share → Copy link).
2. Open our YouTube to MP3 cutter and paste the link — a timeline slider appears.
3. Drag the two handles to the part you want. Aim for 20–30 seconds — long enough to recognise, short enough for a ringtone. The live labels show your exact start, end and clip length.
4. Choose 320kbps (music deserves the best quality) and download. You now have a clean MP3 of just the hook.

That's the hard part done. Now set it — the steps differ by phone.

Step 2a — Set the ringtone on Android

Android makes this easy — no extra apps needed:

1. Your clip is already in the Downloads folder from Step 1.
2. Open Settings → Sound & vibration → Ringtone (wording varies slightly by brand).
3. Tap Add ringtone or the + icon, then browse to your downloaded MP3 and select it.
4. Done — it's now your ringtone. To set it for one contact only, open that contact → Edit → Ringtone → pick your clip.

Some phones (Samsung, Xiaomi) let you set any MP3 as a ringtone by long-pressing the file in the Files app and choosing "Set as ringtone."

Step 2b — Set the ringtone on iPhone (using GarageBand)

iPhone is stricter — custom ringtones go through the free GarageBand app. It sounds fiddly but takes two minutes:

1. From Step 1, your MP3 is in the Files app → Downloads (download in Safari).
2. Install GarageBand from the App Store (free) and open it. Create a new Audio Recorder project.
3. Tap the tracks view (the icon that looks like bricks), then the loop icon (top right) → Files → Browse items from the Files app, and pick your MP3.
4. Drag the clip onto the timeline. Trim further if you like (though you already cut it in Step 1).
5. Tap the ▾ arrow (top left) → My Songs. Long-press your project → Share → Ringtone, name it, and Export.
6. Go to Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone and select your new tone.

Because you already trimmed the clip on our cutter, you skip the fiddliest part of the usual GarageBand method — you're just importing and exporting.

Tips for a great ringtone

• Pick a recognisable moment — the chorus or a strong instrumental hook works better than a quiet intro.
• Start on the beat — our trimmer cuts frame-accurately, so line the start handle up right as the phrase begins.
• Keep it 20–30 seconds — long enough to hear before you answer, and iPhone ringtones are capped at 30 seconds anyway.
• Use 320kbps — phone speakers reveal low-bitrate mushiness more than you'd expect.

Common questions

Do I need a computer? No — the whole process works on the phone itself. Is it free? Yes, the cutter and GarageBand are both free. Why not just download the full song? You can, but then you're trimming a 5-minute file down to 30 seconds in another app — cutting it first is faster and gives a smaller file.

The legal note

Make ringtones from music you own, that's licensed to you, or that's freely licensed. Personal ringtones from music you've bought sit in a common-sense grey area most people don't worry about, but redistributing ringtones of copyrighted songs is a different matter — our legality explainer covers the principles.

Ready to make one? Open the YouTube to MP3 cutter, paste a song, and drag out your perfect 30 seconds.