20 Best Free YouTube Video Downloader Apps in 2025
Looking for free apps to help you download videos from YouTube? Here are 20 such apps for desktop and mobile.
Free YouTube video downloader apps are software applications that make it easy for a user to download videos from YouTube and save them on his device for offline viewing and sharing.
These apps make life easier for those with limited Internet connectivity, as they help the user to save data costs. Many of these apps are able to download from other websites such as Dailymotion as well, and they can include other helpful features such as format conversion.
However, as with lots of free stuff on the web, some of these video downloaders can contain harmful malware. So, you need to be sure before installing any app on your system.
This post lists the web’s top 20 free YouTube video downloaders with their major features, so you can choose the best app for your needs.
YouTube Video Downloading Tips
To get the best experience from your YouTube video downloads, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Copyright: The copyright owner is usually the video creator. Some creators grant full permission to others to copy and distribute their videos. So, always check beforehand.
- Right format and quality: YouTube videos are available in different formats and qualities. So, always make sure to select the right one.
- Reputable & trusted software: To avoid nasty surprises, only install apps from trusted sources, such as the App Store or Google Play Stores.
Best Free YouTube Video Downloaders
| Rank | Name | Highlights | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Free YouTube Download | High Speed, User interface | Windows, macOS, Android |
| 2. | YTD Video Downloader | Videos, audios, 50+ sites | Windows, macOS, Android |
| 3. | iTubeGo | 1,000+ sites, batch, convert | Windows, Android, macOS |
| 4. | Y2MAte | Online Downloader | All |
| 5. | Jdownloader | Free & Open Source | All |
| 6. | YouTubeGet | Auto conversion, auto-resume | Windows |
| 7. | TubeMate | Easy to use | Android |
| 8. | SaveFrom.net | Fast & Easy | All |
| 9. | Snap Downloader | Extensive features | Windows, macOS |
| 10. | VideoProc | Edit, download, convert | Windows, Mac |
| 11. | Vdownloader | Playlist, 8K, Trim, 200+ | Windows, macOS |
| 12. | ClipGrab | Multi platform, FOSS | All |
| 13. | KeepVid | Online, converter, MP4 | All |
| 14. | YouTube-dl-gui | Python | All |
| 15. | By Click Downloder | Desktop | Windows |
| 16. | Video Hunter | Freemium, 1,000+ sites | Windows, macOS |
| 17. | Instube | 100+ sites, 4K videos | Android |
| 18. | atube Catcher | Extensive formats | Windows |
| 19. | Hit Paw | Free trial | Windows, macOS |
| 20. | Vidmate | 4K videos, player | Android |
1. Free YouTube Download
Highlights: High speed downloads, intuitive UI, desktop & mobile apps
URL: https://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-Download-en6.htm
The Free YouTube Download app from DVDVideoSoft is a comprehensive application that lets you download YouTube videos in full quality like HD, 4K, and even 8k.
You can also download in bulk, including entire channels or playlists. Plus, it supports subtitles, video merging, direct saving to iTunes, and the conversion of YouTube videos to MP3 files in 320 kbps sampling rates.
Free YouTube Download is a 100% free and safe application, available for Windows PC, Mac, and Android devices.
2. YTD Video Downloader
Highlights: Videos, audios, playlists, works on 50+ sites
URL: https://www.ytddownloader.com/
YTD Video Downloader is an application for the Windows OS, Android, Mac, and iOS platforms. It lets you convert and download videos, audios, and even entire playlists from YouTube and 50 other video sites.
The app is fast and super easy to use. It also comes with an integrated video player, so you can watch your downloaded videos right away. You can download videos up to 8K formats at high speeds and the system does not impose limitations in any way.
You can also convert from .mp4 to .mp3, .3gp, .mov, .wmv, and .avi. Plus, the other sites it can download from include Blip.tv, Bing videos, BBC, DailyMotion, CollegeHumor, Pornhub, MetaCafe, Vimeo, and so on.
3. iTubeGo
Highlights: Batch processing, 1,000+ sites, conversions
URL: https://itubego.com/4k-youtube-video-downloader64/
iTubeGO is a freemium app that is available for the Windows, macOS, and Android platforms. The free version allows you to download up to 3 files or 1 playlist, while the paid version offers unlimited downloads.
This app supports 10,000+ streaming websites, video formats up to 8K, and it is 100% secure and free from malware. The paid version offers bulk downloads, conversion in 40+ formats, and audio extraction features.
4. Y2Mate
Highlights: Online downloader, no installs
Y2Mate is an online YouTube video converter and downloader that is straightforward to use. Simply paste the link that you want to download in its text box and click on Start to begin.
Y2Mate works with all video formats, such as MP4, 3GP, FLV, WEBM, M4V, and WMV. It offers unlimited downloads, is always free, and requires no registration or software installation to work.
5. Jdownloader
Highlights: Free & open source, large community
URL: https://jdownloader.org/download/index
Jdownloader is a FOSS (Free & Open-Source Software) video downloading platform, available for the Windows, Linux, macOS, and other platforms. It runs on Java, so it is platform independent. It is also available in multiple languages, including German, Spanish, French, and so on.
It can download multiple files at once, it supports themes, and has a large online community where you can connect with others. Jdownloader comes with the full source code, so you are free to code and improve on it, if that’s your thing.
6. YouTubeGet
Highlights: Auto conversion, auto-resume, easy to use
YouTubeGet is a shareware program that costs $29.95. This means that you get it for free, but it is up to you to decide if you want to buy a license or not.
The app works on the Windows platform and comes with many features, such as auto-resumption of downloads, download to 3GP cell-phone formats, PSP, iPod, and burning to CD/DVD. It also lets you search on YouTube to preview before downloading with a button click.
7. TubeMate
Highlights: Android app, easy to use
TubeMate is an Android app to download videos to your mobile device. It is currently in version 3.3 and offers a clean and intuitive interface, including MP3 conversion and SD card support.
One issue with this app, though, is that it does not offer a download link to the Play Store from its homepage. So, while this might raise some concerns as to the integrity of its code, it is also probably for legal issues with streaming service providers like YouTube.
8. SaveFrom.net
Highlights: Online, fast & easy
SaveFrom is a fast and easy online app to convert and download YouTube videos from anywhere and on any device. All you need to do is enter the address of the video, click Start, and that’s it.
SaveFrom works on all browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Chromium-based browsers. It can download your videos in all formats up to 4k without installing a single add-on.
For those who want more options though, SaveFrom offers extra features that you can get from its over 4 methods of downloading YouTube videos, including short URLs and a browser add-on.
9. Snap Downloader
Highlights: Simple, fast, extensive features
URL: https://snapdownloader.com
Snap Downloader is a simple and fast YouTube downloader with tons of features. It lets you download in different formats up to 8k, but it is not really free.
You can try it free for 48 hours and if you like its many features, you can then either pay $7.99 for a monthly subscription, $16.99 for 3 months, or $39.99 for a lifetime license.
The app is available for Windows and macOS, with support for up to 8K videos, channels, playlists, chapters, scheduling, conversions, and parallel downloads from up to 900 websites.
10. VideoProc
Highlights: Edit videos, convert, scale, compress
URL: https://www.videoproc.com/
VideoProc is a fully featured video editor that lets you transform any video like a professional. It includes cutting, merging, subtitle, cropping, rotating, and many visual effects features.
Though it is freemium software that works on the Windows and Mac platforms, you can use the free version without limitations on video and audio files that are less than 5 minutes long.
You can download videos from YouTube and 1,000+ sites, and save, convert, compress, fix, and watermark your videos with VideoProc. Then, with the full version that costs $25.95, you can process longer videos, and even up to 47x faster with GPU acceleration.
11. Vdownloader
Highlights: Playlist, 8K videos, Trim, 200+ sites
URL: https://vdownloader.com/en
Vdownloader is a freemium app for the macOS and Windows platforms that includes a fully functional free forever version with video downloads up to 1080p and MP3 conversions.
To get 4K and 8K videos, however, you will need a subscription, starting from $17.99 per year. This premium version also includes channel and playlist downloads, as well as scheduling and video clipping features.
Vdownloader works on 200+ websites, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, and many more.
12. ClipGrab
Highlights: Free & open-source
ClipGrap is a free and open-source YouTube video downloader that is available for the Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. It also downloads from Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, and other sites.
The app can download videos up to HD resolution and convert from many formats, including MP3, MP4, OGG, and WMV. ClipGrap is free but you can donate to the project if you like.
13. KeepVid
Highlights: Online converter and downloader
KeepVid is an online video converter and downloader that works on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram videos, and 1,000+ other sites.
The app works online, so there is nothing to download or install. Simply enter your search term or URL in the provided text box and hit GO.
KeepVid also converts to MP3 audio and MP4 files. Plus, you can download your videos in resolutions up to HD.
14. YouTube-dl-gui
Highlights: Python library, for developers
URL: https://github.com/MrS0m30n3/youtube-dl-gui
If you are a Python developer and wish to create your own custom downloader, then YouTube-dl-gui might be worth a look. It is a cross-platform GUI package written in wxPython and hosted on GitHub.
Behind the scenes, however, runs the popular YouTube-dl command-line application to handle the media downloads. It works on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Udemy, Twitter, and hundreds more sites.
15. By Click Downloader
Highlights: Windows desktop downloader
URL: https://www.byclickdownloader.com
By Click Downloader is a Windows-only desktop application for downloading videos, playlists, and channels in top HD quality. It works on 40+ websites.
This software lets you covert from AVI to MP3, MP4 and so on. It pops up a message when you are browsing YouTube and offers a single button to click and begin downloading.
You can also download private videos with this app, run multiple downloads at once, download subtitles, and very long videos over 1 hour.
16. Video Hunter
Highlights: Freemium app, 1,000+ sites
URL: https://www.videohunter.net/
Video hunter is a desktop downloader for the Windows and macOS platforms. It comes as a freemium package with the free plan limited to 3 videos per day, while the premium plan offers unlimited downloads.
The free version also downloads videos up to 480p resolution while the premium version handles up to 8K resolutions. This app works on 1,000+ sites and additionally comes with a free Android app for premium customers.
17. InsTube
Highlights: Android app, video lock, 100 sites, 4K videos
URL: https://instube.com/
Android users can rely on InsTube with its extensive features for video and music downloads. It can handle up to 4K videos from over 100 websites, as well as MP3, MP4, PNG, M4A, and so on.
You can also add your site bookmarks to increase its list of sites to download from. Plus, it has a private video lock to protect your personal downloads, and an integrated video and music player.
18. aTube Catcher
Highlights: Extensive formats
aTube Catcher is a Windows-only application for downloading and converting videos from YouTube, Metacafe, Dailymotion, and 1,000+ other video sites.
The software supports lots of formats, including 3GP, AVI, MP4, WAV, VOB, MOV, and OGG. It also allows you to export your content to multiple devices such as iPod, iPad, mobile phones, MP3, DVDs, and so on.
aTube Catcher is completely free, works on all Windows versions, and is completely safe from malware.
19. HitPaw
Highlights: Free trial, 10,000 sites, batch conversion
URL: https://www.hitpaw.com/video-converter.html
HitPaw is not a free app, but it offers a free trial, which you can make use of to test its various features. You can use it to batch convert videos, audio, and DVDs or to remove vocals from any song using its artificial intelligence features.
HitPaw can also download videos from 10,000+ sites, then cut, crop, compress, watermark, or apply many other edits to them. It is available for both Windows and macOS platforms.
20. Vidmate
Highlights: 4K videos, integrated player
URL: https://vidmate.en.uptodown.com/android
Vidmate is a video downloader for the Android platform. It offers lots of features, such as downloading videos from Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and so on in resolutions up to 4k.
You can use it over Wi-Fi and cellular networks, it can download through torrents, and you can play back your videos on the app directly or save your files in a password-protected folder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to download YouTube videos?
Using 3rd party applications to download videos is against YouTube’s terms of service, as they want you to stream and watch the videos directly on their website. However, a video’s copyright usually belongs to its creator. So, you may have to contact the creator if you plan to duplicate or distribute his/her video.
Are there any risks to using a YouTube downloader?
Yes, there can be. Using software from a disreputable source can pose security risks as it can steal information from your phone or infect it with malware.
Can I download a video’s subtitles as well?
Yes, you can, but only if the video has subtitles and the software you are using supports the feature.
How do I download a YouTube video on my phone?
You can use any good mobile app such as Vidmate for Android to download videos for your phone.
Conclusion
We have reached the end of this list of the best free YouTube video downloader apps and you have seen the solutions for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
As you can understand by now, there is no single best free YouTube video downloader app because everything depends on your device and software platform. So, the choice here is yours to make.
Related Articles
