Best free audio video downloader for windows

Unfortunately the internet doesn’t always travel with us. So for those who are addicted to YouTube, being able to download YouTube videos is hugely valuable. In this article I will cover 10 of the best free YouTube downloaders.

But before I dive in, here are some reasons why you might want to download a YouTube video.

• Slow internet connection: While this might seem counter intuitive, it’s a great way to get around sluggish internet connections. Instead of your video stuttering, you can download it in the background while you do other tasks. Also with some YouTube downloaders, you can opt to download a entire playlist for later viewing.

• Offline viewing: This is where YouTube downloaders work best. As I travel a lot on planes and out of service areas, being able to watch YouTube videos without a connection is lifesaver. Usually I download my selected YouTube videos I want to watch a few days before I get on the plane.

• Backing up your own content: Many time i have uploaded a video to YouTube and then deleted the original copy on my computer. Now I keep backups for all my new videos, but for the older one I uploaded I don’t have any copies. By using a YouTube downloader, you can backup the ones you don’t have a copy of.

You should only download videos when you have the permission from the copyright owner of the content. Reading YouTube’s terms of service notes that downloading content without permission is explicitly prohibited.

Disclaimer: Some of these software options contain affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you purchase a product from this list. This comes at no extra cost to you and keeps this site functioning!

Top 10 Best Free YouTube Downloaders

1. 4K Video Downloader

Looking for simple, ad- & worry-free YouTube downloads? 4K Video Downloader is one of the safest bets out there and provides comprehensive YouTube downloading capabilities. Its most decorated features include:

• Supports a wide variety of websites in addition to YouTube
• Downloads entire play lists
• Supports 4K & 360-degree videos

Pros

Simply superb, all that 4K Video Downloader requires is the video’s URL, and from there on out, you can download the video with a single click. The downloader supports multi-stream downloading that speeds up downloads while eliminating any risk of getting the IP address blocked. Easily worthy of the #1 choice!

Cons

There’s no free meal, right? Right. While the downloader is available for free, its features are limited. The most major ones of these limitations is the version’s inability to download playlists with more than 24 videos. Apart from this, the free version doesn’t put you in a tight spot with the video’s source website, the quality, or its download speed.

2. Airy YouTube Downloader

Airy is a YouTube Downloader that in addition to its normal operation, lets you convert files into different video formats. The software interface is minimal and easy to use, as you just choose your input and output and then hit download. A brief run through of some of the great features is as follows:

• Batch downloading for playlists and multiple videos
• Browser integration (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
• HD, 4K and 8K Ultra HD videos are supported

Pros

Airy is truly one of the best free YouTube downloaders as it provides top-notch downloading capabilities. Once you acquire the link to the video, you can select a variety of video formats to download in. 

Cons

For the free version, you’ll only be able to download 2 files at once. Also, you will have to sign in to your YouTube channel to download age-restricted content.

3. Free YouTube Download

You don’t really need to be a rocket scientist to know what this program does! The title is pretty self-explanatory. Free YouTube Downloader is a slick software that is designed for one thing only: download videos.

• Allows batch downloading
• Allows user to select the video quality
• Converts videos into other formats if you want

Overall, this option is by far the favourite that we have used from this list. It consistently gave us the fastest download speeds, ease of use, lots of functionality and not to mention the ability to select video quality. Can’t go wrong!

Pros

The downloader is simple; all you need to do is paste the URL. If the auto-downloading option is enabled the software downloads the video on its own. Batch downloading is also available by default, and requires no premium or paid credits. It is also available for Mac and PC.

Cons

After using Free YouTube Download, it was quite hard to fault. It serviced all my needs which was great. The only thing I would prefer would be a more modern user interface. But overall a great tool.

4. VideoProc

Built-in simple yet powerful video downloading software, VideoProc can meet almost all your video downloading needs from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, etc. It’s the optimal choice for those who need a lightweight, fast and stable video software to download, convert, edit any 4K/large-videos. Being a video downloader, it stands out with the following features:

• Download online videos, music, playlists & channels from 1000+ sites.
• Allow select quality and download 4K/1080P/720P/ latest AVI videos.
• Support batch downloading; Search and save video with Subtitles.
• Download, convert, edit video at one-stop. Record YouTube live video.

Pros:

Easy-to-use, fast speed, lightweight; enables proxy server to download videos and music anywhere; Totally free when download videos; Full GPU accelerated video toolkit to edit, convert, download, record and more. Support wide range of online sites.

Cons:

Work for Windows and Mac, but no mobile version.

5. NotMP3 Free Video Downloader

NotMP3 Free Video Downloader is one of the best free YouTube downloaders there is. It is completely free, easy to use and doesn’t come with spam, ads or bundled offers. You can download unlimited videos from 1000’s of sites, and you can do this in bulk.

• Ability to download both video & audio
• Can download entire YouTube playlists
• Unlimited downloads

Pros

The simple video downloader lets you download video & convert MP4 to MP3 files from YouTube. The software even allows you to download 8K videos with ease. The software is completely free and has a pretty decent download speed.

Cons

The downloader is only available for Windows at the moment. Mac users won’t be able to use the software.

6.FastestTube

Do you really need an entire software program installed on your computer in order to download YouTube videos? No, a web-browser extension would suffice. FastestTube is a web browser extension that downloads videos without requiring any additional software installed on your computer.

Pros

The extension works with popular browsers such as Internet Explorer, Chrome & Firefox. You may download videos in a variety of qualities as high as 1080p, while at the same time enabling/disabling additions such as annotations, auto-play and ads. This makes the interface solid, and removes all the hassle of opening up a separate software for downloading videos.

Cons

As Google doesn’t really like you to download YouTube videos for free, you’ll have to download the extension from FastestTube’s website and install it from thereon. This might be undesirable for some users who are looking for a quick-fix.

7. Freemake Video Downloader

If you look at it as an entirely free software, it really is one of the best free YouTube downloaders available. Not just for YouTube, the application grabs videos from websites such as Facebook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, etc.

• Simple copy/paste mechanism
• Convert videos into multiple formats
• Extract audio from video files

Pros

The video downloader comes with an intuitive interface, sporting a one-click mode which makes downloading videos a cake-walk. You can set-up the application’s setting once, for downloading, extracting & converting, and from thereon, rely on a single click for the whole operation to take place. You can download the video file in any of the available qualities without a glitch.

Cons

The application tends to get bogged down when multiple downloads are initiated at the same time, but for the most part, maintains its fluidity.

8. ClipGrab

ClipGrab has been designed to ease in the process of downloading videos, letting you work your way through sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc. This is one of the best free YouTube downloaders out there, and has almost every bit of functionality you want.

• The interface is all set for novice users
• Comes with an inbuilt search-bar for videos
• Can download videos in any format/quality

Pros

For starters, ClipGrab lets you search for a video from its search-bar. This means you don’t have to open your browser at all. Once you find the video you were looking for, all you need to do is select the quality & format, and start downloading.

If you want, you can also paste URLs into the software’s clipboard to download videos. The downloader also gives you an option to download audio-only version of files, which is great for a music enthusiast.

Cons

The installer comes with adware such as Yahoo & ByteFence add-ons; be sure to avoid these. In addition, you’ll need to be really specific while carrying out a video search as the results only contain 12 entries.

9. All Video Downloader 

All Video Downloader works on a similar principle as ClipGrab. It lets you search for a video from within the application, and download them without opening a separate web browser. Apart from YouTube, the application’s search engine includes sites such as Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc.

• Built on simple & fluid interface
• Allows batch downloading
• Allows video conversion

Pros

The entire operation is highly simple, which makes this software desirable for beginner users. In addition, to downloading videos, you can also configure the application to extract audio on its own. Moreover, you can covert video files in a variety of formats as well and watch them on a separate device later.

Cons

The batch download feature is a little limited though. You can only download two videos and only convert four at any given time.

10. VideoDuke MAC Video Downloader

VideoDuke tops our (and several others) list of the best YouTube downloaders for MAC Computers due to its comprehensive feature-set and ease of use. The video downloader allows online videos to be saved onto your MAC with just a couple of clicks. From thereon, you can stream them without worrying about the quality of your internet connection.

Pros

VideoDuke would allow you to choose the resolution and format for the video, e.g. MP4, 3GP, FLV, etc. If it’s a song you’re after, you can even extract it into MP3. However, VideoDuke can help you with Full HD and 8K videos as well if the need arises. 

Cons

All the features, sleek interface and simple usage does come with a price tag. The DEMO version only allows you to download 2 videos.

This software is currently only available for MAC.

How To Use a Free YouTube Downloader

When it comes to downloading YouTube videos,  there are literally dozens of ways of going about it. You could use the YouTube premium version, which of course comes at a price, or you could opt for a tool such as a video downloader.

These software and online tools are a great way to copy in a link and simply download the video (providing that you have adhered to YouTubes terms and conditions).

Once you have the link of your choice, you simply paste it into the downloader of your choice. From there you can easily select the video format such as Mp4 (most common), MWV and so on. We do recommend Mp4 as its a lossless compression and is great storage wise.

After following the steps, simply click download and your video will start to import onto your computer. Depending on the size of the video, this can take several minutes.

Conclusion

To learn more about downloaders, you can also check out our great guide on the best YouTube downloaders for Android. If you are a fan of Apple computers, you will then be happy to know that I have written a guide on the best YouTube downloaders for Mac computers. If there are any other lists you would like to see, please let me know!

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