sitealternatives
Video streaming · 8 alternatives

Instead of youtube-dl, try one of these 8.

Every alternative is lined up against youtube-dl on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. youtube-dl sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 8 of 8
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
youtube-dlWhat you have now
Classic command-line tool for grabbing videos from many sites.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
JDownloader#1
Java download manager that queues files from hosting and video sites.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
DownThemAll#2
Browser add-on for fast, filterable bulk downloads of links and images.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
NewPipe#3
Lightweight Android client for streaming YouTube and other services without ads.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Linux · Android
Video DownloadHelper#4
Browser extension that detects and saves streamed video and audio.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
4k Video Downloader#5
Desktop app for saving high-resolution videos and playlists.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · Android
Cobalt Tools#6
Ad-free web service for grabbing media links without tracking.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineNo
Platforms
Web
ClipGrab#7
Simple GUI downloader and format converter for online videos.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
YTD#8
Commercial desktop app that saves and converts videos for offline use.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Android

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. How we compare.

youtube-dl alternatives at a glance

youtube-dl is a free video streaming app. We compared 8 alternatives: 3 are open source, 5 are completely free, 1 can be self-hosted and 6 work fully offline. The most popular is JDownloader, with 1.3k likes.

Most liked overallJDownloader

Java download manager that queues files from hosting and video sites.

Free · Works offline
Best free optionDownThemAll

Browser add-on for fast, filterable bulk downloads of links and images.

Free · Open source
Best open-source optionNewPipe

Lightweight Android client for streaming YouTube and other services without ads.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best to self-hostCobalt Tools

Ad-free web service for grabbing media links without tracking.

Free · Open source · Self‑hostable

More video streaming apps

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