Freedom251 › Video Downloaders
Cobalt
What Cobalt is
Cobalt is a free web app for saving video, audio, photos, and GIFs from websites by pasting a link. Listed sources include YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Vimeo, Twitch Clips, SoundCloud, Facebook, Bilibili, and many others. Video settings reach 8K+ and offer quality choices down to 144p, codec preferences, and MP4, WebM, or MKV containers. Audio can be saved as MP3, OGG, WAV, or Opus, with bitrate choices from 320kb/s to 8kb/s. GIF output and subtitle downloads are supported when available from a service. Cobalt says it has no ads, trackers, or paywalls and does not store or track information about individual people. Remuxing and some processing can run locally, copying codec data into a new container without re-encoding. Temporary tunnel data is encrypted with AES-256, kept in server RAM for 90 seconds, then purged. Cobalt uses Cloudflare protections, offers Docker Compose self-hosting instructions, and supports anonymous aggregated analytics with an opt-out. It can download only free, publicly accessible content, and community processing instances are outside its control. The maker names artists, educators, and content creators as intended users.
Who it suits
Cobalt suits artists, educators, content creators, and others who need browser-based media downloads in varied formats. It also suits users interested in local processing or self-hosting.
What it does well
- Free web app with no paywalls
- Video quality up to 8K+
- Many video and audio formats
- Subtitle downloads supported
- Self-hosting instructions available
What to know first
- Only free, publicly accessible content
- Community instances are not controlled by Cobalt
- Support is best effort and not guaranteed
Verdict
Cobalt provides broad, format-flexible media downloading with local processing options and stated privacy protections. Users should verify content access rights and choose community hosts carefully.
Facts from Cobalt's own pages
- Ads and tracking
- Cobalt says it has no ads or trackers and does not store or track information about individual people. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Analytics
- Cobalt says it uses self-hosted Plausible for anonymous, aggregated traffic analytics and provides an option to opt out. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Audio options
- Audio settings offer Best, MP3, OGG, WAV, and Opus formats and bitrate choices from 320kb/s to 8kb/s. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Community instances
- Cobalt warns that it does not control community processing instances and advises users to choose hosts they trust. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Device platforms
- web · cobalt.tools, 20 Sept 2026
- Device processing
- When supported, media requiring additional processing is processed on the user’s device; otherwise, server processing streams the result without storing it on disk. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Formats
- Cobalt’s remux tool supports MP4, WebM, MP3, OGG, Opus, WAV, and M4A files. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · cobalt.tools, 20 Sept 2026
- Hosting protections
- The privacy policy says Cloudflare is used for DDoS and abuse protection, bot protection, and hosting and deploying the web app. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker says Cobalt is used by artists, educators, and content creators. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Limits
- Cobalt says its downloader can only download free and publicly accessible content. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Local processing
- Cobalt says remuxing and transcoding can happen directly on the user's device; its remux page says files stay on the device. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Maximum video quality
- 8k · cobalt.tools, 20 Sept 2026
- Output formats
- MP4,WebM,MKV,MP3,OGG,WAV,Opus,GIF · cobalt.tools, 20 Sept 2026
- Pricing model
- Cobalt describes itself as a service made for public benefit and not for profit, and invites users to support it with donations. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Cobalt says temporary tunnel data is encrypted with AES-256, stored in server RAM for 90 seconds, and then irreversibly purged. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Cobalt helps users save video, audio, photos, and GIFs from websites by pasting a link. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Remux behavior
- Cobalt says remuxing copies existing codec data into a new container without re-encoding the media. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Remux formats
- The remux page lists MP4, WebM, MP3, OGG, Opus, WAV, and M4A as supported formats. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Remuxing
- Remuxing copies existing codec data into a new media container without re-encoding, and runs locally on the device. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Security services
- Cobalt says it uses Cloudflare for DDoS and abuse protection, bot protection through Turnstile, and hosting and deployment of the web app. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- Cobalt says it is easily self-hostable and links to instructions for running an instance with Docker Compose or outside Docker. · github.com, 12 Oct 2026
- Subtitle downloads
- Yes · cobalt.tools, 20 Sept 2026
- Subtitles
- Cobalt can add subtitles in a preferred language when they are available, subject to service-specific limitations. · cobalt.tools, 12 Oct 2026
Where Cobalt stands on Freedom251
- Video Downloaders#69 of 135