When we want to watch some videos, the first idea that would come to our mind is going to YouTube. Indeed, YouTube has been the first choice of online video viewing for so many people all around the world. From comedy to cooking tutorial, from product review to movie trailer, everyone can find the kind of video he or she loves in YouTube. Since there are so many interesting videos in YouTube, I believe you have thought about downloading some videos from YouTube to local for later viewing, editing or sharing. However, YouTube does not provide a download portal for us to directly download videos from it. In order to download videos from YouTube, we need the help of some video downloader tools or online downloader websites. Some of the downloaders can provide a stable and high download speed while retain the quality of the video, and others would compromise either the downloading speed or the video quality. So, what is the best YouTube video downloader? We have handpicked some of the best YouTube video downloaders today so that you can make the best decision for yourself.

Part 1: Best YouTube video downloader programs

For the first part, we are going to see some of the best YouTube video downloader programs. These are professional video downloaders that require installation. Once you have downloaded and installed the downloader program, you will usually get a stable download from the program. Now let's take a look at the best YouTube downloader programs.

1. CleverGet Video Downloader

CleverGet Video Downloader, a comprehensive online movie downloader that could not only download online videos, but also free movies, paid movies and even live streams, could help you easily complete online free movie download tasks in simple clicks. With it, you could easily download free movies from various free movie websites mentioned above and not mentioned above, like YouTube, Twitter, Tubi, Facebook live, and various other free movie sites.

The biggest feature is that it could analyze target video and then display all available download options in various resolutions (up to 8K), formats (MP4, WEBM, MKV, etc.), frame rates and sizes.

  • CleverGet
  • CleverGet Video Downloader

    Download Movie Video With 320 Kbps audio.
    Easily Download Live Streams Without Quality Loss.
    Video Info Extractor.
    Supports Playlist Downloading.
    Support Multi-tasking & Video Info Extractor Inside.
    Ease-of-Use UI.

2. 5KPlayer

Whatever YouTube video format it is, this YouTube video player & downloader can get them free downloaded in batch, and playback HDR 3D 4K VR 360 videos locally in FLV/MKV/AVI/MP4/WebM etc. It can convert YouTube videos into mobile compatible formats to allow users watching those videos with Google cardboard. It can playback YouTube videos and movies up to 4K/8K FUHD, stream YouTube 4K/8K HD 1080p videos to big HD 8K TV, and support playback of VP8/VP9/H264/H265 online streaming codecs.

On 5KPlayer's official website, you will find a comprehensive list of guides regarding how to download online videos from some of the major sites including YouTube (Vevo), Facebook, Dailymotion and Vimeo.

3. SMPlayer

SMPlayer is a free media player for Windows and Linux with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats. It doesn't need any external codecs. Just install SMPlayer and you'll be able to play all formats without the hassle to find and install codec packs. SMPlayer offers YouTube support that lets you play videos right away from YouTube. To play a YouTube video, just select YouTube browser in the Options menu. That will open the YouTube browser window. This tool allows you to browse among the most popular, most viewed and most rated videos. You can search for a video typing a term in the search field at the bottom of the window. To play a video, just double click on it. Although SMPlayer is a player program, it can also manage downloading videos from YouTube.

Part 2: Best online YouTube downloaders

For the second part, we are going to see some online YouTube downloaders. Comparing to the professional YouTube downloaders introduced in the last part, these online YouTube downloaders has an advantage: You can directly download your video without installing any additional programs. However, the disadvantage of this method is also obvious, the download speed is not promising, as it depends on the download ability of your web browser. And the video quality is usually not high, you might get a compressed video after downloading. Also, the format of the downloaded file is sometimes not selectable. But if you only want to download a video, don't care about the speed or quality very much, online YouTube downloaders are still good tools for you. Now let's take a look at the best online YouTube downloaders.

1. QDownloader.net

QDownloader.net ia an online video downloader website that claimes to support More than 800 Websites including YouTube, Instagram, Fasebook and more. It provides video download in MP4, 3GP and WEBM format. Like most of the online video downloader tools, to download a video, you only need to copy and paste the URL of the video to the box and hit the "Download" button. Once you hit the download button, the website will list all the selectable video formats and sizes for you to choose. Normally you have the options of 720P to 144P for tha quality, and MP4, 3GP, WEBM for the format. You can also choose to download a video with sound or without sound. Once you have found the best option, click the download button to download. The website also works on mobiles so that you can download your YouTube on your phones as well.

2. SaveMeida

SaveMedia's full neme is SaveMedia YouTube downloader and MP3 Converter. As it's name suggests, the website provides not only Downloads from YouTube, but also MO3 conversion from videos. The website features the functions of Downloading YouTube videos up to HD resolution, converting videos to MP3/WebM audio with a single click, unlimited free conversions and downloads, no additional software required and being compatible with mobile phones. The website also provide MP4, WEBM, 3GP formats for video with or without sound, and the MP3 download function works only on YouTube videos.

Part 3: How to convert downloaded YouTube videos to any format

What ever YouTube downloader you choose, I believe it's not hard to download your beloved videos from YouTube once you have found the right tool to help you. One problem you might encounter after you have downloaded the YouTube video is, the format of the video is not what you want. As mentioned earlier, although most professional YouTube downloaders allow you to choose the output format of the downloaded video, some of the online video downloaders don't provide the function. So, what if you have downloaded a video but the format is not what you need? Well, there is a solution for you to solve that problem. Leawo Video Converter is the perfect solution under this circumstance.

  • Leawo Video Converter
  • Leawo Video Converter

    1. Convert video and audio files between 180+ formats without quality loss
    2. Support 720P, 1080P and even real 4K video output
    3. Create photo slideshows from photos stored on camera, computer, camcorder, etc
    4. Built-in video editor to trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, etc
    5. 2D to 3D converter with 6 different 3D movie effects available

Step 1: Add source files. Launch Leawo Video Converter and open the "Convert" tab. click the "Add Video" button to browse and add source files to Leawo Video Converter.

Step 2: Set output format. Right next to the "Add Photo" button, click the drop-down button right and then choose "Change" option to enter the "Profile" panel. Open "Format > 4K Video" group to choose either 4K MP4 Video or 4K MKV Video as output format.

Step 3: Set output directory. After setting output format, go back to the main interface and click the big green "Convert" button. Set output directory in the "Save to" box on the popup sidebar.

Step 4: Convert H.264 to H.265. Finally, click the bottom "Convert" button to start to convert H.264 to H.265. You could view the whole converting process on the converting panel.

Part 4: Best player to play downloaded YouTube videos

Now that you have downloaded your video from YouTube, the next step is to play it. If the video you have downloaded is not the format you were expecting, besides converting it to another format, in order to play it, there is another choice, which is to use a universal video player that can play all kinds of vide format. Such a video player is rare, as most of the video players can only play limited numbers of video format without additional video codec installed. But there is one video that I would strongly recommend. I can play not only all kinds of video format, but also DVD/Blu-ray disc, ISO image and folder. The universal video player program is called Leawo Blu-ray Player.

  • Leawo Blu-ray Player
  • Leawo Blu-ray Player

    Region-free Blu-ray player software to play Blu-ray disc and DVD disc for free, regardless of disc protection and region restriction.
    Play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc. without quality loss.
    Support the conversion from Blu-ray/DVD discs to MKV in the premium version.
    Deliver super high-quality stereo audio experience with the support of various advanced audio decoding technologies like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD (including 5.1, 7.1 channels), etc.

With advanced image and audio processing technology, Leawo Blu-ray Player could provide you quality-lossless image for even 4K video, stereo audio enjoyment, all regions free DVD decryption and user-oriented playback control so that you can play any high-quality movie and play Blu-ray or DVD across region. Furthermore, within Leawo Blu-ray Player, you could obtain the personalized settings according to your preference and all the settings could be done automatically. The instructions for playing are quite easy.

Video guide on Leawo Blu-ray Player