We’ve discovered a tonne of simple-to-use apps to assist you with doing just that. The top free YouTube download apps enable you to view videos offline without difficulty when you’re driving to work.
Watching your favorite YouTube videos without a paid Premium subscription is almost never possible. A free downloader on your smartphone, Mac, or Windows PC will be useful in this situation.
For a conference or when you won’t have access to fast internet, such as on a train, you might wish to watch the video offline.
It’s surprisingly easy to download a YouTube video; all you need to do is find the video’s URL and use one of the websites listed below to do so. However, we offer a free way to convert YouTube to MP3 if all you need is the audio.
Right now, the 4K Video Downloader is the finest option for downloading YouTube videos because it can complete the job without leaving any watermark, in contrast to other apps. You can, however, look into additional applications that provide the same function as those listed below.
5 Best Free YouTube Downloader Apps for 2023
Using free online YouTube video downloaders is the best option if you need to download two or three videos. These tools offer an easy-to-use interface and let you complete the task with just one click. Installing desktop software with more advanced options is advised if you intend to download numerous YouTube videos.
1. 4K Video Downloader
| Pros | Cons | Operating system |
| a wide variety of formats obtains playlists supports 360-degree and 3D videos There is no bundled software. | Playlist download limits | Windows, macOS, Linux |
The best free YouTube downloader is the 4K Video Downloader, which makes it simple and quick to download YouTube. It doesn’t come with any software, is free of ads, and is quite customizable.
Simply copy a video’s URL from a web browser, click “Paste URL,” then select the output format, quality, and location to receive it (or the full playlist if it doesn’t include more than 24 videos).
Both video and audio file formats, such as MP4 and MP3, are widely available. Additionally, 360-degree and 3D videos are supported, and you can download subtitles for individual videos.
You can change settings for multi-threaded downloads (raising the number of streams will speed up downloads, but increases the likelihood that YouTube will block your IP address) and configure a proxy connection by looking at the properties.
Purchasing a key will enable you to download lengthier playlists and playlists with subtitles, and for £7.95 (about $10, AU$15) for a three-PC lifetime subscription it’s a bargain, but the free version offers everything else you could ask for.
2. Any Video Converter Free
| Pros | Cons | Operating system |
| Excellent format support Built-in video editor | No batch downloads Bundled extra software | Windows, macOS |
Any Video Converter Free appears to be among the top free YouTube downloaders. The only drawback is that you can only download one video at a time with this free edition, but if you’re seeking a free option, you can deal with this.
This YouTube downloader comes with a built-in basic video editor and offers a wide variety of video formats. This may be used to crop uploaded movies and add easy effects like text overlays and color tweaks.
The entire procedure is quick and simple. Any Video Converter’s user interface might not be to everyone’s taste, but criticizing it for being a great free YouTube downloader otherwise is pointless. Keep an eye on the bundled ByteFence and Yahoo software during installation and you’re done.
3. Free YouTube Download
| Pros | Cons | Operating system |
| Auto download option Batch downloading Can shut down PC when finished | Three-minute time limit | Windows, macOS |
You may probably predict what YouTube free download accomplishes without winning anything. It is a very straightforward, free YouTube downloader that eliminates distractions so that you can do your job efficiently. You can download the video from YouTube by pasting the URL there. If you enable “Auto Download,” there won’t be any need for clicks at all.
If necessary, you can download numerous videos at once and instantly convert them to a variety of other formats. The supported file types will vary depending on the original video’s quality, however, in most situations, AVI, MP4, iPhone/iPod, and MKV should be supported. If you don’t need frames, you can convert it to an MP3 file with just the audio.
There is only one actual drawback, but it’s a big one: the free YouTube download is only available for videos that are under three minutes long. The majority of music videos are first and foremost excluded, which is a great tragedy.
4. aTube Catcher
| Pros | Cons | Operating system |
| Converts to popular formats Automatic file conversion Batch downloading | Adware in installer | Windows |
Despite what the name might imply, aTube Catcher can grab videos from the majority of the top video hosting websites in addition to YouTube.
But first, a word of caution: there is a lot of undetected adware during installation. Make sure to select “Cancel” for the first program you are presented with and “Reject” for the second so that you can use aTube Catcher without worrying about any unpleasant surprises.
You can adapt downloaded videos for their intended use or for the device you plan to watch them on by having them instantly converted into a variety of common formats. Making the most of your bandwidth, you can download many videos at once if you want to, something that is not possible with all of the top free YouTube downloaders on this list.
The additional functions offered by this free YouTube downloader include the capacity to burn DVDs, merge videos, and record any video on the screen.
5. WinX YouTube Downloader
| Pros | Cons | Operating system |
| Up to 300 video websites are supported Downloading videos in 8K format is a possibility. The ability to transcode videos between various formats Downloading many videos at once | Absence of a multi-channel download Can’t download 3D videos | Windows |
WinX YouTube Downloader is a tool for downloading videos from Facebook, Instagram, and other popular websites in addition to YouTube. It is necessary to copy the video’s URL and paste it into the downloads window in order to download a clip from these websites. The download will then start after you click the “Finish” button.
This program is one of those free YouTube downloaders that enables you to convert videos to a number of different formats, including FLV, MKV, AVI, and more. This is a significant benefit because the downloaded movie could not work on your machine.
The application does have some limitations, such as the inability to download 360-degree and 3D videos. Despite this, it will perform a superb job with all other functions.
Downloading YouTube videos is legal?
Before utilizing the free YouTube downloader, please be aware that it is against YouTube’s terms of service to use third-party apps to download videos; these conditions indicate that you can only stream videos directly from YouTube’s servers.
Unless you are the owner of the video, have permission from the copyright holder, or the video is in the public domain, uploading a video may also constitute a copyright violation.
Which are better for downloading YouTube Videos: Desktop apps or Online Services?
You can download YouTube videos from many different websites, but we don’t suggest using them because of how inferior they are to desktop applications. Due to the constraints of the remote server and your data connection, they are firstly slower. Many of these websites also feature potentially offensive NSFW-style advertisements or show thumbnails of recently posted videos.
Online video converters typically don’t give you a lot (if any) of options regarding the video file’s quality or professional format. You can’t save complete playlists because they only let you download one video at a time. Few people can handle 4K, and 3D and 360-degree video are also out of the question.
Check out our guide to the best 4K YouTube Downloaders
