If you want to share a video without sound, or plan to add your own background music, narration, or voiceover, removing the original audio is often the first step. On macOS, you don’t need any third-party tools for this—Apple already includes everything you need.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to remove audio from video on Mac using QuickTime Player and iMovie, both of which are free and pre-installed on most modern Macs.
Why Remove Audio from a Video?
There are several practical reasons you might want to mute a video:
- Preparing content for social media platforms
- Replacing original sound with background music
- Adding voiceover or narration later
- Removing unwanted noise or distractions
- Creating clean clips for presentations or editing projects
Whatever your goal, macOS makes this process simple and fast.
Method 1: Remove Audio from Video Using QuickTime Player
QuickTime Player is a built-in macOS app that can do much more than just play videos. It also allows you to edit and export media files, including removing audio tracks.
Steps to mute a video with QuickTime Player
Start by opening QuickTime Player. You can quickly find it using Spotlight Search.
Next, open your video file by selecting File > Open File and choosing the video you want to edit.
Once the video loads, go to the top menu bar and click Edit, then select Remove Audio. This instantly detaches the sound track from your video.
After that, you’ll need to save the updated version. Go to File > Export As, then choose your preferred resolution such as 4K, 1080p, 720p, or 480p depending on your video quality options.
Some resolution options may appear unavailable if they don’t match the original video’s quality.
Finally, choose a file name and select a save location. Click Save to export the muted video.
You can then open the file in Finder and play it using QuickTime or any media player to confirm that the audio has been removed successfully.
Method 2: Remove Audio from Video Using iMovie
iMovie is Apple’s free video editing software and offers more flexibility if you want to edit your video further after removing the sound.
Steps to remove audio in iMovie
Open iMovie on your Mac and create a new project or open an existing one.
Drag your video file into the timeline area.
Click on the video clip in the timeline, then right-click and select Detach Audio. This separates the audio track from the video.
Once the audio is detached, you can simply delete it from the timeline.
To export the silent video, click Share (top-right corner), then choose File.
Select your preferred resolution and quality settings, then click Next.
Choose a name and location for the file and click Save.
iMovie will export your video without audio, ready for sharing or further editing.
Extra Tip: Other Ways to Remove Audio on Mac
While QuickTime Player and iMovie are the easiest options, macOS users can also use other tools if needed.
GarageBand can be used if you want to replace or edit audio more deeply before exporting. For more advanced workflows, third-party apps like VLC Media Player or LosslessCut also support audio removal and format conversion.
These alternatives are useful if you need batch processing or more export options like MP3 or WAV audio handling alongside video editing.
Final Thoughts
Removing audio from video on Mac is quick and straightforward thanks to Apple’s built-in tools. QuickTime Player is perfect for fast edits, while iMovie gives you more control for editing projects.
Whether you’re preparing content for social media, creating tutorials, or adding custom soundtracks, these free tools make it easy to get a clean, silent video in just a few clicks.