10 Best Free YouTube Video Downloader Applications in 2023

avatar
Written by
Updated on: September 13, 2024
Time to read: 10 minutes

Despite YouTube being an online platform, the best way to enjoy it is offline. Downloaded clips won’t suffer from lag, buffering and other glitches inherent to streaming websites. If you want an optimal YouTube downloading experience, choose only the best apps. To help you with that, we’ve collected some amazing free YouTube downloader solutions.

1. YTD Video Downloader & Converter

YTD Video Downloader & Converter is a free software to download YouTube videos which also supports a number of other popular streaming sites. It offers various file formats like MP3, MP4, WMV, FLV, MOV, 3GP, and AVI. As the name suggests, the app also allows you to convert files.

best youtube downloader free

Pros

  • Download videos from 50+ sites (YouTube currently not listed)
  • Various formats available, such as 3gp, avi, flv, mov, mp3, mp4, and WMV

Cons

  • No lifetime license available
  • Some of the best features are not free

Price: Free. To enable Enable YTD Premium Features a user should choose monthly or yearly payment method. If paying monthly a Lite Plan will cost $6.99/per month, if yearly – $2.99/per month. There are also Pro and Ultimate plans which are more expensive. Discounts available.

Pro features:

  • You can download videos and playlists from 60+ sites without limitations
  • Download more than one video simultaneously
  • Videos can be converted to iPhone, iPad, MP4, WMV, AVI, MP3, etc.
  • Access a panel which tracks your activity
  • Faster download speed
  • Automatically resumes download when internet disconnects
  • Ad-free, doesn’t prompt you to install app
  • Free email support

2. ClipGrab

If you’re looking for a YouTube downloader free of charge, ClipGrab is a good option. It’s completely free, sustained by donations, and licensed under GPL. The app is generally described as lightweight and user friendly. It gives access to video content from websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Dailymotion. You can also download audio as MP3, while ClipGrab even lets you add ID3 tags to the video’s metadata. Please, note however, that in some cases it’s been flagged as malware by security software.

best free youtube video downloader

Pros

  • Completely free and transparent
  • Choose from MPEG4, MP3, WMV, OGG Vorbis U+0026 OGG Theora, or Original format
  • Downloads audio as MP3
  • Automatically detects copied video links in your clipboard

Cons

  • No playlist downloads
  • No browser integration available
  • Slow download speed or occasional issues with some videos

Price: free

3. Airy YouTube Downloader

We dare say that Airy is the best free YouTube downloader for Mac. Despite some recent YouTube updates, the Airy team constantly makes sure the app is up-to-date and up to standard. With its wide array of features, the Airy free YouTube downloader will fulfill all your downloading desires. At the same time, the app is sleek and intuitive, without looking overcrowded. Regardless of whether you’re downloading an individual video, or grabbing a playlist or entire channel, it’s still super easy to use. The same goes for free YouTube video download or audio download, in both HD or low resolution. You can even initiate downloads directly from your browser.

best free YouTube downloader for Mac and Windows

Pros

  • Variety of features available with just a click
  • Queue up many downloads or download multiple files simultaneously
  • Download audio and subtitles
  • Pause and resume downloads

Cons

  • Converter cannot be used separately
  • Only supports YouTube

Price: It costs just $19.95 for a lifetime license, or $39.95 for a family pack of 3 PC’s.

4. iTubeGo YouTube Downloader

When it comes to the best youtube video downloader for Android, free of charge, as well as for macOS and Windows, iTubeGo YouTube Downloader is one of the obvious choices. It’s a simple and reliable app, with all the essential features you’d expect from a YouTube free download software.

Apart from YouTube, it works with Dailymotion, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram, among others. You can also save YouTube subtitles in SRT and download several videos simultaneously. With its various video quality options available, iTubeGo allows you to choose from 480p, 720, 1080p, 2K, 4K, 8K, etc. depending on the case.

the best free youtube downloader

Pros

  • Downloads both video and audio files
  • Supports output formats such as MP4, MOV, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, etc.
  • Cuts YouTube videos and music in its built-in browser

Cons

  • Free version doesn’t offer playlist download
  • Interface could use some refreshing

Price: Basic version: Free. The Premium version costs as follows: For Mac, it’s $19.95 per month, $49.95 per year, or $79.95 for a lifetime license per computer. For Windows, it’s $19.95/month, $49.95/year, and $89.95 for a lifetime license. However, these prices are subject to significant discounts. Family plans are also available (2-5 computers).

Pro features:

  • Lifts limitation of 3 file downloads
  • Lifts limitation of 1 playlist download
  • Conversion is not limited to 1/3 of the file length
  • Unlocks batch downloads
  • 1-click download plus conversion is available

5. VideoHunter

VideoHunter is a free video downloader from YouTube, but also from 1,000 additional sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud, etc. The full capabilities include qualities of 8K, 4K, 2K, 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, etc. for video and 320kbps, 160kbps, 128kbps, etc. for audio.

If you’re planning on giving it a try, note that the initial 15-day trial period is limited to 1 device, 6 downloads per day, and 480p quality. The software lets you convert YouTube video to MP3 and download subtitles in SRT. VideoHunter is available for both Windows and Mac.

free downloading videos from youtube

Pros

  • Downloads both video and audio (in up to 8K and up to 320kbps, respectively)
  • Lightweight, clean interface
  • Built-in proxy integration

Cons

  • Unless you’re using the paid version, you’re limited to 6 single videos per day.

Price: Free 15-day trial available for all. Free version for an unlimited period of time is available for registered users. The full version comes at $9.95/month for 1 device and $29.95/year for 2 devices for Windows and Mac.

Pro features:

  • Unlimited downloads per day
  • 720p, 1080p, 4K, 8K download options available
  • YouTube playlist download and bulk download
  • Can be used by 2 devices
  • Ongoing technical support

6. ByClick Downloader

ByClick is a straightforward software, available as a free Youtube downloader for Windows 10 and all other Windows versions. It will let you download videos in HD, MP3, MP4, AVI, etc. Its interface offers quite a few options to select from, but actually looks quite fresh and fun. With the pro version, as you browse videos online, By Click’s auto-detect option displays a notification, prompting you to download available videos with one click. Please, note that this is a free YouTube downloader for PC only.

best free youtube downloader for windows

Pros

  • Downloads videos from 40+ websites
  • Converts to MP3, MP4, AVI, FLV, WMV, 3GP, WEBM, MKV, WAV, AAC and M4A

Cons

  • Mac and Linux platforms are not supported by By Click Downloader

Price: By Click Downloader is available for free. The premium plan costs $3.99 per year or $10 for unlimited access. Upgrading to 2 PC’s costs $6. Prices are subject to discounts.

Pro features:

  • Download playlist and channel
  • Download HD videos
  • Add ID3 tags for every MP3
  • Ad-free
  • Cut Downloaded MP3s to make ringtones

7. Apowersoft Video Download Capture

Apowersoft Video Download Capture allows you to grab video content from various websites and streamed by various protocols such as HTTP, FTP, RTMP. In fact, with this free YouTube downloader software you can save videos in formats such as MP4, FLV, 3GP, MP3, etc., or convert them later. The interface is quite well-organized and clean. And when it comes to automatic video detection, it’s probably one of the best free YouTube downloaders for the task. With its internal and external detection options, it will automatically detect and download videos you come across.

best free youtube downloader for mac

Pros

  • Wide selection of video and audio formats
  • Built-in media player
  • Downloads playlists
  • Screen recording, conversion, library also available

Cons

  • Doesn’t support multiple monitors

Price: This software costs $29.90 per month, $59.90 for an annual subscription, or $129.90 for a lifetime license. Currently discounted.

Pro features:

  • No download limitations
  • You can download up to 20 files in your queue
  • Video detector is available
  • No limitations on conversions
  • No watermark

8. Y2Mate

If you’re wondering what is the best free YouTube downloader available without any installations, Y2Mate is one of the contestants. It’s an online service which allows you to convert and download video from YouTube, as well as Facebook, Dailymotion, etc. in HD. It supports video formats such as MP4, FLV, M4V, 3GP, WMV, WEBM, MOV, MP3, etc.

Download YouTube video online

Pros

  • No registration required
  • Unlimited downloads free of charge
  • Search bar you can use to directly search for videos on the website

Cons

  • You need to copy U+0026 paste each download link individually, no batch downloads or multiple files

Price: free

9. SaveFrom

Another online free video downloader YouTube fans can use is SaveFrom. It’s quite straightforward, just copy-paste the video URL. Apart from YouTube, it works with Dailymotion, Facebook, TikTok, and many others. Unfortunately, it offers very limited options for video with audio (The options for video without sound depend on the quality of the original video). Also, in some instances it prompts you to install a browser extension or downloader app.

Online YouTube Downloader

Pros

  • Free of charge
  • Works with various streaming websites

Cons

  • Very limited formats and quality options (MP4 and WEBM only)
  • Sound not included in most download options
  • Many features require their browser extension or another app

Price: free

10. Keepvid

This Keepvid website provides an online YouTube video downloader free of charge. It works with YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, among others. You can use it to save videos in MP4 and MP3. But beware: almost wherever you click on the site, you will get an irritating full-sized pop-up window which redirects to an ad.

Note that what’s known as the official KeepVid website no longer offers a download option, but only a Converter, Editor, Compressor, and Audio Converter.

Online YouTube Downloader

Price: free

Pros

  • Works with a number of sites
  • Includes video metadata in MP3

Cons

  • Site is full of very annoying pop-up ads
  • Frequent error message keeps appearing and downloads fail

YouTube downloaders: Online vs Desktop options

You can find a number of websites that offer free downloading videos from YouTube, but while they seem easily accessible, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Online downloaders have many drawbacks compared to desktop software. For example, download speeds are slower due to remote servers and your data connection limitations. Also, a lot of these sites show embarrassing ads or even thumbnails of your recently downloaded videos, which might be a problem for some users.

Not to mention that online video converters don’t typically offer a lot of possibilities when it comes to output formats and video quality. For most, 4K is not an option, and neither are 3D and 360-degree videos. Another discouraging aspect is the lack of multiple downloads – you can only work with a single video at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

The fastest YouTube downloaders are probably online services, since they don’t require any installation. However, their download speeds tend to be slower than those of desktop programs.

Based on their specs, we’d say the safest downloaders out there are Airy and MacX YouTube Downloader.

Popular Articles
Airy
How to download YouTube video

The Best YouTube Downloaders for Mac in 2024

August 30, 2024
Airy
How to download YouTube video

Best Chrome YouTube Downloader on macOS

September 12, 2024
Airy
How to download YouTube video

15 Best YouTube to MP3 Converter Apps in 2024

August 30, 2024
Cookie
Airy Team uses cookies to personalize your experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookie policy. Click here to learn more.