Is the Happy Birthday song download really free?
Yes. Open Add music, pick an arrangement and choose Song only in the export. There is no account, fee or watermark.
Free · made on your device
Happy Birthday song download, free
Instrumental arrangements of the Happy Birthday tune, made for this site and free to download, play at the party or put under a birthday video with their name on screen.
Free · no sign-up · no watermark
You can download a Happy Birthday song free here: the editor’s Add music panel has several instrumental arrangements of the tune, made for this site, and Song only saves any of them on its own as an audio file. Play it at the party, sing over it, or keep it for next year.
The melody has been in the public domain in the United States since a 2016 court settlement, and in the EU since 2017, so a fresh arrangement like these is free to use. Specific recordings can still belong to someone, which is why a random download from a video site isn’t always safe; is Happy Birthday copyrighted explains the history.
The same tunes sit under any birthday video you make here, with their name on screen. The arrangements are instrumental, so nobody sings the name; it appears on the card instead.
Start from one of these
How to download a Happy Birthday tune
Open the music panel
Press Choose a Happy Birthday tune above. The editor opens with Add music showing the Happy Birthday arrangements.
(enlarge image) The Music panel: our own Happy Birthday arrangements, or Add music for a song on your device.
Listen and pick one
Play a few and choose the one that suits the person and the party.
Download the tune on its own
Choose Song only in the export to save it as an audio file on your phone or computer, ready to play through a speaker.
(enlarge image) Song only saves the Happy Birthday tune on its own as an audio file.
Or put it under a video
Keep the tune selected, type their Name and Age, press Add photos and clips, then Export video for a birthday video with the song underneath.
(enlarge image) Export video opens this sheet: Video (MP4) for a video with sound.
Why use these instead of a random download
- Free to use, including in posts. The arrangements are made for the site from a public-domain melody, so you can put them in a video you share.
- No sign-up or adverts between you and the file.
- Instrumental, so everyone at the party can sing over it, in any language.
- Made on your device. The tune is part of the editor; nothing you add to a video is uploaded.
There is no library of chart songs here, and songs from streaming apps can’t be added to a video. If you want a particular pop song under a birthday slideshow, you need the file and the right to use it; birthday slideshow songs has ideas.
Using the song at a party
Cake moment
Have the tune downloaded and the phone connected to the speaker before the candles are lit. Dim the lights, press play when the cake comes through the door, and everybody knows when to start.
Children’s parties
A bright, quick arrangement suits small children, who sing faster than adults. Keep the volume low enough that the singing is the loudest thing in the room.
Far away
If you can’t be there, make a happy birthday video with their name on the tune and send it to arrive in the morning.
What “with name” means here
Many people search for a Happy Birthday song with a name sung in it. These arrangements are instrumental: the name doesn’t appear in the music, it appears on screen, in big animated letters, while the tune plays. That works for any name and any spelling, and it reads well with the sound off too.
Happy Birthday song: questions
Can I use the tune in a video I post on social media?
Yes. The melody is in the public domain and these arrangements are made for this site and free to use in your video, including when you post it.
Does the song sing their name?
No. The arrangements are instrumental. Their name goes on screen in the video instead, which works for any name.
What format is the download?
An ordinary audio file that plays on phones, computers and speakers. Song only saves it to your device.
Can I add my own recording of the family singing?
Yes. Add music also takes a song file from your device, so a recording of everyone singing can go under the video instead.
Is Happy Birthday still copyrighted?
Not any more in the United States or the EU. Our page on whether Happy Birthday is copyrighted has the dates and the story.