As the second-most visited site on the internet - after Google itself - YouTube has effectually 23 billion visitors per month. Most of them watch videos on the website or via one of the many YouTube apps.

Sometimes, though, you lot'll want to download a video. Peradventure that'southward to watch it offline, or perhaps you want to salvage a useful video merely in case it's ever taken down. Whatever your reason, we'll explain a few different ways that you can do this. It'due south possible - and like shooting fish in a barrel - to download videos on a Windows laptop or PC, and on Android phones. It's not as easy on an iPhone, unless you lot pay for YouTube Premium, but information technology's possible if you're determined.

Do recall that watching videos in the YouTube app (or website) and not skipping the ads is the best way to support your favourite channels.

There are two official means to download videos from YouTube. Beginning, there's the YouTube Become app which is available in countries where mobile data is as well expensive for streaming them.

And so at that place's YouTube Premium, a paid-for service that allows users in other countries - including the UK and US - to download YouTube content in the app. There are other benefits of Premium, besides, such every bit no adverts and beingness able to listen to music in the background so you lot can employ 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 easy 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 yous're a YouTube Premium subscriber and so downloading videos is easy. There is one big caveat though: yous tin can only do it using the official YouTube or YouTube Gaming apps, which means y'all can't use Premium to download videos to your estimator - simply to a phone or tablet.

To download simply open up the app and caput to the video you want to download. Underneath the role player you should see a 'Download' icon - tap that, pick what video quality you want to download, and that'southward it.

How to download videos YouTube Premium

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

Download YouTube videos in Windows

As with websites, at that place are lots of options for downloading with a desktop app. Not all are free, but some are. A paid-for one we tin can recommend is ByClick Downloader. Information technology has an easy-to-use interface, is regularly updated and makes information technology supremely easy to download video - or only audio - from YouTube.

All y'all have to do is to copy the URL of a video and a pop-upwardly will enquire if you want to download the sound or video. Or y'all can set a default and it won't even inquire: information technology will automatically download the MP3 or MP4 at the default quality.

Information technology's reasonably priced at $nine.99 (around £7.forty), and you can try information technology out for 24 hours for free without entering any payment details.

how to download youtube videos to laptop

There are lots of alternatives, but none that we've establish to exist as practiced.

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

how to download youtube videos to laptop

If you want a gratuitous option, try 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 can put upward with these, it won't cost you lot annihilation.

How to download YouTube videos

The process is almost identical to using a website: you copy and paste the URL of the video into the app. Then yous choose any options, such as the resolution to download, and so striking the Download push. Most apps allow yous to build up a list of videos and so download them in one become. Some fifty-fifty permit you paste in a YouTube playlist and automatically download all the videos.

Download YouTube videos in a spider web browser

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

Too, these websites tend to redirect you to other sites which may or may not be safe, and could pose a chance to your reckoner. This is why, firstly, information technology'south of import to run top-quality antivirus software and secondly, why we don't recommend this method of downloading any more.

Previous sites we'd used for years, such as SaveFrom, no longer operate in the U.k. or United states, and fifty-fifty if you practise find a 'safe' site that will let you download videos, there are usually restrictions.

Typically, you'll be express to downloading a lower-quality 720p version, even if a video is in 1080p or 4K. And not all will download just the audio (from a music video, for example).

Sometimes y'all'll observe that videos are downloaded in WebM format. You tin convert these videos into MP4 - or whatever format you similar using Freemake and Whatsoever Video Converter, or you could download and install VLC, which is a gratis video player that tin play just about whatsoever file.

How to download YouTube playlists

Sometimes you accept to pay for software if you want an easy life. Again, ByClick Downloader is what we'd recommend.

If the video is part of a playlist y'all can click the 'Download playlist' button and you'll get a popular-up like the one shown beneath where y'all can cull which videos y'all desire from the playlist. A single click on the Download button is all yous demand afterward that.

You go a day'southward free trial to come across if yous similar the program, but after that you'll accept to pay $nine.99.

How to download YouTube Playlists

How exercise I download music from YouTube?

Sometimes you might desire to download only the audio from a video on YouTube. The easiest way to do this is to use one of the methods in a higher place and choose MP3 (or whichever audio format is offered). This manner you'll simply download the sound track, with none of the video footage. That'southward ideal if you just desire to download some music or the audio from a YouTube podcast, and not take to accept YouTube open and running on your phone while y'all listen.

It is possible to listen to YouTube in the background with this workaround for iPhones and a carve up ane for Android phones.

If you don't mind paying, you can also download music every bit part of YouTube Music Premium, which is £9.99/$nine.99 per month. Information technology will let you download songs and even music videos, but is limited to music - yous won't be able to download other videos as y'all can with a YouTube Premium subscription.

Download YouTube videos to a phone or tablet

There's the official YouTube Premium service which we've mentioned already merely at that place are other apps which allow you to download videos directly on your Android phone (including for costless), simply it'due south trickier on the iPhone. Nosotros've written separate 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 lot tin also download videos on your laptop using the methods above and so transfer them to your phone or tablet, or upload them to a deject storage service, where you can and then access the videos on any device.

To re-create files from Windows to an Android phone, connect the two with a USB cable and utilize Windows File Explorer to copy the video files(southward) to the appropriate folder, typically named Movies. And then, you can play the video using the Gallery app or another video histrion on your phone.

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

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

Finally, hither's how to download whatever online video - not just YouTube, although almost all of the apps and services mentioned hither volition too download videos from other streaming services and social media platforms including Facebook and DailyMotion.