You may hate funny cat videos or game reviews, but the chances are you still use YouTube. A mammoth of video content, YouTube is a go-to spot for many. In fact, the platform has over 1 billion users which is one-third of all internet users. Huge.
Convert and download youtube videos to mp3 (audio) or mp4 (video) files for free. There is no registration or software needed. If you want to download a youtube video in mp3 or mp4, you’ll need to use Televzr Downloader. If you use Ummy, the buttons 'HD via Ummy' or 'MP3 via Ummy' will appear below the video. Once you’ve installed the youtube downloader app on mac or pc, you’ll see “Download” button below each video offering to save HD or mp3.
Or, maybe your daily companions are Vimeo and Twitch. One way or another, video content is a part of your digital life. The question is how to utilize it.
In this article, we compare top YouTube downloaders for Mac and explain how you can legally save video to Mac to watch it anytime and anywhere.
Best YouTube downloaders
Get a huge set of top tools to download videos from Youtube. Most helpful utilities in one pack, give it a go!
Let us warn you in advance, all YouTube download tools reviewed in this article are worth a try. To help you narrow down the choice, check the nice-to-have assets every safe YouTube downloader should have:
For sure, these are not one-size-fits-all qualities. You may need to batch download playlists, or this might be a totally useless feature for you. We made sure the reviewed tools satisfy the key needs — like security and integration with video streaming platforms. The rest is up to you and your priorities.
Quick navigation:
It’s not easy to step into the jungle of video downloaders and instantly pick the right fit – impossible if you’re new to Mac. There’s help, though.
Whether to capture a few movies for an upcoming flight or save favorite clips to rewatch, Mac owners love to save content. The most basic tool should teach you how to download YouTube videos directly from URL. The problem is that it’s complicated to find an efficient free YouTube downloader. Not to mention they could be used for copyright infringement.
To legally save content from YouTube and video streaming services to Mac, as well as download music from videos, you can use third-party apps. As long as you’re not earning money from downloads or breach copyright, they are safe to use.
Streaming content is a huge chunk of your internet traffic. Think Vimeo, Twitch, YouTube, Dailymotion, and other platforms where you can watch video displayed in real time. Relying on online streaming stymies your watching experience in many ways – from limited data usage to network issues. Plus Wi-Fi often fails you at the most crucial moments. Therefore, you need a reliable tool that helps you capture YouTube video.
If you’re wondering how to watch favorite YouTube videos offline without breaking any laws, let us help you.
Yes, you got it right. You can’t capture online videos to watch offline on Mac if you’re using YouTube Premium. To fill the gap and bring streaming content to a computer, you’ll have to consider third-party software.
Most of video downloaders differ only in terms of customization capabilities. The flow of capturing a video will be pretty much the same — no matter what platform you take it from. It's easy to use AnyTrans to download youtube videos or convert youtube to mp3 in just 3 simple steps: copy-paste-save.
When using third-party tools, be careful about YouTube blocking downloads. If you comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service, you should be fine.
Whether it’s native YouTube Premium or a third-party application, the tools you use to download mp4 from YouTube will by default save video files in mp4. There are different options on tweaking formats, though:
Since recently, you can’t download YouTube video anymore. That’s because the service created a native tool for the job.
So if you ask YouTube for the best YouTube downloader, it will probably suggest you use YouTube Premium, a native paid subscription service to save content. For the monthly cost of $11.99, it allows you to keep YouTube videos on iPhone and Android devices. Here’s how it works:
The app will automatically save YouTube videos you download to the Library or Account tab.
Below you’ll find a small collection of best Youtube downloaders that we recommend you look into. Use the apps to play, manage, and automatically save videos.
Best of all, you can use the full toolkit of apps reviewed in this article for a flat fee. Have a look at the full collection. You’ll find extensive descriptions of every YouTube downloader below.
Features | Pulltube | Downie | Folx | Elmedia Player | AnyTrans | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
Multi-threaded and batch downloads | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
Customize video quality / 4K and HD video support | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Convert video to audio and other formats | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Extract audio from video | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Download from YouTube, Vimeo, and any other websites | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
3D and 360 degree video support | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Schedule downloads | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Customize speed | no | no | yes | no | no | |
Browser extension | no | yes | yes | no | no | |
Built-in search | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Built-in video and audio editing | yes | no | no | yes | no | |
Save to external storage, cloud, and other devices | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
Totally free with Setapp subscription | ||||||
Price | $14.99 for Standart License | $19.99 if purchased separately $26.99 Downie + Permute converter | $19.95 Folx Pro license | $19.95 Elmedia Player Pro license | $39.99 AnyTrans Single license |
App | Price |
---|---|
Pulltube | $14.99 for Standart License |
Downie | $19.99 if purchased separately $26.99 Downie + Permute converter |
Folx | $19.95 Folx Pro license |
Elmedia Player | $19.95 Elmedia Player Pro license |
AnyTrans | $39.99 AnyTrans Single license |
The easiest version of a YouTube downloader you can imagine. Grab a link, drag it onto the app icon, wait a few seconds for the content to travel to your Mac.
While you don’t really do much, you can do even less with the browser extension. Downie already has it, so you don’t have to install the extension separately – check the box in your browser preferences and you’re good to go. Magically, Downie can also scan text files for links and download video content from there.
In other words, Downie is a media downloader that commits to cherishing your time. Here are the key ways to align the app with your workflow:
This downloader automatically converts all videos to MP4, but if you need more options there’s Permute to help. It covers virtually all media formats and works both for video and audio. The app is basically Downie’s cousin, created by the same team of developers, Charlie Monroe Software. So you get a discount if you buy the two. Also, Downie and Permute are both available on Setapp.
Pros:
Cons:
Price:
$19.99 if purchased separately
$26.99 Downie + Permute
Starting at $9.99 per month Downie, Permute and 150+ apps on Setapp
Elmedia Player is one of the best tools to entrust your movie watching experience to. Not only does it tell you how to save videos from YouTube, it also enables viewing content ad-free, right from the app. Download audio, convert to different media formats, or stream via AirPlay – it solves tons of problems.
Not limitless, but the functionality is pretty impressive. It’s a good idea to work with Elmedia Player if you want to:
Compared to Apple’s native QuickTime, Elmedia Player supports a bigger number of formats and is generally a decent alternative to the default program.
Pros:
Cons:
Price:
$19.95 Elmedia Player Pro license
Starting at $9.99 per month Elmedia Player Pro and 150+ apps on Setapp
There’s no better option than Folx if you’re big on big downloads. Combining the functionality of a download manager and torrent client, the app brings large videos to your Mac in a matter of minutes.
With your browser and Folx open, you can download any video from YouTube by URL. Once you have the URL, paste it directly into the search bar or click on the plus button > YouTube > paste the link. Give the app a few seconds to prepare a download, and click OK. Before you know it, the video is on your Mac.
The in-built torrent client that is available to Pro plan users works in a similar way – simple and lightning fast. Navigate to the Torrent tab via the plus button. In the top search field, click on the three dots to select a torrent file, customize default preferences if needed, and click OK.
To accelerate the process, Folx splits downloads in up to 20 streams. The app also cleverly adjusts download speed to your online activities, so that not to hamper important programs and processes running on your Mac. To tweak the default speed settings in Folx, access Preferences > Smart Speed.
Pros:
Cons:
Price:
$19.95 Folx Pro license
Starting at $9.99 per month Folx and 150+ apps on Setapp
Many think of AnyTrans as an alternative to iTunes, but it’s much more than that. The app is an all-mighty file manager that works with all your devices. So whether you want to copy images from iPhone to Mac, or transfer from Android to iOS, AnyTrans has you covered.
Apart from cleverly managing your content, the app also helps you grab some new. Using an in-built Media Downloader, you can save video from 900+ websites, including Vimeo, Dailymotion, and YouTube.
Capturing and instantly sharing media is why you should pick AnyTrans over the other options. It has limited functionality in terms of download preferences, but is pretty good for capturing short videos.
Pros:
Cons:
Price:
$39.99 AnyTrans Single license
Starting at $9.99 per month AnyTrans and 150+ apps on Setapp
It’s ok if you have a hard time choosing your favorite. Some of the apps complement each other – like you could use Folx to capture large videos and transfer with AnyTrans. With Setapp subscription, you can try every mentioned YouTube downloader for free and choose what suits your flow. Or, don’t choose. Your Mac deserves all of them.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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Sep 10,2019 • Filed to: Download YouTube Videos • Proven solutions
Sometimes, you may want to download YouTube audio on Mac only. YouTube itself does not provide any access to download YouTube video and audio. So you need to get help from other thrid-party YouTube audio downloader for Mac. To get only the audio from YouTube, you need to consider audio quality and make the audio as good as the original file. No worry! Below we will show you 3 easy ways to download audio from YouTube on Mac in high quality.
he best application to use if you want to get the best quality audio tracks is iTube HD Video Downloader. This application allows you to download YouTube videos as well as YouTube 4K UHD videos so that you can watch them on your computer safely and without interruption from ads. You can use it to download all videos from a YouTube playlist, channel and category very easily using a Download All button. Apart from allowing you to download videos from YouTube very easily, iTube HD Video Downloader also supports conversion of YouTube videos to different formats, including MP3. You can also use it to automatically export audio files from YouTube to iTunes.
First and foremost, you will need to go to the iSkysoft website and then download this application. Save it on your Mac in a folder that you can easily trace. After the download process is complete, drag the installation file to the “Applications” folder and then wait for a few seconds for the installation process to complete. Once you have installed the program successfully, you can go ahead and launch it.
When you launch iTube HD Video Downloader, you will access the main interface where you will see different methods of downloading the audio. You can use any of the two methods below:
Method 1: Download YouTube to MP3 in 1 Click To download YouTube audio in one click, you will need to launch your favorite browser, open YouTube.com and then search and play the video that you want to download. Once the video starts playing, you will see a 'Download' button at the top left corner. A drop down list will be opened where you will need to choose MP3 format. Once you have done that, iTube HD Video Downloader will start downloading the audio automatically.
Method 2: Download and Convert YouTube Videos to Audio Format Go to YouTube.com, search for the video that you want to download and then play it. Click on the 'Download' button that will appear and then allow the YouTube download wizard to record audio from YouTube Mac.
After the video that has been downloaded, go to the 'Downloaded' tab and then click on the 'Add to Convert List' button of the right side of the video. In the 'Convert' tab, click on the “Convert”, choose MP3 as your output format and then click 'OK' to start the conversion.
You can record YouTube audio on Mac without necessarily installing any software. All you need to do is put a “kiss” before the “YouTube” in the URL of the video you want to download. The following is a step by step guide.
Step 1: Open the YouTube video whose audio you want to download.
Step 2: Change the URL of the video by adding the word “kiss” to it. For instance, if the URL of the video you want to download is www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRxHs29gRsQ, you will need to change it to “www.kissyoutube.com/watch?v=eRxHs29gRsQ”.
Step 3: Pause the video for a few seconds when it starts playing and then wait for to fill the grey progress bar. After that, click on Window in the menu bar and then choose “Activity.”
Step 4: Look for the line that represents the video you want to download and then double click on it to start the download process.
Note: The browser that has been used in this case is Safari.
To download YouTube audio online, all you will need to do is visit youtube-mp3.org and then do the following.
Step 1: Copy and paste the URL of the YouTube video that you want to convert to MP3 in the text field on that website.
Step 2: After that, click on “Convert Video” so start the conversion process. Once the conversion is complete, click on “Download” to download YouTube audio.