YouTube is one of the best and largest video platforms where you can find videos about anything. There are billions of videos with long watching hours to entertain and learn about things you want to know. If you are looking to download videos from YouTube and also thinking whether it is legal to download YouTube videos for offline use?
So, if you are using YouTube offline videos for your personal use then there is not much problem but if you want to download YouTube videos for commercial use then you will first have to take permission from the person or company who has uploaded the video on this platform.
YouTube is a part of Google and according to its terms and conditions it restricts the access, reproduction, download, broadcast, transmit, display, sell, license, modify, alter or use any part of the YouTube service without being authorized by the copyright holder or YouTube’s written permission.
You must have noticed that when you watch online YouTube videos then there are some ads that are shown in between the videos and this is how YouTube earns money. It also gives money to those who like to show ads on their uploaded videos. Hence, when you download them or watch them offline it reduces the earning potential of the YouTube channel.
There is no problem if you want to download the YouTube video strictly for your personal use and not for commercial use. Still, you can share the link of the videos with others by using social media apps and networks. However, if you still want to download the YouTube videos so that you can watch them later or without the internet then we will tell you the best ways to download them without any hassle.
Downloading them for offline viewing is also use useful when you are traveling and do not have high internet speed or in the case when you have a limited mobile internet plan, You can download them when there is Wi-Fi connectivity and watch later without using up your mobile data and the best part is that you do need even need to pay anything for download YouTube videos. There are thousands of apps that can let you download them without paying even a single penny that too by maintaining the original quality and richness of the video. These tools and apps also let you choose resolution, size, and format.
Most of these apps support both smartphones and PC so, you can start using them instantly and in case you are not interested in downloading any app or tool then we will also tell you about a few browser-based online tools that do not require any kind of app or tool installation.
We have chosen the best free apps and browser-based tools that allow you to download YouTube videos for free but there are chances that they show you ads or ask you to register. Still, we have made sure that you use the best YouTube video converters to get your favorite videos on your device. Most of these tools can be used on multiple devices and platforms such as Android smartphones, iPhones, iMacs, PC, computers, tablets, etc.
1. 4K Video Downloader
2. Third party software
3. 5KPlayer
4. WinX
5. 5KPlayer
6. YouTubeByClick
7. Addoncrop Extension
8. Video DownloadHelper
9. Free YouTube Download
10. Web browser based YouTube downloaders
4K Video Downloader
If you want to download videos in 4K resolution for free then this is one of the best YouTube downloaders that is safe to use. It can easily download the 4K videos in 3D, 360 degrees, Mp3 as well as other formats.
It can be downloaded on your Windows computer or laptop and also allows you to download the whole playlist. So, if you like the full album or the channel playlist then this is a good option because it is quick and fast in doing its job. It only requires a working internet connection along with the latest browser installed on the Windows computer and you can start using it by copying the link and pasting it in this software once downloaded.
It supports MOV, MP4, 3GP, and AVI along with different settings that allow you to set the quality. If you have limited bandwidth then 3GP is the best video format that can be used to download them with reasonable quality that would be fine for tablet or mobile phone viewing.
MOV format is best for iMac or Apple devices and AVI videos format suits Microsoft and works perfectly on Windows. MP4 and MP3 are best for songs and work well on almost all modern devices.
This has a paid as well as free version that you can use to download videos not just from YouTube but also from Facebook and Vimeo. However, to download the playlist you will have to take the paid version of this software that has a lag-free user interface and does not collect any personal data except your email ID.
Worried about Quality?
There is nothing to worry about losing the original quality as you can decide which quality you require to download the video because with this convertor you can select the video quality such as 360p, 480p, 720p, and 1080p.
If you require watching the downloaded video on TV or computer then 1080 pixel is best but if you would be watching them on small screen devices then you can use any lower resolution video format.
When you are downloading the video in MP3 format then the quality of the video does not matter as soundtrack quality remains unchanged. So, adjusting the video quality in the case of video to MP3 does not matter.
Third party software
There are tons of the third-party online YouTube converters that can easily download the videos without much problem. In some cases, you might see some annoying ads and complex steps. Most of these third-party software allows you to directly copy the YouTube video URL and paste them and they would automatically download them in the MKV format. MKV is the highest quality video format that is suitable for 1080 pixel videos which are equivalent to 4K or 8K HD videos.
Earlier the YouTube videos were based on flash technology which means that by default their format was FLV, but those who wanted to enhance the sound quality liked to convert them to MP4 and MPEG formats.
VLC Media Player
VLC media player is a popular video and audio playing app that supports PCs based on Windows, Linux, iOS along with smartphones based on Android or iPhone. This amazing media player is completely free to use and does even require any kind of registration. This universal media tool is also capable of downloading YouTube videos.
It is easy to use and once you have installed it on your device or computer all you have to do is open the YouTube video and copy the URL, then open VLC player and select the open network stream option from the media menu to paste the copied URL
Once the video starts playing, click on the t/ools then click on Codec information. After opening the codec information area you will find the “source” box. Now, copy the URL from this source box and paste it in the browser where it will again start playing then check for a download option that lets you download the video on desktop or device storage.
WinX
WinX is another YouTube downloader that you can use both for Windows and iMac computers. This is a multi-lingual free tool that lets you download videos not just from YouTube but also from 300 plus other websites, even adult videos.
You need not worry about the security part as it is completely safe because there is no malware, spyware, or any kind of virus issue.
The simple and easy user interface lets you quickly download them without facing any issues.
To download the YouTube video all you have to do is open the YouTube in the browser and copy the video URL which you want to download. Just install and launch WinX software on your computer then paste inside it.
This has a default analyzer that downloads videos in default 1920 to 1080 MP4 format. It supports MP3, MP4, 3GP, WEBM, and MKV videos perfectly.
Also Read: How To Recover Data From A Hard Drive?
5K Player
This is a free YouTube video downloader that allows you to download 4K, 5K, and even 8K videos smoothly. You need not worry about the security aspect as it is completely safe to use and works well for Windows as well as Apple iMac computers and laptops.
It automatically downloads 1080 pixel videos and supports MKV, DVD, MP3, APE FLAC, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, MTS/M2TS, H.265/264, VP8/9, and WebM video formats easily. With inbuilt AirPlay and multi-screen playback options, you can stream online videos, movies or download them directly.
YouTubeByClick
This is also a good YouTube video downloader that can instantly download videos without any lag. This is a powerful tool that works smoothly on Windows PC and Apple computers. It also downloads videos from Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion and many other video websites.
Easy and simple to use converter lets you use it without facing any problem and it is capable of converting YouTube videos to MP3, MP4, FLV, AVI, WMV, 3GP and WAV formats in HD quality. It is not a free tool but you can get a trial offer to check its functionality and download 4K to 8K videos.
If you have installed this software on your computer and open YouTube then copy the url, it will automatically prompt whether you want to download the video or not.
Using Extensions
If you are not interested in downloading any software to download the videos from YouTube then using extension tools is a great option. Extensions are browser-based programs that get ads up in the browser and work accordingly.
If you use Chrome and use some popular YouTube download extension there are high chances that you may have to reinstall the Chrome browser. Hence, it is recommended not to make Chrome as your primary browser rather use some other browser to install extensions for doing the job.
Addoncrop Extension
It is an excellent YouTube downloading extension that can be used not only on Chrome but also with Opera, Edge and Vivaldi. It lets you download 4K videos with ease and also convert MP3.
Video DownloadHelper
This is another extension that provides a smooth flow of downloading YouTube videos and supports Firefox, Chrome, Edge web browsers. It used to support Chrome earlier but now has stopped working with this browser.
To download this extension you can search on Google or Yahoo search engine then install it and start downloading your favorite videos.
Free YouTube Download
This is one of the fastest YouTube downloaders that takes very little time to download any video from this popular platform. It works efficiently on both Windows computers and Apple iMac computers or laptops. It lets you download videos without clicking which means that it uses the auto download option to get your favorite videos too with the auto PC shutdown option with a time limit of 3 minutes.
With a simple and easy to user interface, it lets anyone use it without having any kind of technical knowledge. So, if you know how to surf the web then you can use it to download the videos by copying the URL of the YouTube video and pasting it in its search box.
It also lets you download bulk videos that too in different formats such as 3GP, MP4, MP3, AVI, iPhone, iPod and MKV.
Also Read: Learn How To Download YouTube Videos
Web browser based YouTube downloaders
Still, if you do not wish to download any software or extension then no worries as you can directly download YouTube videos in video and MP3 format by simply typing “ss” before YouTube in the URL. It will automatically redirect you to the download website where you will get many options for quality and format that you can choose according to your need.
However, there are many more web browser-based YouTube downloaders that are available and you can use them but read their reviews online before trying them as most of them would show you lots of ads but at the end, they work and let you download your favorite videos in any format.
