First of all, they're slower due to the limitations of the remote server and your data connection. There are many sites that you can use to download YouTube videos, but we don't recommend them due to their disadvantages over desktop software. What's the difference between Online YouTube downloaders and desktop apps? Read our full review: aTube Catcher Is it legal to downloaded YouTube videos?īefore you use a free YouTube downloader, bear in mind that using third-party apps to download videos is against YouTube's terms of service, which say you can only stream videos directly from its servers.ĭownloading videos is also potentially a copyright infringement unless you own the video yourself, have permission from the copyright holder, or it's in the public domain. This free YouTube downloader offers plenty of added extras too, such as the ability to record any on-screen video, video merging, and disc burning. If you're looking to download a large number of videos, you can download them all at once, maxing out your bandwidth – something not available in all of the best free YouTube downloaders on this list. When you're offered the first app, make sure to hit Cancel, and for the second one click Decline – then you'll be free to enjoy aTube Catcher without any unwanted surprises.ĭownloaded videos can be converted automatically to a number of popular formats, so you can tailor them for their intended use, or whatever device you intend to watch them on. Read our full review: 4K Video DownloaderĪlthough the name suggests that this is just a YouTube downloader, aTube Catcher (opens in new tab) can actually save videos from most of the big video hosting sites.įirst, however, a word of warning: sneaky adware abounds during the installation. You can download captions for individual videos, and there's support for 3D and 360-degree videos too.ĭelving into the properties lets you tweak options like multi-stream downloads (increasing the number of streams will speed up downloads, but increases the risk of YouTube blocking your IP address) and set up a proxy connection.īuying a key (opens in new tab) will let you download longer playlists and playlists with captions, and at £7.95 (about US$10, AU$15) for a lifetime license for three PCs, it's a bargain, but the free edition has everything else you could wish for.

There's a great choice of formats – both video and audio – including MP4 and MP3. To grab a video (or a whole playlist, provided it's not longer than 24 videos), simply copy its URL from your web browser, click 'Paste URL' and select an output format, quality and location. It's simple to use, highly customizable, ad-free and doesn't include any bundled extra software. 4K Video Downloader is the best free YouTube downloader around for quick, fuss-free YouTube downloads.

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