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 is for
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 is good
- 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.
Compared on video downloaders
- Free plan
- Yes
- Maximum video quality
- 8k
- Supported sources
- Bilibili, Bluesky, Dailymotion, Instagram, Facebook, Loom, Newgrounds, OK.ru, Pinterest, Reddit, RuTube, Snapchat, SoundCloud, Streamable, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitch Clips, Twitter/X, Vimeo, VK Videos & Clips, YouTube
- Output formats
- MP4, WebM, MKV, MP3, OGG, WAV, Opus, GIF
- Subtitle downloads
- Yes
- Device platforms
- Web
