The best free YouTube downloader apps to use in 2021

Of all the YouTube downloaders we've tried, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe is the most impressive. It doesn't just grab videos – it can also ... 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Ifyouwanttograbyourvideosfromasitetowatchlaterforwhenyoumightnothaveinternet,consideroneofthebestYouTubedownloadersforWindowsorMac. ThesedownloadersareveryhandyforanyonewhousesYouTubequiteregularlyandwantstosavesomevideoslocally.And,they’llhelpyoudojustthatnomatterifyou’reusingasmartphone,WindowsPC,orMac.CyberMondaydeals:seeallthebestoffersrightnow!Whetheryou’retryingtosavepersonalprojectsfromanaccountyoucan’taccessanymoreortryingtodownloadavideoforapresentation,aYouTubedownloadertoolcansavetheday.Usingoneismucheasierandlessstressfulthantryingtoclumsilycaptureavideousingascreenrecordingapp.Thesedownloaderswilldomostoftheworkforyou,too.AllyouhavetodoisputintheURLofthevideoyouwanttodownload. OurcurrenttopYouTubedownloaderis4KVideoDownloader,whichletsyousavevideosinanad-freeformataswellasremoveswatermarksfromthedownloadedfiles.Youcanevendownloadanentireplaylistorpulltheaudiofromavideo.It’sbetterthanalotofpaid-fortoolsthataresupposedtodothesamething.However,thereareafewdifferentoptionsthatyoucancheckout.So,nomatteryourneeds,there’ssomethingherethatwillhelp.Readontoseeourtoppicks.ThebestYouTubedownloaderavailablerightnowis: WinXHDVideoConverterDeluxeThebestYouTubedownloaderavailablerightnowis: WinXHDVideoConverterDeluxe OfalltheYouTubedownloaderswe'vetried,WinXHDVideoConverterDeluxeisthemostimpressive.Itdoesn'tjustgrabvideos–itcanalsoconvertthemintovirtuallyanyformat,ripscontentfromDVDsandBlu-raydiscs,andletsyouburnyourown.Ithandles4Kcontentwithease,too.It'snotfree,unlikethesoftwarebelow,butyouwon'tfindamorepowerfultool.HowtodownloadandinstallWindows11(Imagecredit:OpenMediaLLC;Shutterstock)1.4KVideoDownloaderFast,freeandflexible–themostversatileYouTubedownloaderSpecificationsOperatingsystem:Windows,macOS,LinuxTODAY'SBESTDEALSVisitsiteReasonstobuy+Greatchoiceofformats+Downloadsplaylists+Supports3Dand360-degreevideos+NobundledextrasoftwareReasonstoavoid-Limitsonplaylistdownloads4KVideoDownloaderisthebestfreeYouTubedownloaderaroundforquick,fuss-freeYouTubedownloads.It'ssimpletouse,highlycustomizable,ad-free,anddoesn'tincludeanybundledextrasoftware.Tograbavideo(orawholeplaylist,providedit'snotlongerthan24videos),simplycopyitsURLfromyourwebbrowser,click'PasteURL'andselectanoutputformat,qualityandlocation. There'sagreatchoiceofformats–bothvideoandaudio–includingMP4andMP3.Youcandownloadcaptionsforindividualvideos,andthere'ssupportfor3Dand360-degreevideostoo.Delvingintothepropertiesletsyoutweakoptionslikemulti-streamdownloads(increasingthenumberofstreamswillspeedupdownloads,butincreasestheriskYouTubeblockingyourIPaddress)andsetupaproxyconnection.Buyingakeywillletyoudownloadlongerplaylistsandplaylistswithcaptions,andat£7.95(aboutUS$10,AU$15)foralifetimelicenseforthreePCs,it'sabargain,butthefreeeditionhaseverythingelseyoucouldwishfor.Readourfullreview:4KVideoDownloader(Imagecredit:DigiartySoftware;Shutterstock)2.WinXYouTubeDownloaderClear,powerfulandwelldesigned–averycloserunner-upSpecificationsOperatingsystem:Windows,macOSTODAY'SBESTDEALSVisitsiteReasonstobuy+Supportsover30videosites+Candownload4Kvideo+DownloadsmultiplevideosatonceReasonstoavoid-No360-degreevideosupportRunningaveryclosesecond,WinXYouTubeDownloadercandownloadvideosfromallthemostpopularsites,includingFacebook,VimeoandDailyMotion.It'sveryeasytouse.JustpasteinaURL,selectanoutputformatandqualitysetting,anditwillbeaddedtothecurrentbatch.Onceyou'veaddedallthevideosyouwanttodownload,simplyclickthe'Download'buttonandthey'llallbeprocessedatonce,andsavedtothedestinationfolderofyourchoice.WinXYouTubeDownloadercandownload4Kvideowhenavailable,andonlylosesoutto4KVideoDownloaderbecauseit'sunabletodownload3Dand360-degreevideos.Ifthisisn'taproblemforyou,thisfreeYouTubedownloadercomeshighlyrecommended.Readourfullreview:WinXYouTubeDownloader(Imagecredit:AnvsoftInc;Shutterstock)3.AnyVideoConverterFreeDownloadandconvertvideos,andaddspecialeffectsSpecificationsOperatingsystem:Windows,macOSTODAY'SBESTDEALSVisitsiteReasonstobuy+Excellentformatsupport+Built-invideoeditorReasonstoavoid-Nobatchdownloads-BundledextrasoftwareAtfirstglance,AnyVideoConverterFreeisoneofthebestfreeYouTubedownloadersoutthere.Theonlydrawbackisthatthisfreeversionlimitsyoutodownloadingasinglevideoatatime,butifyou'relookingforafreesolution,thisissomethingyoumaydecideyou'rehappytoputupwith.Therearelotsofvideoformatstochoosefrom,andthere'sevenabasicvideoeditorbuiltintothisYouTubedownloader.Thiscanbeusedtocropavideoyoudownload,addsimpleeffectssuchascolouradjustment,andaddoverlaytext.Thewholeprocessisquickandeasy.AnyVideoConverter'sinterfacemaynotbetoeveryone'sliking,butthat'sreallynitpicking;thisisafantasticfreeYouTubedownloaderallotherrespects.WatchoutforthebundledByteFenceandYahoosoftwareduringinstallation,andyou'regoodtogo.Readourfullreview:AnyVideoConverterFree(Imagecredit:DVDVideoSoft;Shutterstock)4.FreeYouTubeDownloadGrabvideoswithoutclickingasinglebuttonSpecificationsOperatingsystem:Windows,macOSTODAY'SBESTDEALSVisitsiteReasonstobuy+Autodownloadoption+Batchdownloading+CanshutdownPCwhenfinishedReasonstoavoid-Three-minutetimelimitTherearenoprizesforguessingwhatFreeYouTubeDownloaddoes.Thisisaverysimple,tightlyfocusedfreeYouTubedownloaderthatdoesawaywithdistractionstogetthejobdonewell.PasteinaURLfromYouTubeandyoucandownloadthevideoinjustacoupleofclicks–ornoclicksatallifyouenabletheAutoDownloadoption.Youcandownloadseveralvideosatonceifyouneedto,andyoucanconverttoseveraldifferentformatsonthefly.Justwhichformatsareavailabletoyouwilldependonthequalityoftheoriginalvideo,butAVI,MP4,iPhone/iPodandMKVshouldbeavailableinmostcases.It'salsopossibletoconverttoaudio-onlyMP3ifyoudon’tneedthefootageaswell.There'sonlyonerealdrawback,butit'sabiggie–youcanonlyuseFreeYouTubeDownloadtograbclipsthatarelessthanthreeminuteslong.Thatrulesoutmostmusicvideosforastart,andisarealshame.Readourfullreview:FreeYouTubeDownload(Imagecredit:DsNetCorp;Shutterstock)5.aTubeCatcherDownload,convertandmergevideosasthey'replayingSpecificationsOperatingsystem:WindowsTODAY'SBESTDEALSVisitsiteReasonstobuy+Batchdownloading+Convertstopopularformats+AutomaticfileconversionReasonstoavoid-AdwareininstallerAlthoughthenamesuggeststhatthisisjustaYouTubedownloader,aTubeCatchercanactuallysavevideosfrommostofthebigvideohostingsites.First,however,awordofwarning:sneakyadwareaboundsduringtheinstallation.Whenyou'reofferedthefirstapp,makesuretohitCancel,andforthesecondoneclickDecline–thenyou'llbefreetoenjoyaTubeCatcherwithoutanyunwantedsurprises.Downloadedvideoscanbeconvertedautomaticallytoanumberofpopularformats,soyoucantailorthemfortheirintendeduse,orwhateverdeviceyouintendtowatchthemon.Ifyou'relookingtodownloadalargenumberofvideos,youcandownloadthemallatonce,maxingoutyourbandwidth–somethingnotavailableinallofthebestfreeYouTubedownloadersonthislist.ThisfreeYouTubedownloaderoffersplentyofaddedextrastoo,suchastheabilitytorecordanyon-screenvideo,videomerging,anddiscburning.Readourfullreview:aTubeCatcherIsitlegaltodownloadedYouTubevideos?BeforeyouuseafreeYouTubedownloader,bearinmindthatusingthird-partyappstodownloadvideosisagainstYouTube'stermsofservice,whichsayyoucanonlystreamvideosdirectlyfromitsservers. Downloadingvideosisalsopotentiallyacopyrightinfringementunlessyouownthevideoyourself,havepermissionfromthecopyrightholder,orit'sinthepublicdomain.What'sthedifferencebetweenOnlineYouTubedownloadersanddesktopapps?TherearemanysitesthatyoucanusetodownloadYouTubevideos,butwedon'trecommendthemduetotheirdisadvantagesoverdesktopsoftware.Firstofall,they'reslowerduetothelimitationsoftheremoteserverandyourdataconnection.ManysuchsitesalsofeatureadsofaNSFWvariety,ordisplaythumbnailsofrecentlydownloadedvideos,whichmaynotbeappropriate. Onlinevideoconverterstypicallydon'tgiveyoumuch(ifany)choiceaboutthevideofileeither,intermsofqualityorexpertformat.Theyonlyallowyoutodownloadasinglevideoatatime,andyoucanforgetaboutsavingwholeplaylists.3Dand360-degreevideosarealsooutofthequestion,andveryfewcanhandle4K.Checkoutourguidetothebestfreephotoeditors DarylBaxter Software&DownloadsWriter Darylhadbeenfreelancingfor3yearsbeforejoiningTechRadar,nowreportingoneverythingsoftware-related.Inhissparetimehe'swrittenabook,'TheMakingofTombRaider',alongsidepodcastingandusuallyfoundplayinggamesoldandnewonhisPCandMacBookPro.Ifyouhaveastoryaboutanupdatedapporonethat'sabouttolaunch,drophimaline. TechRadarnewsletter Signuptogetbreakingnews,reviews,opinion,analysisandmore,plusthehottesttechdeals! ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTechRadar.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. 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