How to download YouTube videos for free, plus two other ways
While basic YouTube only offers downloads for a few videos in selected locations, there are ways to download any YouTube video you want at any time.
We'll cover how you can download your favorite videos using three approaches:
- Paying for YouTube Premium
- Using a free Mac, Windows, or Linux application
- Using an obscure and complex (yet very powerful) Linux command line tool
Your free option (and my preferred way) to download YouTube videos: ClipGrab
I have to give ZDNET's managing editor props for introducing me to this program a few years ago. I've been using it ever since.
ClipGrab is a free program available for Mac, Windows, and Linux users. The developer says it's open source, but the source code is only available for Linux. In any case, ClipGrab rocks. Here's how to download and use it.
1. Go to ClipGrab.org
Point your browser to ClipGrab.org and click the Show All Download Options link. You'll see download links for Mac, Windows, and Linux there. I'll show you the Mac version in this article, but the interface is virtually identical on all three.
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2. Copy the YouTube video link
Copy the video link of the YouTube video(s) you wish to download. You can do this up in your browser's URL bar or by clicking the Share button under the video itself.
3. Launch ClipGrab
Make sure that you're on the Downloads tab and then choose the Launch ClipGrab option.
4. Copy and Paste
Copy and paste the URL of the video you want to download into ClickGrab.
5. Click Grab this clip!
Once you've copied and pasted the desired video link into the ClickGrab browser, select Grab this clip!
6. Choose the video format
On ClickGrab, you can also tweak options.
For example, you can choose the format you want the video to be in when it's stored on your computer. I generally go with Original, but I'll specify something else if that doesn't work.
You can also select download resolution. Depending on the video's original resolution, you can choose to download the full resolution video or reduce the resolution to save space.
7. Customize
Finally, tapping the Settings tab lets you customize where ClipGrab deposits your newly downloaded videos.
Another free option (with some added-cost benefits)
ClipGrab remains my choice for easy, no-muss, no-fuss YouTube downloading. But if you want a YouTube downloader that can be upgraded into an entire power-user suite for video format conversion and management, look no further than the WinX/MacX pair of applications.
Produced by Digiarty Software -- better known by its DVD ripper software brand, WinXDVD -- WinX Video Converter (for Windows) and MacX Video Converter (for Mac) are freemium video conversion power tools. What makes them particularly interesting for this article is that the trial version (for Windows, or for Mac) includes a YouTube downloader that's free to use indefinitely.
Do note that the trial version says it supports up to five minutes of conversion for free. That's not the downloading part. The paid-for version of these tools convert any video to MP4, HEVC, H.264, MOV, MKV, AVI, MP3, iPhone, and Android from a wide range of specialty formats. That's where the five-minute limit exists in the trial. But if you download the trial, you can download from YouTube (and also from all of these sites, see image below), for free. The only cost is putting up with a few upsell dialogs while you do so.
Your paid option: YouTube Premium
I'm a big fan of YouTube Premium because it saves my wife and me from enduring most ads, but it is a luxury expense. Individuals can subscribe to YouTube Premium for $13.99 a month (that's up $2 from what it was a few months ago). YouTube also offers a family plan for up to six users for $22.99 a month. Finally, students can subscribe to YouTube Premium for $7.99 a month (up a buck from what it was a few months ago).
My favorite feature is a complete lack of Google-provided ads. There are no banners, no pre-roll, and no interstitial ads. However, if a YouTube channel wants to embed an ad in a video, YouTube Premium will not filter those YouTuber-embedded ads.
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YouTube Premium provides background play and picture-in-picture, YouTube Music, and access to YouTube Originals.
YouTube Premium also includes the ability to download videos. Here's how you do it.
How to download YouTube videos via YouTube Premium
Once you've subscribed to YouTube Premium, you'll have a Download button in your web browser or your phone app to the right of the Share (arrow) icon at the bottom of a video.
Select the video(s) you want to download, and once it comes up in the main screen display, click the Download icon.
You can find your downloads in the Downloads area of YouTube. Notice that YouTube says that the downloads are retained as long as you have an internet connection at least once every 30 days. That way, YouTube can confirm you are still a YouTube Premium user.
Saving once downloaded
You're not given an easy way to turn that download into a usable video file on a desktop device, so if you want to use that video for anything other than watching offline, you're somewhat out of luck. The same is true of iOS.
Also: Warning: Your private YouTube videos aren't 100% private
However, if you're an Android user with an SD card slot in your phone, you can set the YouTube app settings (tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Downloads) to save videos to your SD card.
So, that's how to download videos into an only barely usable form for the low-low price of $13.99 per month. That price went up by two bucks a month, a few months ago. Because, well, streaming prices are on the rise.
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Linux command line options
I would be remiss (or so I've been told in the comments below, on Twitter, and in my email inbox) if I didn't mention that Linux users have a command line option (because, of course they do) to download YouTube videos. As with all-things Linux command line, there are some gray areas here, such as whether the tool even works or whether there's a better tool.
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