There are billions of hours of video on YouTube. Literally. And that'due south hardly the most astounding statistic about the site, which has been the get-to destination for uploading and watching video since 2005. That said, sometimes, y'all really desire or demand to have i of those videos on your own computer or phone. Simply when the topic of downloading YouTube videos comes upwards, at that place'south a side bailiwick that must be broached: Is information technology legal?

On the copyright front, as long every bit you're downloading a video for your own personal offline employ, you're probably okay. It'southward more black and white when you consider Google's terms of service for YouTube, which read: "Y'all are not allowed to...access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, change or otherwise employ any function 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. At that place'southward a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this way.

Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. If y'all want to share a video, YouTube and nearly other video sites make information technology easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. You just do not need to download a video most of the fourth dimension.

However, you have your reasons. If you lot must download a YouTube video—absolutely need to, just for yourself, and non for broadcasting, and non to be a full douche-nozzle—here'due south how.

Note: This story is updated frequently as the tools involved change regularly. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such equally software then total of "extras," it gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. The same goes for the helper websites—a modify in a site'south advertizing network tin can also create issues with malware.

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

Back up 4K downloads even in the complimentary version.
Work with top three video sites:YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
Download unabridged 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).
Have an interface thatdoesn't suck.
Not collect your personal information beyond your email accost.
Not contain malware. If there's even a whiff of it in the air, fifty-fifty a PUP, it'due south out.

The programs, services, and sites in this story are all gratuitous of spam/virus/problems as of this writing, but caveat emptor. Big time. Especially if you're not really emptor-ing.

YouTube Premium Downloads

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

The biggest event is, this feature doesn't really download a video to save on your calculator forever. Information technology is more akin to the download feature 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's interface only. This is not a method that allows you to, say, lookout a video using different software such equally the VLC Media Histrion.

Yous access the download by going to the YouTube hamburger card and selecting Downloads to view the list of what you lot've grabbed. The folio says "Downloads remain available as long as your device has an agile cyberspace connection at least one time every 30 days." This probably isn't exactly what you are looking for in a download. But the tools below deliver exactly that.

Desktop Software

3rd-party software is where you will get the best control over downloading online videos. Typically, y'all paste the URL for the YouTube video you lot want into the program, and it downloads the highest quality version information technology can find. For videos in 1080p High Definition (Hd) format, that'south usually an MP4 file. For annihilation college 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, but those tend to be harder to play back. MP4 (short for MPEG-iv Part xiv multimedia format) plays everywhere

Annotation that the MKV file, besides chosen a Matroska, is a container—the file could contain video utilizing whatever number of codecs inside. The fool-proof way to play them all is to apply the VLC Media Player for Windows, which plays everything. (Read more nigh it below.) As for the downloaders, here are the all-time options.

VLC Media Actor

Free; Windows, macOS, Linux

Nosotros mention VLC Media Player above because information technology'south a fantastic tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux users that plays back just about whatsoever media ever created. It also has the ability to download YouTube videos, admitting in a convoluted way. (If you see any problems, try a full re-install of VLC and clear your enshroud to get in work.)

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

Go back to your browser and paste the URL—information technology's a temporary web address and will expire eventually—in the accost bar and start playing the video. When you're viewing the video in the browser, click the three-dot menu at the lower correct for the download selection to continue information technology locally.

Notwithstanding, it appears that VLC is simply going to salvage your file as 1080p and not any higher, even if the original YouTube stream was available in 1440p or 2160p (aka 4K). It also won't convert video to other formats. To get those options, yous need the desktop software below.

4K Video Downloader

Gratuitous or $15 for lifetime license on iii computers; Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux, Android

Multi-lingual 4K Video Downloader (4KVD) is often updated and features clear download links on the program'due south website; no ad traps hither. The software does what it advertises in a elementary interface. Information technology grabs videos upward to 8K in quality and downloads to plenty of formats. Just 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 channel to which you subscribe. The sites supported are express to the big names like YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and a few others, just that covers most of what you need. It does brandish a large banner advertizement to go on the lights on and you're limited to 30 downloads a twenty-four hours on the complimentary version.

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

If you enable the Smart Fashion and its presets, 4KVD tin perform one-click downloads to your favorite format. If you lot 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 Actor was flawless.

The program itself has an option to extract sound to MP3 format, so you don't fifty-fifty need the 4K YouTube to MP3 companion software.

VideoProc Converter

$59.90 for i yr, $78.ninety lifetime, $119.xc family (2-5 PCs); Windows, macOS

The powerful VideoProc from Digiarty comes in an editor edition and this converter, which as well provides editing and effects. The downloading attribute is great, a version similar to Digiarty'due south WinX YouTube Downloader, which you can even so find but is not promoted by the visitor these days. This makes sense, equally VideoProc Converter handles a lot of downloading, supposedly supporting 4K from over ane,000 websites. With hardware dispatch, it promises some speed. Thankfully, information technology frequently offers cost discounts.

To use it, you lot open the software, permit it detect your hardware to see what you have to assistance with acceleration (if annihilation). Click the Downloader button, click Add video to place as many URLs equally you lot want to batch, and and so Download Now. Or you can go a whole YouTube playlist or live stream. It grabbed our 697MB test 4K video to WEBM format in about ii minutes and 15 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-year license $44.99 plus taxation (or $9.99 for Complimentary YouTube Download); Windows

Like some others, FlixGrab has several different programs available, many with overlapping features. For example, it has FlixGrabMS (a version yous go from the Microsoft Store to run on Windows 10/xi)—but it wouldn't let me catch 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 Complimentary YouTube Download that is specific to YouTube, yet uses the same easy-to-utilize interface. The downside, as with others, is the loftier subscription price, simply it's the just way to go high-quality downloads. The YouTube-only version is essentially cheaper at $9.99 per year, however. Neither comes with a trial menstruum.

5KPlayer

Gratuitous; Windows and macOS

The free 5KPlayer is a lot more than a downloader, just information technology's got a heck of an integrated downloader. Promising no viruses, ads, or plug-in requirements is a good showtime. Information technology is, sadly, 1 of the few tested that asks for a registration of your name and email—you have to practice that to get the total download function across 300+ sites. Nonetheless, yous can still nab 4K vids from YouTube without registering.

When downloading, the program does try to hibernate some things. Paste in the URL for a YouTube video and the analysis engine runs and shows merely a few download options. Click the gear icon, then the Show All button, and scroll to see more—like a 4K 3,840-by-2,160 file in WebM format. The 227MB WebM examination download took an agonizing 6.v minutes. Grabbing playlists was possible, but you must conform download settings i video at a time. The confusing interface makes it hard to go back to the other videos in the playlist.

5K Actor also features DLNA server playback and then videos you grab tin exist watched on any devices that support DLNA, plus it supports AirPlay for quick playback to Apple devices. Selection a video in the library for quick conversion to MP4, MP3, or fifty-fifty ACC (the sound format preferred past iOS). The player didn't similar playing dorsum the overly big 4K file, though, and experienced buffering issues (VLC didn't take whatever trouble with the aforementioned file).

Ultimately, in that location's a lot to like about 5K Player, from the cost to the features, especially if you lot wait at them every bit extras on a downloader. But the bad interface, slow download speeds, and playback issues may have you looking elsewhere.

Helper Websites

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

The problem is, you can't always trust them. There are hundreds of these types of sites out in that location—it seems anyone with a modicum of coding ability has prepare i up. Such sites easily go from useful to suspicious, specially if they get popular and the proprietor sells out to make cash off your visits.

Recommended by Our Editors

Since this story was first published, all the helper sites nosotros recommended have been removed for reasons like adding sexually explicit ads, no longer working, switching to pushing its download utility only, and one for going out of business organisation to avoid getting sued.

For that reason, nosotros're non recommending whatsoever helper sites at the moment. Try one if you discover it, only if your browser, antivirus, or instincts throw up warnings, avoid and move on.

Extensions

A browser extension can relieve you a footstep. Even so, yous're going to run into some problems with downloading video from YouTube, especially if you're using Chrome as your principal browser.

The Chrome Web Store—where you get Chrome browser extensions—is controlled by YouTube's owner 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 any RTMP protocol video (protected videos) or streaming video isn't possible. You tin can use them on other sites with video, of course. Merely not YouTube.

Want to get around information technology? Get an extension that does non come up from the Google Web Store. Some of the programs and helper sites offer an extension component and volition spell out how to exercise the install without the assistance the Chrome Web Store commonly provides. Hither are a couple.

YouTube Video Downloader

Free; Chrome, Opera, Edge, Vivaldi, UCBrowser

YouTube Video Downloader from Addoncrop is on multiple browsers just with first-class side-load capabilities. It puts a button below whatever video you lot're playing on YouTube, or even an embedded YouTube video, making it like shooting fish in a barrel to grab. Supported video quality goes upward to 8K. You tin also catechumen audio from the video to an MP3. It will fifty-fifty help you have 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 web folio. Video DownloadHelper for Chrome has stopped working with YouTube; that way, it could get placement in the Chrome Spider web Store. Get effectually 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 challenge, given that Google has a tight grip on the site information technology owns, and offers the paid YouTube Premium service that supports offline viewing.

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

(Instube)

On iPhones and iPads, you lot'd call back there would be no such brake since Apple tree and Google aren't exactly the best of pals (or mayhap they are). Withal, on the iOS apps I take tried, not only wouldn't they download from YouTube, but they're also typically not available for long. One of those apps said in its description, "Downloading from YouTube is prohibited due to its Terms of Service." Apple is ensuring that app makers play past the rules—fifty-fifty Google's rules.

Chances are, the minute y'all notice an iOS app that can download YouTube videos, it will get "fixed" or banned. The but real option is to jailbreak your iPhone and use sideloaded apps that download what y'all want.

There are workarounds. I is to subscribe to YouTube Premium; it lets y'all download video on your iPhone or iPad to watch later, much equally Netflix and Hulu practise.

Some other is using a free iOS file manager app like Documents by Readdle. Use the Safari browser to visit a YouTube video, and apply the Share pick to find Copy Link. Then go back to Documents, and use the built-in browser in the app to surf to a video download helper site. Paste the link into the form (agree your finger down on it until you get the "Paste" menu to pop up). The site will give you the links to download, and you can relieve the file to Documents. Hold and drag the file up, until you're back on the main screen, then elevate it to the Photos folder. You'll need to requite Documents permission to admission Photos the outset fourth dimension. You can then access the video like you would any video taken on the phone or tablet—in the Photos app.

Another workaround: Go back to the desktop and try AnyTrans ($39.99 for a single calculator for one twelvemonth, Windows or macOS), a desktop file managing director for iOS devices that has an integrated downloader supporting 900 sites, including YouTube and Facebook. It'll transfer the videos to the iPhone for y'all 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 yous grab the transcription and so you can read them instead. It auto-transcribes, punctuates, and paragraphs the text. The better the subtitles, the ameliorate the "article," of course. Best of all, it's totally free.

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Best Way to Download Youtube Videos for Free