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YouTube is the world’s largest streaming video platform, offering movies, shows, and TV dramas from various countries, covering entertainment, education, games, news, and more. Users can upload, watch, share, and comment on videos. Its online features are rich and enjoyable. However, when you are in an environment with poor internet connectivity, such as long-distance flights or in remote areas, downloading in advance is a wise choice.

Why Do You Need a Professional YouTube Video Downloader?

Although YouTube officially provides a download feature, you will find many restrictions when you download YouTube videos through the official channel.

Main Limitations:

  • Subscription limit: Only Premium users can enjoy the download feature in most areas.
  • Download limit: Not all movies or shows can be downloaded.
  • Expiration limit: You need to connect to the internet every 30 days; otherwise, the downloaded videos will become invalid.
  • Save Limit: Users are limited to saving and watching downloads on the YouTube website or app.

How to Choose a Video Downloader?

There are numerous YouTube video downloaders in the marketing. So, how to choose a valuable one to work efficiently? To select a good video downloader, I suggest that you consider and compare the following factors:

  • Supported output formats
  • Processing speed
  • Video resolution
  • Download success rate
  • Subtitle saving mode
  • User-friendliness
  • Pricing plans

5 Best YouTube Video Downloader

Here are my top five recommendations of YouTube video downloaders. I detailed their features, pros, cons, and pricing to help you pick the best YouTube video downloader!

  1. StreamByte for Video

StreamByte for Video is the best overall YouTube downloader for Windows or macOS computers, StreamByte can help you download YouTube videos as digital files, like MP4. With batch processing and an 8 times faster speed, downloading YouTube videos becomes quick and easy. Moreover, up to 8K definition brings you an amazing visual experience.

Additionally, StreamByte for Video supports MP4, MKV, and MOV output formats, which can adapt to different devices and can be saved locally. About subtitles, you can choose hard, soft, or external subtitles for your YouTube downloads. By the way, its edge-cutting DRM-removal technology makes the success rate of downloading almost 100%.

Pros

  • Automatically filter ads while downloading movies from YouTube.
  • Built-in video web players for seamless access and control.
  • Top decryption technology makes downloading YouTube videos without obstacles.
  • Be user-friendly to beginners with an intuitive interface and a 100% safety guarantee.
  • Retain multilingual audio tracks and subtitles.

Cons

  • The trial version has a 5-minute download restriction.
  • There is no mobile version for iOS or Android devices.

Pricing plans

  • $39.95 for the one-month license.
  • $129.90 for the one-year license.
  • $169.90 for the lifetime license.

  1. TunePat VideoGo All-In-One

Another professional YouTube downloader is TunePat VideoGo All-In-One, which is compatible with both Windows and macOS operating systems. It allows you to download videos from YouTube locally. With a few simple operations, you can quickly get ad-free YouTube videos up to the 8K definition. Furthermore, it can download original audio, including 5.1 surround audio. However, the conversion speed of TunePat is much slower than that of StreamByte for Video.

Pros

  • The batch download feature is efficient for work.
  • It exports high-resolution downloads up to 8K.
  • It supports up to 25 languages.
  • It provides timely and free updates and technical support.

Cons

  • It has limited output formats, only two – MP4 and MKV.
  • In the free version, users can only try part of the features.
  • It’s kind of expensive at the price.

Pricing plans

  • $79.95 for the one-month license.
  • $89.90 for the one-year license.
  • $159.90 for the lifetime license.

  1. StreamFab YouTube Movies Downloader

StreamFab YouTube Movies Downloader is also one of the best YouTube downloader options. It can download DRM-free movies from YouTube and save them in MP4 or MKV formats permanently. With a fast download speed, it supports YouTube downloads up to 1080p resolution, maintaining the original quality of YouTube videos. StreamFab can remix subtitles into videos or save them as SRT files. It is easy to operate for both green hands and seasoned veterans out there, but the interface aesthetics are not good enough.

Pros

  • The embedded browser enables users to access the YouTube interface effortlessly.
  • Download YouTube videos without ads and commercials.
  • It retains relevant metadata, such as the title, cast, season, episode title, and poster.
  • It is easy for all users to use.

Cons

  • It only supports two output formats: MP4 and MKV.
  • Overly dependent on internet stability.
  • The free version limits the number of downloads.

Pricing plans

  • $49.99 for the one-month license.
  • $89.99 for the lifetime license.

  1. Pazu StreamGet All-In-One Video Downloader

Pazu StreamGet All-In-One Video Downloader is a top video downloader which helps you download YouTube movies, TV shows, and episodes to MP4 or MKV files. Without limits on quantity and time, you can store these YouTube downloads forever. Furthermore, Pazu designs a built-in web browser for easy search and supports high-definition ranging from 720p to 1080p.

Pros

  • A powerful YouTube downloader for Windows and macOS operating systems.
  • It has 8x fast downloading speed and a batch downloading feature.
  • Pazu downloads videos with original high-quality audio like 5.1 surround sound (if available).
  • It designs multilingual interfaces, including English, Chinese, French, Japanese, etc.

Cons

  • It lacks frequent feature updates.
  • Sometimes, it cannot remove DRM protection and fails to download.

Pricing plans

  • Only the Annual Plan: $99.90.

  1. Audials Movie 2025

Unlike the four video downloaders above, Audials Movie 2025 is a screen recording-based YouTube downloader. It enables you to record videos from YouTube and then download them as regular format files, like MP4, MKV, WMV, and MOV files. If you use this tool, you need to play the videos on YouTube first and then start recording them. It is essentially a screen recorder.

Pros

  • The most versatile output formats: MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, and MOV.
  • It can skip advertisements automatically when it records videos on YouTube.
  • Matching images provide a visually appealing display of your media collection.
  • It preserves chapter tags, which are easy to manage.

Cons

  • Real-time recording is much time-consuming.
  • It may have lower audio and viewing quality than other downloaders.
  • Manual operation and arrangement are troublesome and complex.
  • It will be affected a lot by unstable networks.

Pricing plans

  • $39.90 for the 2025 version.

Conclusion

Reading here, I believe you must have your answer to: which one is the best YouTube video downloader? Try it immediately and share your own experience and opinions!