The best free YouTube downloader apps are the perfect tool for anyone who wants to watch videos offline or save them for personal use - and, most importantly, doesn't want to pay for YouTube Premium.
With that in mind, we've compiled this short list of easy-to-use apps that can help you get the most out of YouTube without needing you to open your wallet. These tools let you download and save your favorite videos free of charge, using whatever file formats you like.
The process of downloading a video from YouTube is actually surprisingly easy - it mainly involves taking the video's URL, and then simply using one of the tools below. But if you only want the audio, we do have a free YouTube to MP3 converter guide instead.
Currently, our top choice for downloading videos from YouTube is the 4K Video Downloader, which can do the job without leaving a watermark, compared to other apps. However, there are other apps that you can look into that do the same job, which we've highlighted below.
The best free YouTube downloader apps to use for 2024
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1. 4K Video Downloader
Fast, free and flexible – the most versatile YouTube downloader
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux
Reasons to buy
+ Great choice of formats Downloads playlists Supports 3D and 360-degree videos No bundled extra software
Reasons to avoid
- Limits on playlist downloads
4K Video Downloader is the best free YouTube downloader around for quick, fuss-free YouTube downloads. It's simple to use, highly customizable, and doesn't include any bundled extra software.
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.
There's a great choice of formats – both video and audio – including MP4 and MP3. You can download captions for individual videos, and there's even support for 3D and 360-degree videos too.
Delving 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.
It's worth noting that you'll need to shell out some cash if you want to use this tool's premium features, which include unlimited videos, large playlist downloads, private video downloads, and no ads. If you just want the free version of the tool, though, it's still a powerful and functional option - provided you don't mind a few ads.
Read our full review: 4K Video Downloader
2. Any Video Converter Free
Download and convert videos, and add special effects
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Reasons to buy
+ Excellent format support Built-in video editor
Reasons to avoid
- No batch downloads Bundled extra software
At first glance, Any Video Converter Free is one of the best free YouTube downloaders out there. The only drawback is that this free version limits you to download a single video at a time, but if you're looking for a free solution, this is something you may decide you're happy to put up with.
There are lots of video formats to choose from, and there's even a basic video editor built into this YouTube downloader. This can be used to crop a video you download, add simple effects such as color adjustment, and add overlay text.
The whole process is quick and easy. Any Video Converter's interface may not be to everyone's liking, but that's really nitpicking; this is a fantastic free YouTube downloader in all other respects. Watch out for the bundled ByteFence and Yahoo software during installation, and you're good to go.
Read our full review: Any Video Converter Free
3. Free YouTube Download
Grab videos without clicking a single button
Specifications
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Reasons to buy
+ Auto download option Batch downloading Can shut down PC when finished
Reasons to avoid
- Three-minute time limit
There are no prizes for guessing what Free YouTube Download does. This is a very simple, tightly focused free YouTube downloader that does away with distractions to get the job done well. Paste in a URL from YouTube and you can download the video in just a couple of clicks – or no clicks at all if you enable the Auto Download option.
You can download several videos at once if you need to, and you can convert them to several different formats on the fly. Just which formats are available to you will depend on the quality of the original video, but AVI, MP4, iPhone/iPod and MKV should be available in most cases. It's also possible to convert to audio-only MP3 if you don’t need the footage as well.
There's only one real drawback, but it's a biggie – you can only use Free YouTube Download to grab clips that are less than three minutes long. That rules out most music videos for a start, and is a real shame.
Read our full review: Free YouTube Download
4. aTube Catcher
Download, convert and merge videos as they're playing
Specifications
Operating system: Windows
Reasons to buy
+ Batch downloading Converts to popular formats Automatic file conversion
Reasons to avoid
- Adware in installer
Although the name suggests that this is just a YouTube downloader, aTube Catcher can actually save videos from most of the big video hosting sites.
First, however, a word of warning: sneaky adware abounds during the installation. 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.
Downloaded 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. 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.
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.
Read our full review: aTube Catcher
Is it legal to downloaded YouTube videos?
Before 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. Since YouTube is owned by Google, this could potentially lead to your linked Google account being suspended - you've been warned.
Downloading 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.
What's the difference between Online YouTube downloaders and desktop apps?
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. First of all, they're slower due to the limitations of the remote server and your data connection. Many such sites also feature ads of an.... unsavory variety, or display thumbnails of recently downloaded videos, which may not be appropriate.
Online video converters typically don't give you much (if any) choice about the video file either, in terms of quality or expert format. They only allow you to download a single video at a time, and you can forget about saving whole playlists. 3D and 360-degree videos are also out of the question, and very few can handle 4K.
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Daryl Baxter
Software & Downloads Writer
Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time he's written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', alongside podcasting and usually found playing games old and new on his PC and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.
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