As the 2d-most visited site on the internet - later on Google itself - YouTube has around 23 billion visitors per month. Most of them lookout videos on the website or via one of the many YouTube apps.

Sometimes, though, you'll desire to download a video. Maybe that's to sentry it offline, or perhaps you want to save a useful video merely in case it's ever taken down. Whatever your reason, we'll explain a few different ways that you tin can do this. Information technology's possible - and easy - to download videos on a Windows laptop or PC, and on Android phones. It's not as easy on an iPhone, unless y'all pay for YouTube Premium, but information technology'southward possible if y'all're adamant.

Do remember that watching videos in the YouTube app (or website) and non skipping the ads is the best manner to support your favourite channels.

There are two official ways to download videos from YouTube. Offset, there'south the YouTube Go app which is bachelor in countries where mobile information is too expensive for streaming them.

Then there'south YouTube Premium, a paid-for service that allows users in other countries - including the UK and United states of america - to download YouTube content in the app. There are other benefits of Premium, too, such every bit no adverts and being able to listen to music in the background then yous tin can apply other apps on your phone.

YouTube Premium isn't cheap at £11.99/$11.99 per month, and if you just desire to download an occasional clip it's probably also much to justify paying.

The good news is that it's like shooting fish in a barrel to download YouTube videos using unofficial methods. First, we recommend reading our guide to whether it's legal to download YouTube videos.

Download videos using YouTube Premium

If you're a YouTube Premium subscriber so downloading videos is easy. At that place is one big caveat though: you lot tin simply do it using the official YouTube or YouTube Gaming apps, which means y'all can't utilise Premium to download videos to your reckoner - merely to a telephone or tablet.

To download merely open up the app and head to the video yous want to download. Underneath the role player y'all should encounter a 'Download' icon - tap that, pick what video quality y'all want to download, and that'due south it.

How to download videos YouTube Premium

Once the video has downloaded the icon below it will change to a blueish tick - tap this if you lot want to remove the download. You'll be able to find all your downloaded videos in the Library or Account tabs.

Download YouTube videos in Windows

As with websites, there are lots of options for downloading with a desktop app. Non all are free, but some are. A paid-for one we can recommend is ByClick Downloader. It has an easy-to-use interface, is regularly updated and makes it supremely easy to download video - or just audio - from YouTube.

All you have to do is to re-create the URL of a video and a pop-up volition enquire if you lot want to download the sound or video. Or you lot tin set up a default and it won't even enquire: it will automatically download the MP3 or MP4 at the default quality.

It's reasonably priced at $9.99 (around £7.xl), and yous can try information technology out for 24 hours for gratuitous without entering any payment details.

how to download youtube videos to laptop

There are lots of alternatives, just none that nosotros've plant to be as good.

They include iTubeGo, which offers a basic interface, only which can download playlists and 4K videos. It'due south more expensive at $29.95 though.

how to download youtube videos to laptop

If you want a free choice, endeavor WinX YouTube Downloader. This will nag you to upgrade to the full version which includes conversion to other formats (including MP3), but if you tin put up with these, it won't toll y'all anything.

How to download YouTube videos

The procedure is virtually identical to using a website: you copy and paste the URL of the video into the app. And so you cull whatsoever options, such as the resolution to download, then hitting the Download button. Most apps allow you to build up a list of videos and then download them in 1 get. Some fifty-fifty let you paste in a YouTube playlist and automatically download all the videos.

Download YouTube videos in a spider web browser

If yous want to save videos without installing an app, in that location are many websites where you can paste the URL of the YouTube video and and so click on the resolution yous want to download. These sites oftentimes get shut down, because they're regularly bombarded with cease & desist notices from copyright owners.

Besides, these websites tend to redirect y'all to other sites which may or may not be safety, and could pose a risk to your computer. This is why, firstly, it's important to run top-quality antivirus software and secondly, why we don't recommend this method of downloading whatsoever more.

Previous sites we'd used for years, such as SaveFrom, no longer operate in the U.k. or U.s., and even if yous do find a 'safe' site that will let you lot download videos, there are usually restrictions.

Typically, y'all'll exist limited to downloading a lower-quality 720p version, fifty-fifty if a video is in 1080p or 4K. And not all will download just the audio (from a music video, for instance).

Sometimes y'all'll find that videos are downloaded in WebM format. You lot can convert these videos into MP4 - or whatever format y'all similar using Freemake and Any Video Converter, or yous could download and install VLC, which is a free video player that can play just about any file.

How to download YouTube playlists

Sometimes you have to pay for software if you lot want an piece of cake life. Again, ByClick Downloader is what nosotros'd recommend.

If the video is part of a playlist yous can click the 'Download playlist' button and you'll get a pop-up like the 1 shown below where you can choose which videos you desire from the playlist. A single click on the Download button is all y'all need after that.

You lot get a day'south gratis trial to see if you like the program, just after that y'all'll take to pay $9.99.

How to download YouTube Playlists

How do I download music from YouTube?

Sometimes you might want to download only the audio from a video on YouTube. The easiest way to do this is to use one of the methods above and cull MP3 (or whichever audio format is offered). This way yous'll simply download the audio track, with none of the video footage. That's platonic if you but want to download some music or the audio from a YouTube podcast, and non take to have YouTube open and running on your phone while yous listen.

It is possible to heed to YouTube in the background with this workaround for iPhones and a separate one for Android phones.

If y'all don't listen paying, you lot tin besides download music as office of YouTube Music Premium, which is £9.99/$9.99 per month. It will allow yous download songs and even music videos, but is express to music - you won't be able to download other videos as you can with a YouTube Premium subscription.

Download YouTube videos to a phone or tablet

In that location's the official YouTube Premium service which we've mentioned already only there are other apps which allow you to download videos direct on your Android phone (including for gratuitous), simply it's trickier on the iPhone. Nosotros've written split guides for both types of device:

  • How to download YouTube videos on Android
  • How to download YouTube videos on iPhone & iPad

But don't forget you tin can too download videos on your laptop using the methods higher up and so transfer them to your phone or tablet, or upload them to a cloud storage service, where you tin can so access the videos on any device.

To copy files from Windows to an Android phone, connect the two with a USB cable and use Windows File Explorer to copy the video files(s) to the appropriate folder, typically named Movies. So, you can play the video using the Gallery app or another video thespian on your phone.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, import the file into iTunes and then sync it to your iOS device. Alternatively, y'all can drag and drop the file(s) to your iPhone or iPad via the Apps tab when you lot click on your device in iTunes. All y'all demand is an app, such as Good Reader or another video playback app which can transfer files using this method.

If you don't want to use iTunes and you're happy to pay, Waltr 2 is an fantabulous little utility for copying videos, music and other files to your iOS device so they appear in the native apps. Detect out more in our guide to transferring videos to iPad and iPhone.

Finally, hither's how to download whatsoever online video - not only YouTube, although about all of the apps and services mentioned here will also download videos from other streaming services and social media platforms including Facebook and DailyMotion.