There are billions of hours of video on YouTube. Literally. And that's inappreciably the near astounding statistic about the site, which has been the go-to destination for uploading and watching video since 2005. That said, sometimes, you really desire or need to take one of those videos on your ain computer or phone. But when the topic of downloading YouTube videos comes up, there'due south a side subject that must be broached: Is it legal?

On the copyright front, equally long as you're downloading a video for your own personal offline apply, you're probably okay. It's more than black and white when you consider Google's terms of service for YouTube, which read: "You are non allowed to...access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, modify, modify or otherwise use any office of the Service or any Content except: (a) every bit expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the corresponding rights holders."

Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators. There's a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this way.

Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. If yous want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites go far easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. You simply do non need to download a video most of the fourth dimension.

However, you accept your reasons. If you must download a YouTube video—absolutely need to, just for yourself, and not for dissemination, and not to be a full douche-nozzle—hither'due south how.

Note: This story is updated ofttimes as the tools involved change regularly. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such as software then full of "extras," information technology gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. The aforementioned goes for the helper websites—a change in a site'south ad network tin can besides create bug with malware.

To prevent this from becoming a laundry list of programs and sites that can download YouTube videos, we came upwardly with a few rules for inclusion. Services must:

Support 4K downloads fifty-fifty in the costless version.
Piece of work with top iii video sites:YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
Download entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at to the lowest degree with a paid version.
Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does so).
Take an interface thatdoesn't suck.
Not collect your personal information beyond your email address.
Not comprise malware. If there'southward even a whiff of it in the air, fifty-fifty a PUP, it's out.

The programs, services, and sites in this story are all free of spam/virus/problems every bit of this writing, but caveat emptor. Big time. Especially if you're non really emptor-ing.

YouTube Premium Downloads

Now bachelor for subscribers of YouTube Premium—the paid version of YouTube that allows you to picket without ads—are video downloads. Kind of. There'due south one caveat with quality: All the video y'all download is express to 1080p quality max, or lower. No 4K.

The biggest issue is, this feature doesn't really download a video to save on your computer forever. It is more akin to the download characteristic found on mobile apps for Netflix and Hulu, which makes a streaming video available to watch later using your local storage and views it using the app'due south interface simply. This is not a method that allows you to, say, spotter a video using different software such as the VLC Media Player.

You access the download by going to the YouTube hamburger menu and selecting Downloads to view the list of what you lot've grabbed. The page says "Downloads remain available every bit long as your device has an agile internet connection at least once every 30 days." This probably isn't exactly what you are looking for in a download. Only the tools below evangelize exactly that.

Desktop Software

3rd-political party software is where you will get the best control over downloading online videos. Typically, you paste the URL for the YouTube video you want into the programme, and it downloads the highest quality version it can find. For videos in 1080p High Definition (HD) format, that's usually an MP4 file. For anything higher in quality—4K or 8K—the file format is typically MKV.

In the by, YouTube videos were Flash-based, so your download was an FLV file, merely those tend to be harder to play back. MP4 (brusque for MPEG-four Role xiv multimedia format) plays everywhere

Note that the MKV file, as well called a Matroska, is a container—the file could contain video utilizing any number of codecs inside. The fool-proof manner to play them all is to utilize the VLC Media Histrion for Windows, which plays everything. (Read more nigh information technology beneath.) As for the downloaders, hither are the all-time options.

VLC Media Player

Complimentary; Windows, macOS, Linux

We mention VLC Media Player to a higher place because it's a fantastic tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux users that plays back just about whatsoever media ever created. It besides has the ability to download YouTube videos, albeit in a convoluted fashion. (If you run into any problems, endeavor a full re-install of VLC and clear your cache to make it piece of work.)

Copy a URL from a YouTube video, then open up VLC. From the Media menu, select Open Network Stream (Ctrl+N) and paste in the URL. Click Play. When the video is playing, go to Tools > Codec Information. There is a box at the bottom called "Source"—re-create the URL yous find in that box.

Go back to your browser and paste the URL—information technology's a temporary web address and will elapse eventually—in the address bar and get-go playing the video. When you're viewing the video in the browser, click the three-dot menu at the lower right for the download selection to keep it locally.

Still, it appears that VLC is only going to salvage your file as 1080p and non any college, even if the original YouTube stream was available in 1440p or 2160p (aka 4K). It besides won't catechumen video to other formats. To get those options, y'all need the desktop software below.

4K Video Downloader

Gratis or $15 for lifetime license on 3 computers; Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux, Android

Multi-lingual 4K Video Downloader (4KVD) is frequently updated and features clear download links on the program's website; no ad traps hither. The software does what information technology advertises in a simple interface. It grabs videos up to 8K in quality and downloads to plenty of formats. Simply copy a YouTube URL and click the Paste Link button to get started. 4KVD will even grab subtitles, entire playlists, and all the videos in a aqueduct to which you subscribe. The sites supported are limited to the big names like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and a few others, just that covers nearly of what you need. It does display a large banner advertizing to keep the lights on and yous're limited to 30 downloads a mean solar day on the gratis version.

I had to make a switch from MP4 to MKV format to get my test video to download in 4K. 4KVD snagged the 3-minute, 229.7MB file for the movie trailer in virtually 1 minute and 20 seconds. 4KVD defaults back to 1080p HD, so I fabricated the same switch when downloading an Ultra High Definition (8K) playlist.

If you enable the Smart Mode and its presets, 4KVD tin perform i-click downloads to your favorite format. If yous want to download more than 25 videos at a time or subscribe to YouTube channels to instantly download the latest, that requires the paid version. Playback of the resulting MKV files via VLC Media Player was flawless.

The program itself has an option to excerpt audio to MP3 format, and so y'all don't even need the 4K YouTube to MP3 companion software.

VideoProc Converter

$59.90 for one yr, $78.90 lifetime, $119.90 family unit (2-five PCs); Windows, macOS

The powerful VideoProc from Digiarty comes in an editor edition and this converter, which also provides editing and effects. The downloading aspect is not bad, a version similar to Digiarty'due south WinX YouTube Downloader, which you lot tin can still discover simply is non promoted past the visitor these days. This makes sense, as VideoProc Converter handles a lot of downloading, supposedly supporting 4K from over one,000 websites. With hardware dispatch, it promises some speed. Thankfully, it oftentimes offers price discounts.

To use information technology, you open the software, let it detect your hardware to come across what you lot have to help with acceleration (if anything). Click the Downloader button, click Add video to place equally many URLs as you want to batch, and so Download Now. Or you tin get a whole YouTube playlist or live stream. It grabbed our 697MB examination 4K video to WEBM format in well-nigh ii minutes and xv seconds, which isn't bad. Best of all, the trial version of VideoProc Converter, which limits conversions to 5 minutes, doesn't appear to limit downloads.

FlixGrab

1-twelvemonth license $44.99 plus tax (or $9.99 for Free YouTube Download); Windows

Like some others, FlixGrab has several different programs available, many with overlapping features. For instance, it has FlixGrabMS (a version you get from the Microsoft Store to run on Windows 10/11)—only it wouldn't let me grab video from YouTube. The straight download of the FlixGrab program from the flixgrabapp.com site did work with YouTube and several other sites,. Plus it offers a Free YouTube Download that is specific to YouTube, nonetheless uses the same easy-to-use interface. The downside, as with others, is the loftier subscription price, but it's the merely way to become high-quality downloads. The YouTube-only version is substantially cheaper at $9.99 per year, however. Neither comes with a trial menstruation.

5KPlayer

Free; Windows and macOS

The free 5KPlayer is a lot more than a downloader, but it's got a heck of an integrated downloader. Promising no viruses, ads, or plug-in requirements is a skillful start. Information technology is, sadly, i of the few tested that asks for a registration of your name and email—y'all take to do that to get the full download part across 300+ sites. However, you can still nab 4K vids from YouTube without registering.

When downloading, the program does effort to hide some things. Paste in the URL for a YouTube video and the analysis engine runs and shows only a few download options. Click the gear icon, then the Show All push button, and coil to run into more—like a 4K iii,840-by-2,160 file in WebM format. The 227MB WebM test download took an agonizing 6.5 minutes. Grabbing playlists was possible, but y'all must adjust download settings one video at a fourth dimension. The confusing interface makes it hard to go back to the other videos in the playlist.

5K Player also features DLNA server playback so videos y'all grab can be watched on any devices that support DLNA, plus it supports AirPlay for quick playback to Apple devices. Choice a video in the library for quick conversion to MP4, MP3, or even ACC (the sound format preferred past iOS). The player didn't like playing back the overly large 4K file, though, and experienced buffering issues (VLC didn't accept whatsoever problem with the same file).

Ultimately, there's a lot to similar virtually 5K Player, from the toll to the features, especially if you look at them as extras on a downloader. But the bad interface, slow download speeds, and playback issues may take you lot looking elsewhere.

Helper Websites

Do yous want to avoid installing software? Video download helper sites are supposed to exercise the download work for y'all. All of them practise one bones thing: You give them a YouTube URL (or another video site, if supported), they parse it, give you a option of what size download y'all desire, and provide a link to said download. They piece of work on whatever platform, sometimes even on mobile devices. You don't have to install anything on your PC. It can take a lot longer, depending on the size and quality of the video you desire, but you tin can't trounce the convenience.

The trouble is, you can't always trust them. At that place are hundreds of these types of sites out there—information technology seems anyone with a modicum of coding ability has gear up one upwards. Such sites easily go from useful to suspicious, peculiarly if they get pop and the proprietor sells out to make greenbacks off your visits.

Recommended by Our Editors

Since this story was first published, all the helper sites we recommended take been removed for reasons similar adding sexually explicit ads, no longer working, switching to pushing its download utility only, and ane for going out of business concern to avoid getting sued.

For that reason, we're not recommending whatever helper sites at the moment. Attempt ane if y'all find it, but if your browser, antivirus, or instincts throw up warnings, avoid and move on.

Extensions

A browser extension can salvage you a footstep. However, you're going to run into some issues with downloading video from YouTube, particularly if you're using Chrome every bit your main browser.

The Chrome Web Store—where yous get Chrome browser extensions—is controlled by YouTube's possessor Alphabet/Google. Even an extension ostensibly for this purpose isn't going to allow YouTube direct downloads, because of Chrome Store restrictions. In general, with Chrome extensions, the download of whatever RTMP protocol video (protected videos) or streaming video isn't possible. You tin can use them on other sites with video, of class. Just not YouTube.

Want to become around information technology? Become an extension that does not come up from the Google Spider web Store. Some of the programs and helper sites offer an extension component and volition spell out how to do the install without the assistance the Chrome Spider web Store usually provides. Hither are a couple.

YouTube Video Downloader

Free; Chrome, Opera, Edge, Vivaldi, UCBrowser

YouTube Video Downloader from Addoncrop is on multiple browsers simply with fantabulous side-load capabilities. Information technology puts a button beneath whatsoever video you lot're playing on YouTube, or even an embedded YouTube video, making it easy to catch. Supported video quality goes up to 8K. You can besides convert sound from the video to an MP3. Information technology will even help you lot take video screenshots.

Video DownloadHelper

Free; Firefox, Chrome, Edge

Video DownloadHelper supports a huge number of sites—even those for adults. You'll know a video is downloadable when the icon for the extension animates when you're on the spider web page. Video DownloadHelper for Chrome has stopped working with YouTube; that way, it could get placement in the Chrome Web Store. Get around that by using the Video DownloadHelper extension on Firefox or Edge instead.

Mobile

Downloading from YouTube using an Android app from the Google Play Store is a claiming, given that Google has a tight grip on the site it owns, and offers the paid YouTube Premium service that supports offline viewing.

That said, with Android, itis possible to install apps without going through Google. For example, InsTube – Costless Video and Music Downloader for Android tin only be found at InsTube's site. Download the APK (Android application package) file to sideload on an Android device. Find information technology in your device's downloads and click to install. (You may take to get into your security settings and enable "Unknown sources.")

(Instube)

On iPhones and iPads, you'd call up there would be no such restriction since Apple and Google aren't exactly the best of pals (or maybe they are). Notwithstanding, on the iOS apps I have tried, not only wouldn't they download from YouTube, but they're also typically non available for long. One of those apps said in its clarification, "Downloading from YouTube is prohibited due to its Terms of Service." Apple is ensuring that app makers play by the rules—even Google's rules.

Chances are, the minute you find an iOS app that tin download YouTube videos, it volition go "fixed" or banned. The simply real pick is to jailbreak your iPhone and use sideloaded apps that download what yous desire.

There are workarounds. One is to subscribe to YouTube Premium; it lets you lot download video on your iPhone or iPad to sentry after, much as Netflix and Hulu do.

Some other is using a free iOS file manager app like Documents by Readdle. Apply the Safari browser to visit a YouTube video, and utilise the Share pick to find Copy Link. Then go back to Documents, and utilise the built-in browser in the app to surf to a video download helper site. Paste the link into the form (hold your finger down on it until yous go the "Paste" carte to pop upwards). The site will give you the links to download, and you tin save the file to Documents. Concur and drag the file up, until you're back on the principal screen, then drag information technology to the Photos binder. You'll need to give Documents permission to access Photos the first time. You tin can and so admission the video like you would whatsoever video taken on the telephone or tablet—in the Photos app.

Another workaround: Go dorsum to the desktop and try AnyTrans ($39.99 for a single computer for one yr, Windows or macOS), a desktop file manager for iOS devices that has an integrated downloader supporting 900 sites, including YouTube and Facebook. It'll transfer the videos to the iPhone for you lot over the USB cable. Even if you don't pay for AnyTrans, the download option remains and is free forever.

YT Scribe

Want a truly unique way to "download" a video? YT Scribe lets you grab the transcription so you can read them instead. It machine-transcribes, punctuates, and paragraphs the text. The better the subtitles, the improve the "article," of form. Best of all, it's totally free.

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Which One Best for Downloading Videos