After reading this article, you will know five easy and fast ways to download YouTube videos on Mac. Apply one of them to save YouTube videos to your Mac and then you can watch offline without an Internet connection.

1. Free Youtube Video Downloader For Mac Online
2. Youtube Downloader Mac Sierra
3. Free Youtube Video Downloader For Macbook
4. Free Youtube Video Downloader For Macbook Pro

As the biggest video site in the world, YouTube has a wide range of users who search, view and upload videos every day. However, unlike you can freely view and upload videos on YouTube, you can't download YouTube videos directly on the site. That's why so many users are looking for a way to download YouTube videos to iPhone/iPad, save videos from YouTube to PC, download YouTube videos on Mac, and more.

While the free video downloader for Windows 10 (& Mac), EaseUS MobiMover, allows you to save a video from YouTube to your computer (Mac, PC, and laptop) or mobile device (iPhone/iPad) directly. Other than YouTube, it also supports websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Dailymotion, and more. Not every video can be downloaded, no matter how advanced your downloader is. ATube Catcher tries to fix this problem by combining a video downloader with a screen recorder. This way, you can capture a video if it’s impossible to download it. The best free YouTube downloader for Mac makes it easy to download YouTube content in any format to save important video or watch it later without Internet access. Free Mac video downloader is a web-based application specially designed for Mac users to download TV episodes, movies, music videos, news, sports and other online video clips from tons of video hosting sites. It covers video downloads for sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Blip TV, Liveleak, Lynda, Break, Vube, Ustream, Ted and many others.

Given that, here we provide five proven ways to download videos from YouTube to Mac, including using desktop software, online service, and other workable ways. Read on to learn how to download YouTube videos on Mac in different ways and carry out the one best suited to your needs.

How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac in 5 Ways

Some of the ways below need you to download and install the desktop software, while others may not. Learn them in detail and you will know which one is the best YouTube downloader for you.

Method 1. How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac for Free

100% free, no ads, and no plugins, EaseUS MobiMover is a YouTube downloader that you can use at no cost and without any worries about bothering ads or add-ons. With it, you can download videos from many other websites. You can also transfer the downloaded videos from Mac to iPhone. Refer to the article on how to transfer file between iPhone and Mac for details.

To download YouTube Videos on Mac for Free:

Step 1.Run EaseUS MobiMover > Go to choose the 'Video Downloader' option on the left side > Choose a location to house the videos you download.

Step 2. Copy the URL/link of the YouTube video you wish to download, paste it into the download bar of EaseUS MobiMover, then tap 'Download.'

Step 3. Wait for MobiMover to download YouTube videos to your Mac. When it has finished, you can go to your selected location to check the downloaded item.

In addition to video download, MobiMover also has other features that will help you transfer files between two iOS devices or between an iOS device and computer, which will do a great help if you are an iPhone or iPad user. It's a versatile tool that can work as an iOS content manager and free YouTube downloader at the same time. Don't miss it and make it your good helper.

The newly EaseUS MobiMover for Windows makes it possible for you to rip audio from YouTube.

Method 2. How to Save YouTube Videos on Mac Online

Don't want to install any software? If so, you may prefer online YouTube video downloaders compared with desktop software. Honestly speaking, although much convenient, an online YouTube downloader may cause more troubles than a desktop program. According to my own experience, there are some issues that may occur while using an online tool to save YouTube videos on a computer, including:

• Ads keep popping up
• The users are redirected to another shopping site
• The tool can't find the video according to the link

And more. Luckily, not all the online YouTube downloaders are that troubling. Here is Keepvid that works well to get videos from YouTube onto your Mac.

Keepvid is one of the most popular online video downloader that allows you to download YouTube videos on a computer by inserting the video link into the address bar. You will like it if downloading YouTube videos in different formats and quality is what you need. Besides, it also serves the function of an audio converter that will extract music or other audio files from a YouTube video for you.

To download a YouTube video on Mac with Keepvid:

Step 1. Go to YouTube and copy the URL of the video you want to download.

Step 2. Visit https://keepv.id/ on your Mac and click the 'Download' button.

Step 3. After an analyzing process, you will see the download options available, including videos in different quality and audio in varying formats. Choose the format and click 'Download' to start downloading YouTube videos to your Mac.

Method 3. Download YouTube Videos for Mac with Chrome/Firefox

Want to download a YouTube video with the browser? If that's exactly what you want, you can't miss the helpful browser extensions shown below, which allow you to save YouTube videos on Mac using Chrome or Firefox for free.

To download videos from YouTube with Chrome:

Step 1. Go to visit YouTube Video and MP3 Downloader.

Step 2. The webpage will detect your browser automatically. Confirm your browser and click 'INSTALL VIA CROSSPILOT'.

Step 3. Download and install the extension. Afterward, restart the browser.

Step 4. Go to YouTube and play the video you want to download.

Step 5. Now you should see there is a Download button under the video. Click the Download button to save the YouTube video to your laptop directly or click the three dots next to it to choose other qualities available. (If you don't see the download button, click the icon of the YouTube Video and MP3 Downloader from the menu bar of the browser to download the video.)

To save a YouTube video on Mac with Firefox:

Step 1. Go to add the extension - Easy Youtube Video Downloader Express to Firefox.

Step 2. Restart Firefox.

Step 3. Go to YouTube and play the video you intend to download.

Step 4. Under the video, click the 'Download' button and choose one of the versions (MP4 360p, MP4 720p, MP4 1080p, MP3...) to download.

Of course, there are video download tools for Safari. You can search on the Internet and choose the one you like.

Method 4. Save YouTube Videos to Mac with VLC Media Player

How can you download YouTube videos on your Mac for free? One of the answers is to use the VLC media player. VLC is known as a free and open-source portable cross-platform media player software and streaming media. It also enables you to download a YouTube video on your computer, be it Mac, PC, or laptop.

Step 1. Download and install VLC media player on your Mac and launch the program.

Step 2. Go to YouTube and copy the link of the video you attempt to download.

Step 3. In VLC, choose 'File' > 'Open Network'. In the 'Open Source' window, paste the video URL in the address bar and click 'Open'.

Step 4. Right-click the video and select 'Media Information'.

Step 5. Copy the content in the 'Location' bar and paste the copied URL into the address bar. Then press 'return' to begin to play on your browser.

Step 7. Right-click the video and select 'Save Video as..' to start downloading videos from YouTube to your Mac.

Method 5. Grab Videos from YouTube to Mac with Screen Recording Features

Other than downloading videos from YouTube, you can choose to record the video and save it on your Mac. This method works best when you can't download a YouTube video due to copyright issues or other problems.

To capture the screen, you can either use the built-in screen recording feature in macOS or QuickTime Player.

• To use the built-in screen recording feature: Press Command + Shift + 5.
• To use QuickTime: Choose 'File' in QuickTime and select 'New Screen Recording'.

Common Issues Related to YouTube Video Download

There are some frequently asked questions from users about YouTube video download:

'How do I download YouTube videos to my Mac for free?'

If you have read this article, you know now that all the five methods detailed in this guide enable you to save YouTube videos to Mac for free.

'Can I download a video from YouTube with YouTube Premium?'

The YouTube Premium subscription allows you to download videos from YouTube, but only to mobile devices like phones and tablets. Thus, if you attempt to save a YouTube video to Mac, it won't help.

'Why can't I download YouTube videos?'

If you are going to download a private video or a video containing music, you may fail since these videos may give rise to copyright issues.

The Bottom Line

Among all the video download apps, which is the best YouTube downloader for you? Choose the one that fits your needs best to apply.

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

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)

Free Youtube Video Downloader For Mac Online

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.

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):

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.

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.

Youtube Downloader Mac Sierra

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

Free Youtube Video Downloader For Macbook

Conclusion

Free Youtube Video Downloader For Macbook Pro

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.