1. Answer (1 of 9): YouTube was developed to allow users to watch video on the website. Many users want to save the favourite videos on the computer to watch them.
2. YTD Video Downloader. This is another best free youtube video downloader for mac for quality output. YTD offers the exact video quality as the original one. However, you can't download several videos with this tool – just one at a time.

Jun 12,2019 • Filed to: YouTube Downloader • Proven solutions

There might be hundreds of YouTube downloader applications to download YouTube videos for Windows platforms. While for Mac users, you would have fewer YouTube downloader for Mac options to choose from. However, that doesn't mean that you are out of luck. Here this article will introduce you top 15 best YouTube Downloader for Mac for free (macOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, EL Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion and Snow Leopard), which can work as well as what you can find on Windows.

4K Video Downloader for Mac. One of the best ways to download movies on Mac is using an excellent video downloader, 4K Video Downloader. This tool allows you to download YouTube playlists and even entire channels in HD quality and resolution.

Best 15 YouTube Downloader for Mac

With iTube YouTube Downloader for Mac, you can download videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and 10,000 more online video sharing sites, which is a quality app to download YouTube videos on Mac in various formats. With a single and simple interface, the application helps you save and download YouTube videos in 1 click from Safari extension, Chrome extension or video URL. In addition, this YouTube video downloader for Mac software is common with the enthusiasts of YouTube video downloaders who can use the Mac YouTube downloader app to convert, save YouTube playlists, replay and transfer downloaded videos to your mobile devices like iPhone, iPad or Android devices.

iTube HD Video Downloader - Best YouTube Downloader for Mac

• Download videos from YouTube and other 10,000+ video sharing sites on Mac with Safari/Chrome extension or URL.
• Record any online video from any online video sites when the direct download of videos is not available.
• Convert downloaded or recorded videos to other video/audio formats, even to preset formats for devices.
• Transfer well-converted or downloaded YouTube videos to your mobile devices to enjoy on the go.
• Support to download the entire YouTube Playlist, Channels, Category, etc. with Extension or URL easily.
• Provide a Private Mode to download secret videos from online sites with a password protected.

How to Use YouTube Downloader for Mac to Download Videos:

Step 1. Install and launch this YouTube Downloader for Mac

Download and install this YouTube Downloader on your computer, once completed the installation, run this Mac YouTube Video Downloader to its main interface.

Step 2. Download Video from YouTube to Mac with Extension or from URL

When completed installation on Mac, your Safari or Chrome browser will be added a Download extension automatically. Open your YouTube video to be downloaded in any browser, you will see a Download button by side of the player window. If you haven't seen that button or you'd like more info, click here to get guide on download extension plugin. Click the Download button, a pop up window will present offering a set of resolution options. Choose the one you want and then click OK to start the process for downloading YouTube videos for Mac.

Another way is to copy the URL of the YouTube video and then click the Paste URL button to initiate the YouTube downloading process in this Mac YouTube downloader.

Optional. Record to Download YouTube on Mac

Alternatively, you could also use the Record function of iTube HD Video Downloader to download YouTube videos on Mac, or capture online videos from any online website. Turn to the Record category on the left side of iTube, and then click the Record button on top left. Adjust the capture area by dragging, and hit the REC icon when everything is OK. Once finished playing, you will get the video well recorded in your Mac.

ClipGrab is a YouTube downloader for Mac free software that helps you to grab online videos from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Metacafe, and more. It not only allows you to download videos via a YouTube link, but also allows you to search YouTube with the built-in browser. This downloader application makes it possible to keep the original format of the video you are downloading, including MP4, FLV or WebM. You also can convert the downloaded videos to MPEG, MP3, and WMV.

Pros: Easily grab YouTube videos through video links. Come with built-in browser for video search.

Cons: The search function only works with YouTube.

This YouTube downloader Mac program makes the video download more simple and straightforward. You can just copy the video URL and click Paste URL. The video will be captured immediately. Though the video conversion options are limited, you can convert the videos to the most popular formats like FLV, MKV, MP3 and MP4.

Pros: It has the ability to download the entire YouTube playlist. Enable you to select video quality and format when you download.

Cons: Do not support a lot of formats on video conversion.

As its name suggests, YouTube downloader for Mac free program is capable of downloading YouTube videos at super high speed. What you need are the network connection and the link for the video. You are able to save any video from YouTube to MP3 or you can convert the downloaded videos to more than 30 popular formats.

Pros: Can directly convert YouTube to MP3. Capture 1080P and 720P videos from YouTube.

Cons: For premium performance at speed, you have to move to the paid version.

YTD Mac Video Downloader is an easy-to-use YouTube video downloader for Mac that allows you to download free videos from more than 50 sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Facebook and more. You can convert the downloaded videos to fit many portable devices such as iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire and many others. Just enter the video URL to start downloading.

Pros: Integrate video player to watch videos directly. Support a variety of languages.

Cons: Do not support to download and convert multiple video files at the same time.

MacX YouTube Downloader for Mac is the best downloader for Mac OS X Mojave. The downloader comes with a high quality and fast speed downloading features that download videos in formats such as MP4, WebM, FLV SD 720P/1080P, 3D Blu-ray videos, full playlist recording, MP3 songs and 4K $096p/8k. Besides, the app allows for download of xxx videos from many sites like myotube, xnxx, 300 and xhamster under different Mac versions such as MacBook, MacBook Air, and iMac. Moreover, the software can also save videos from Facebook, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.

Pros: The downloader helps you convert videos to any format including MP4, MOV, NKV, MTS, AVCHD, AVI, and WMV. Additionally, the downloader makes you download online YouTube videos seamlessly, record the playing screen songs and further create and edit videos.

Cons: However, the app is not stable on the new version Of Mac like the Mac OS X El Captain 10.11.4, and you also need to watch out for malware. In short, the app helps you enjoy any format of song, videos freely without worrying about virus that comes with many free Downloaders.

Many users like the features that the Free DVD Videosoft has. The app is an all-in-one video tool with its many converters to enable YouTube downloading and video conversion. This advanced multi video converter capability lets you freely and in fast speed YouTube videos and converts them to AVI, PLV, Apple, iPad, MP4, iPhone, and Android. Besides, you can download YouTube channels, videos form your history, favorites and watch some other time. The videos are in many categories such as Movies, music, and YouTube charts.

Pros: The app can get rid of spyware and adware. Can download the original videos stream in MP3, WEBM, MP4, and MKV.

Cons: The app is not bundled into a single interface in the hood. The program is simplistic in nature.

Apowersoft Mac video downloader not only lets you convert videos to formats suitable for many devices but also helps you to download high-resolution videos freely. Just as MacX, using the app you can download videos from websites such as Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube and Dailymotion.

Pros: The app allows you to save YouTube playlist to Mac device and is also very easy to use generally. Converts video in many formats including MP4, FLV, MP3, MKV, and WEBM. Has high-resolution video downloading capability.

Cons: Apowersoft Video Downloader has a generic interface that might slow the download and experience of playing your saved songs.

With a single interface, this YouTube Downloader Mac app helps you save and download videos from YouTube. The app comes with an inbuilt browser that allows you copy and paste the videos within the same window you are browsing. To maximize from the app, you need to install iTubeDownloader to create a folder on your desktop in which it will automatically download and save your videos.

Pros: The app is basic YouTube downloader that needs minimal input to use. Automatically creates a folder where you can save the downloaded video in the same window. Has inbuilt browsers that facilitate the speed at which you download the YouTube videos.

Cons: The app has single interface that limits the access of multiple video site at the same time.

YouTube Downloader HD is a free YouTube downloader for Mac that you can use to download videos for free. You can use this video downloader app both in Mac and Windows device. You can download both HD and full HD videos using this application. One of the biggest advantages of using this app for downloading YouTube videos is that it provides immunity from virus and malware attacks. Thus, your stored files are safe and secure in your Mac. It supports Unicode that lets the users save videos with certain non-standard characters.

The name itself Total Video Downloader explains the work it does. Total Video Downloader is a simple tool which downloads any type of video present on not only Youtube but other video sharing websites like Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc. Besides the simple function of downloading videos (in just one format) it offers a simple layout as well. You will find a number of shortcuts to popular video sharing websites on its window. You can easily download your favorite videos using the shortcut links present there. Its display screen resemble that of a browser. This makes it easier to handle without complicated buttons.

It is another YouTube downloader Mac software that can be used to download videos and audio files directly from the YouTube. This application is also known as the YouTube browser. With it you will be able to browse the YouTube channel to check all the available videos. The search function of the video downloader is robust. You will be able to check all the available videos on the YouTube channel. Thus, you will be able to download your favorite videos after checking all the videos that are there on the channel. It actually works like a browser to search for the desired videos. There is a search bar on the application. As you type the name of songs, or artists, or albums,the app shows all the available ones in YouTube. Thus, you can check and choose the one that you need to download. Tubulator does not just provide you with information regarding the number of videos that are available on YouTube, but also helps the user with additional information like the duration of the videos, the quality you can expect and the thumbnails. There are quite a few format options available with the videos that will be downloaded, Still users feel that there needs to be more formats than just the available ones on Tubulator. The videos are generally converted to MP4. The audio only files can be downloaded and converted into OGG or MP3 formats. You can also select the desired video quality if you are using Tubulator for downloading YouTube videos.

Orbit is one of the most popular video downloader that people use. With the help of this downloader application you will be able to search and download all YouTube files. Owing to the ease of use, this downloader application is used by millions of people. It does not just download videos from the YouTube, but also from various other sites on the web and also from various social media sites. It is capable of detecting and downloading videos from sites like Dailymotion, and MySpace. It is capable of downloading videos even from those sites that use the anti-leeching technology. If you use this video downloader, you will never miss any video that is being uploaded on YouTube.

This is yet another versatile software to download YouTube videos on Mac. You will be able to download different YouTube videos and will also be able to save those in different formats within the application. With Airy Downloader, you will be able to extract and download only the soundtrack. There are both paid and free versions of the application that you can use.

The last free one is Free YouTube Downloader for Mac. This free YouTube downloader can download YouTube videos on Mac, including YouTube 4K UDH videos and YouTube VEVO. And you can get a 'Download' button to capture the whole YouTube playlist, channel and category. You can also directly play the video with the built-in HD media player. This YouTube Downloader Mac is totally free with no ads or virus.

It appears that an increasing number of users would like to download video clips and movies from YouTube, Google Video, Veoh, Break, or DailyMotion, etc. and convert them to portable devices such as iPhone, iPad, etc., so that you can enjoy the videos anytime anywhere.

There are tons of free video downloaders for Mac and Windows PC. Some are for desktop while others are web apps. No matter which one you pick, each has its pros and cons. Here I would introduce the top 10 best free video downloader for Mac or PC to you. All of them are able to help you grab videos to your computer with the URLs.

Best Video Downloader for Mac

Cisdem Video Converter (All-in-one Solution)

• Download clips from more than 1000 popular sites
• Cope with 720p, 1080p, 4k and 8k videos
• Ensure video conversion between over 500 formats without losing quality
• Support batch processing multiple videos
• Built-in media editor allows to trim, combine, crop, add subtitles or effects, etc.
• Rip personal & commercial DVD to digital formats
• Supported OS: OS X 10.10 or later

Free Download

Reviews on Best Free Video Downloader for Mac/PC

1. iFunia YouTube Downloader (Mac)

iFunia YouTube Downloader is a free video downloader for Mac that helps you download online 1080p FHD, 4k UHD videos to Mac in batch. It's not just for video downloads from YouTube but from Dailymotion, Vimeo, Blip TV, Liveleak, Lynda, Break, Vube, Ustream, Ted, and other websites.

Copy the video URL and it will be auto pasted into the URL field. Or you can drag-n-drop all of the videos' thumbnails into the program, and start to download favorite videos for several minutes.

Pros:

1. Easy-to-use, intuitive
2. Support to download YouTube playlist

2. VDownloader (Windows, macOS)

VDownloader is an intuitive app that focuses on video downloading. It’s fully compatible with major video hosting sites, like Dailymotion, Break, Twitch, Vimeo, and more.

However, you are only allowed to bulk download unlimited videos 10 times and convert local videos 3 times. If you like this best free video downloader, you can fetch their commercial version at the price of $17.99/yearly or $59/lifetime.

Pros:

1. Integrated with a search feature to add video content to your follow tab
2. Convert video to custom format

Cons:

1. The speed of installation is pretty slow
2. Not work well on Mac computer and merely available on macOS Mojave or later

3. QDownloader.io (web tool)

QDownloader.io is a free online video downloader & converter with the ability to grab videos from a handful of video hosting sites, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

It can directly convert video from websites to MP4 and MP3 on Mac or PC. There are browser extension versions on Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome, assisting you in downloading.

Pros:

1. User-friendly
2. Quickly catch video by adding io before 'youtube.com'

Cons:

1. Save up to 720p video, even it's a 1080p or 4k video
2. Download up to 128kbps audio only

4. Keepv.id (web tool)

KeepVid is one of the best free video downloader for Mac/PC that allows you to download all types of videos online from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch.Tv, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and many more. The downloaded videos will be saved in MP4, MP3, M4A, or WebM format.

Without superfluous interfaces, novices can get started via copying & pasting the URL in the textbox.

Pros:

1. Preserve video metadata like name, song title, album, etc. in MP3
2. Keep subtitles in various languages

Cons:

1. Only 100 videos in the YouTube playlist can be detected at most
2. Can't download the playlist all at once and no batch download
3. The output definition is limited no exceed 1280p

5. aTube Catcher (Windows)

aTube Catcher is a desktop free video downloader for PC system which can perform lots of video tasks. It lets you download videos from social websites, and export them to PC or some portable devices, like iPad, iPod, PSP, MP4 player, and DVD.

It offers donations access for users to help them in the budget and maintain the best free video downloader app updated and running.

Pros:

1. A host of video formats are supported
2. Record screen, create DVDs/CDs

Best Mac Video Downloader

• No risk of ads, buffering, virus attack to your Mac.
• Support the download from all popular sites, like YouTube, Tumblr, DailyMotion, Blip, Veoh, AOL, Vimeo, etc.
• Batch download
• Preview the downloaded videos
• Snapshot and save your favorite screen picture.
• Convert and transfer videos to any kind of digital device including iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone, PSP, etc.

Free Download

6. Freemake (Windows, macOS)

Freemake is a popular video downloader for free works on Mac and Windows. It supports downloading videos, playlists, channels in HD, MP4, MP3, AVI, 3GP, FLV, etc. Lots of sites are supported, like Youtube, Facebook, Vevo, Hulu, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vkontakte.

The software has a self-explanatory UI. Any new users can easily know how to use it.

Cons (limits of the free version):

12 Best YouTube Video Downloaders For PC (Safe & Free)

1. Download up to 50 videos
2. Each video can’t longer than 3 minutes
3. Unable to convert video to MP3
4. Add Freemake logo to your video
5. Fail to fetch 4k videos

7. ClipGrab (Windows, Mac)

ClipGrab is an acclaimed best free video downloader working on Windows. It supports downloading videos, playlists, channels in MP4, MP3, AVI, 3GP, FLV, etc. with quality retained.

Plus, it supports certain media sites, like Youtube, Facebook, Vevo, Hulu, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vkontakte.

Note: It expects you to donate 10, 20, 30 euros for further development.

Pros:

1. Automatically catch URL from clipboard
2. Support a built-in search option

8. GetTube (Mac)

In old days, GetTube is a lightweight Mac OS X app that enables you to download videos and playback the media any time you like, directly from your computer. Get Tube works well with Safari and Firefox. Once you install it, you'll see a new button in the browser while you surf on YouTube. Click it and you'll be able to download the featured video in a matter of seconds.

Youtube Downloader Mac Torrent

With compatibility with macOS 10.12 or above, GetTube starts to charge, and you need to pay 5 euros to unlock the download function.

Pros:

1. Download videos in high quality
2. Search videos within the software

Cons:

1. Inconvenient UI
2. Only save video as MP4 and MP3 format

9. 4K Video Downloader (Windows, Mac)

4K Video Downloader is a reliable freeware that downloads videos, playlists, channels, and subtitles from YouTube, Vimeo, etc. This best free video downloader for Mac/PC lets you manually set the output formats as MP4, FLV, MKV, MP3, OGG, M4A.

You just copy the URLs of the target movies and, click the button “Paste Links”. But if you want to download more than 25 YouTube playlist videos or download the channel, you have to buy the serial number and get the perpetual permissions.

Pros:

1. Support to download 4k & 360-degree videos
2. Download the whole playlists

10. MacTubes (Mac)

Update: 1. The developer stopped releasing the app; 2. Not work anymore since Google changed YouTube API.

MacTubes is a handy free video downloader for Mac that you don’t have to visit the site itself. It allows you to create playlists based on what you've downloaded or what you've searched on. And it will list the downloaded and played files for you to create playlists.

Pros:

1. Work without having to open the YouTube website

Cons:

1. Offer no compatibility with other major video sites
2. Only save videos in one format

Bonus: Best Video Downloader Mac for Paid

Cisdem Video Converter is a one-stop and professional toolbox for Mac users to download & convert & edit videos, rip DVDs, etc. It should be the best video downloader for Mac to help you grab TV episodes, movies, music videos, news, sports, and other online video clips with the fastest speed.

Once you launch the free trial version, it would pop up a small box. Click “Evaluate”, and download the online video for free. If you buy its pro version, you would get the registration code to enjoy video conversion, video downloading, DVD ripping, and sharing functions within one.

Quick Steps to Download Video from Website Mac Using Cisdem Video Converter:

Download Cisdem Video Converter to your Mac first, then run it and click the download section at the top.

Go to the video streaming sites that the software supports. Find the video you desire to download and copy its URL.

Return to the best video downloader for Mac, and paste the URL to the download bar.

Click on the “down arrow” icon to start the video download. You can add multiple URLs to the download list.

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Conclusion

After being familiar with a vast assortment of options for the best free video downloaders for Mac/ PC as well as the paid one, we can easily distinguish their benefits and drawbacks. With our overview, you should have a clearer picture of which best video downloader suits most of your needs.