A short intro to the 3 Best YouTube Downloaders
YouTube is the biggest video-hosting site in the world. More than a billion people use the site every day. It has grown to become a home to so many videos from random hilarious clips, some very informative guides and tutorials to groundbreaking documentaries. It’s almost like you can get a video on everything you need from YouTube. The problem, however, is that YouTube only permits streaming of content only. Therefore, they do not provide any tool that can allow you to download the videos to your drive. This is a problem because, in certain instances, you will always find yourself in need of viewing some videos from your system and not the website. Whether it’s due to a slow internet connection or it’s just the simple fact that you might be following a “how-to” guide, and you want to do so with more freedom or without using your internet connection; having the videos available to you even when you are offline can come very handy. So, how do you go about it?
What you need here is a YouTube Downloader. These are third-party software that is developed to grab and download content from YouTube. While there are dozens of this software, not all of them are as good as they may appear. When you are looking for an ideal YouTube Downloader, there are various key aspects that you need to consider. For instance, you need to check on how fast the software is. You’d be surprised at how slow some of the YouTube downloaders can get. You could easily find yourself downloading a 1080P video for hours while a 4K clip might take an eternity.
What’s the best YouTube Downloader?
WinX YouTube Downloader is the best Youtube Downloader you can use at the moment. This powerful software can have you downloading hundreds of videos at once without affecting the performance of your system. It’s also our top pick because it can download videos from different websites. This basically means that once you install the software, you probably won’t have to look for any other downloader when you want to download videos from Vimeo, Facebook, and over 600 other sites.
Here is a more detailed review of WinX YouTube Downloader:
WinX YouTube Downloader
According to the developers, WinX can download 1000+ videos at a go! That’s an insane figure, and you probably won’t ever find yourself downloading that many videos, but it is nice to see the option as it means that you can do batch downloads with no problems at all. It gets better; not only can you download so many videos at once, but you can also download a whole playlist at once or an entire channel! Just how convenient is that?
Using the WinX YouTube Downloader is also super easy. After installing the software, you’ll come across the intuitive interface. Everything is within your reach here with all the most used tools at your disposal. To download videos, all you have to do is paste the link or links and click “Analyze.” The next page will then show you the quality of videos available, extensions, and other details. WinX can download up to 8K videos, and hence video quality should be the least of your worries. You’re also given the option of the output format you want the video in. It can deliver MP3, MP4, FLV, and WebM videos. After choosing the video quality and some of the other options, you can go ahead and click the download option to get things started. Once the downloads are done, the videos will be saved in the WinX folder. Something else we really like about WinX is that when you are downloading a playlist, a folder will be created where all the videos from the playlist are saved. This is a nice touch as it saves you from all the hassle of having to sort the videos yourself. There is still an option of choosing where you want the videos to be saved.
The WinX YouTube Downloader also takes the crown for how clean and simple the software is. It is ad-free, and upon installation, you won’t be spammed with unnecessary notifications or browser extensions. All the software does is lie silently in the background, ready to download all the videos you want. There is also the option of signing in with your account e.g., YouTube, or Vimeo account, and the downloader will be keen to download videos from any channels you are interested in.
Other Features
- Can record live streams
- Network bandwidth consumption is kept at the minimum
- It can grab and capture snapshots at any point in the video
- Virus-free
- Compatible with 1000+ sites
4K Video Downloader
Coming at a very close second is the 4K Video Downloader. This is yet another free and easy-to-use tool that allows you to download high-quality videos at high speeds. Even though the name goes as 4K, you can still download 8K videos without compromising much on the download speeds. The software is also highly customizable, allowing you to get the videos in just the right quality and format.
The procedure of downloading videos using this tool is very similar to that of WinX. All you need to do is copy the YouTube video you want and click the “Paste URL” option. This will then scan the video from the URL before you can choose the output format and the quality of video you want to download. 4K Video Downloader supports MP4, M4A, MKV, FLV, 3GP, and MP3 formats. The software can also download 360-degree and 3D videos. Once you’ve selected the quality and format you want, you can choose the folder into which the videos will be saved, and then you can start your downloads. Take note that 4K Video Downloader can also be used to download a whole playlist at once. The problem, however, is that the playlist should not have more than 24 videos. If you want to download bigger playlists, you will have to buy a key for around $10 to get a lifetime license. This will also allow you to download playlists with captions. Having to pay to download a long playlist can come as a limitation for most people, but at $10, it shouldn’t be a deal-breaker especially if you are going to be using it for a long time.
You can also subscribe to different YouTube channels through the software. This will make sure that all the latest videos uploaded are downloaded automatically.
Other than downloading YouTube videos, 4K Video Downloader can also be used on other sites including Vimeo, Facebook, DailyMotion, Tumblr, Flickr, Soundcloud, and many others.
Other Features
- Available for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu
- Extracts YouTube subtitles in .srt
- Downloads videos directly to iTunes library
- Smart mode offers fast and easy downloads
- Built-in proxy setup
Free YouTube Download
Free YouTube Download is a very summarized tool that’s free from distractions to get you downloading your videos in a few clicks. Just copy the link of the video you want, click the paste function on then and click “Download” to get started. You can also check the Auto Download option. This will make sure that all the video URLs copied are downloaded as soon as the software grabs it. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Free YouTube Download can grab and download several videos at once. You are also given the option of deciding the format that you want your video in. This could be MP4, MKV, WEBM, AIV, and MP3. In terms of video quality, this software can download videos of up to 8K UHD, but this may be limited to the MKV format only.
Free YouTube Download is available on multiple platforms, including Windows and macOS. The software also allows you to automatically transfer all the videos you are downloading to your iTunes library. You should then be able to enjoy your videos directly from your iPod, iPad, or iPhone.
Other Features
- Download subtitles
- Regular updates
- Very easy to use
- Supports batch downloads
- Fast speeds