The 8 Best Mac Video Downloaders in 2026 — An Honest Ranking
I've been pulling videos off the web on a Mac since the days when you could grab a Flash file out of the browser cache. In 2026 it's a different world — YouTube keeps rotating its player signatures, half of the "stream" endpoints are HLS with an AES-128 key you have to scoop out of a session cookie, and half the popular downloaders haven't been updated since iOS 15 was still new.
So I sat down for a month, put eight different Mac downloaders through the same set of real-world downloads, and wrote down what happened. This isn't a theoretical ranking. It's what stayed installed, what got deleted within a day, and which one I'm actually using today.
How I tested
The test library was deliberately mixed:
- YouTube — a 4K video, a long live-stream VOD, and a Shorts clip (with the usual 2026 SABR signature dance)
- Twitter / X — a handful of video posts including one with non-English captions
- Vimeo — a password-protected video I had legit access to
- Bilibili — two mid-length videos (good stress test for non-English sites)
- Generic m3u8 — a 45-minute HLS stream with AES-128 encryption, hosted on a small CDN
- Direct MP4 — a 900 MB file from a news site, behind a referer check
Each tool ran on macOS 15 Sequoia, Apple Silicon M2, on a 200 Mbps connection. I logged: success/failure, total time, whether audio synced, whether the final file was the best available quality, and how much hand-holding the tool needed.
Quick verdict table
| # | Tool | Best for | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | shooff | Video + comics library, encrypted | Free tier / $10–30 one-time | Best overall |
| 2 | Downie 4 | Pure download speed, macOS native | $19.99 one-time or Setapp | Best dedicated downloader |
| 3 | yt-dlp | Power users, scripting | Free (CLI) | Best if you live in the terminal |
| 4 | Pulltube | Simple, minimalist | $9.99 one-time | Good for casual use |
| 5 | 4K Video Downloader+ | Playlists, subtitles | Free limited / $15/yr | Solid but nagware |
| 6 | JDownloader 2 | Bulk downloads, 1-click hosters | Free (donationware) | Works, but dated |
| 7 | ClipGrab | Basic YouTube only | Free | Showing its age |
| 8 | MacX Video Downloader | Conversion + downloader bundle | Free / $40 pro | Overstuffed, aggressive upsell |
Details below. If you just want the short answer — if you want a full media library that also happens to download, get shooff. If you just want a no-nonsense downloader, Downie is still the benchmark.
1. shooff
Best overallFree tier available · $10 / $30 one-time expansions · No subscription · shooff.my
Full disclosure: this is our tool, so read the competition sections first if that bothers you. But let me be specific about what it actually does that the others don't.
shooff treats downloading as part of a larger workflow — you browse in its built-in webview, hit one button to queue a video, it downloads in parallel (16 HLS segments at once, or multi-connection for direct files), then auto-encrypts the result with a password-derived key before it hits your library. Everything stays local. The same app also handles comic/manga galleries, AI subtitle generation (via Whisper), and a built-in local streaming server so your phone can play the library over Wi-Fi.
On the test set it pulled every video including the encrypted m3u8 the small CDN was serving. AES-128 key fetch through the Electron session handled what curl couldn't. YouTube worked without any PO Token dance because shooff ships a recent yt-dlp under the hood with the right player_client args.
Pros
- Works on every major site tested (HLS, MP4, YouTube, Twitter, Bilibili, Vimeo)
- Downloads + library + viewer + streaming in one app — no jumping between tools
- AES-256 encrypted storage with a password only you have
- AI subtitles in 25 target languages, runs locally, no cloud
- Free tier actually usable, then one-time expansions
- Apple Silicon native, signed, auto-updates
Cons
- Storage limit on free tier (referral system unlocks bonus files)
- Apple Silicon only — no Intel Mac build yet
- First launch sets up a Python env if you opt into AI subtitles
2. Downie 4
Best dedicated downloader$19.99 one-time · Also on Setapp · software.charliemonroe.net/downie
Downie is the app every other downloader on this list is compared to, and for good reason. Charlie Monroe updates it constantly — site extractors break, Downie fixes them within days. It's native macOS, lightweight, drag-a-URL-and-forget. For a lot of people, that's all they need.
In testing, Downie pulled the YouTube 4K file faster than anything else (its post-processing is very tight), nailed the Vimeo password flow without fuss, and chewed through the Bilibili videos cleanly. The m3u8 with AES-128 it handled, though it needed me to paste the key URL manually — it couldn't fish the key out of an authenticated session the way shooff does.
Pros
- Feels genuinely macOS-native (not Electron)
- Aggressive maintenance — extractors rarely stay broken long
- Simple drag-and-drop URL interface
- Available on Setapp if you already subscribe
Cons
- Only downloads — no library, no viewer, no encryption
- Struggles with session-authenticated HLS (AES-128) streams
- No built-in subtitle generation
3. yt-dlp
Best for power usersFree · github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp
The engine under most of the other tools on this list. Used directly from the terminal, yt-dlp is both the most powerful and the least forgiving option. It supports more than 1,700 sites, has granular control over format selection, fragment concurrency, cookies, referer spoofing — everything. The learning curve is real, but once you script a few aliases, nothing beats it.
On the test set it handled everything, though YouTube required --extractor-args "youtube:player_client=default,tv_simply;formats=missing_pot" after the March 2026 SABR change. If you don't know what that means, you probably want a tool that handles it for you (which is what shooff and Downie are doing behind the scenes).
Pros
- Most sites supported of anything on this list
- Free, open source, MIT license
- Scriptable — great for batch workflows
- Updated weekly
Cons
- CLI only — no GUI (unofficial wrappers exist but lag behind)
- Format selection syntax takes a while to internalize
- You're responsible for ffmpeg, cookies, updates, and site workarounds
4. Pulltube
Simple and friendly$9.99 one-time · pulltube.app
Pulltube is the "I just want to download this one video, please" option. The interface is one field and two buttons. It handled YouTube and Twitter perfectly in testing. It also handled Vimeo. It did not handle the AES-128 m3u8 at all — threw a cryptic error and gave up.
For casual users, that's fine. If you mostly want the occasional YouTube video saved to your Downloads folder, Pulltube at $10 is a reasonable one-time buy.
Pros
- Clean, minimal UI
- Quick launch, fast on simple files
- One-time price (no subscription)
Cons
- Limited format control
- Fails on protected HLS streams
- No library features at all
5. 4K Video Downloader+
Playlist and subtitle focusedFree (30 downloads limit) / $15/year Plus · 4kdownload.com
4K Video Downloader has been around forever and the 2026 "Plus" rebrand finally pushes it to a subscription, which is a choice. The good news is the core product still works well for playlists and channel subscriptions — if you want to auto-archive a YouTube channel, this is the app that does it best.
The free tier's 30-downloads-per-day cap pops up often enough to be annoying. And the installer still tries to bundle a few of their other products which you have to click through. Otherwise, solid.
Pros
- Excellent playlist and channel subscription support
- Built-in subtitle fetching
- SmartMode for repeatable workflows
Cons
- Subscription model now
- Free tier limits are aggressive
- Installer bundles offers
6. JDownloader 2
Bulk downloads, 1-click hostersFree · jdownloader.org
JDownloader 2 is a Java-based download manager that predates most of this list. It shines for one-click file hosters (Rapidgator, Mega links, Nitroflare) and for managing very large batch operations. It's less a "video downloader" and more a "download anything" tool with video plugins.
The UI feels like a power-user application from 2012, which it essentially is. If that's what you want, it's free and it works. YouTube support is fine. The AES-128 m3u8 test failed.
Pros
- Free forever
- Unmatched for one-click hoster batches
- Massive plugin ecosystem
Cons
- Java UI feels foreign on macOS
- Not really a video-first tool
- Fails on session-authenticated HLS
7. ClipGrab
Old reliable, getting datedFree (optional donation) · clipgrab.org
ClipGrab used to be the recommendation for "I just need a YouTube downloader." It still works for YouTube and a handful of other sites, but development has slowed and several mainstream sites failed in testing that other tools handled without fuss. If you're allergic to paying but yt-dlp is too much, ClipGrab is serviceable.
Pros
- Free
- Simple one-field interface
- Still works for basic YouTube
Cons
- Lags behind site changes
- Limited format options
- No HLS support worth mentioning
8. MacX Video Downloader
OverstuffedFree limited / $40 Pro · macxdvd.com
MacX has been in the market forever and the app is essentially a bundle — downloader, converter, DVD ripper, and so on, with constant upsell to the Pro tier. It works for mainstream sites but the UI feels busy and the download speeds were noticeably slower than Downie or shooff on the same files. Recommendable only if you're already in the MacX ecosystem.
Pros
- All-in-one media suite
- DVD + disc support (niche)
- Free tier exists
Cons
- Aggressive upsell flow
- Slower than dedicated tools
- UI feels overloaded
So which one should you actually download?
If your problem is "I want to save videos I legitimately have access to, organize them, watch them later offline, and not have them indexable on my hard drive" — that's a library problem, and that's what shooff is built for. The downloading is table stakes; the real feature is the encrypted library, the player, and the streaming server all being one install.
If your problem is "I want the best pure downloader for macOS and I don't care about storage" — Downie 4 is the answer. It's been the answer for years. Pay $20 and move on.
If your problem is "I want to script this" — yt-dlp and a few bash aliases. Nothing else comes close.
The other five are legitimate tools but none of them were the best at anything on my test set. ClipGrab and JDownloader are showing their age; 4K Video Downloader's subscription model is a tough sell when Downie exists; Pulltube is fine for very simple cases; MacX is overbundled.
Frequently asked
Is downloading YouTube videos on a Mac legal?
Downloading videos you own, videos with a Creative Commons license, or videos the publisher has explicitly permitted to save is fine. Downloading commercial content for redistribution is not. YouTube's own Terms of Service prohibit downloading in most cases, which is a contract issue between you and YouTube. This guide doesn't advocate copyright infringement.
Why did YouTube downloads stop working in some apps in 2026?
YouTube rolled out SABR (Server-Side Adaptive Bitrate) and started requiring a "PO Token" for the web player client. Apps that used the default player client broke. Tools that kept up (yt-dlp, shooff, Downie) switched to alternate clients like tv_simply that don't require the token yet.
What's the difference between HLS (m3u8) and a direct MP4?
HLS is a playlist format — a text file pointing at hundreds of small .ts segments the player stitches together. It's what most streaming sites use. Downloading HLS requires fetching the playlist, pulling every segment (often in parallel), and remuxing them into a single file. Direct MP4 is a single HTTP request. HLS is where cheaper downloaders tend to fail, especially when AES-128 encryption is in play.
Do I need to install ffmpeg separately?
For shooff and Downie, no — they bundle ffmpeg (arm64 native, in shooff's case). For yt-dlp, yes — install it via Homebrew (brew install ffmpeg). Without ffmpeg you can't merge separate video and audio tracks, which is how YouTube serves high-resolution video.
Can I move my shooff library to a new Mac?
Yes — copy the ~/Library/Application Support/shooff/ folder to the new Mac, enter your password, and if you've purchased additional storage, enter your license key in Settings to activate the quota on the new device.