youtube-dl

Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Three barsScore 7.6

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

youtube-dl is ranked #25 of 137 in video downloaders on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

youtube-dl plans and pricing

All plans

youtube-dl Free No paid tiers or usage limits stated ytdl-org.github.io · 11 Oct 2026

Compared on video downloaders

Free plan: Yes
Supported sources: YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, SoundCloud, and many other listed sites
Output formats: 3gp, aac, flv, m4a, mp3, mp4, ogg, wav, webm
Playlist downloads: Yes
Subtitle downloads: Yes
Batch downloads: Yes
Device platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

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The record

Purpose: youtube-dl is a command-line program for downloading videos from YouTube and other supported sites.
Supported sites: The project publishes an alphabetical list of supported site extractors.
Platform support: The program is not platform specific and the project says it should work on Unix, Windows, and macOS.
Runtime: The program requires Python 2.6, 2.7, or 3.2+ except for the Windows executable, which includes Python.
Installation: Installation options include Unix command-line downloads, a Windows executable, pip, Homebrew, and MacPorts.
Video quality: By default, youtube-dl tries to download the best available quality, and users can select formats explicitly.
Playlist controls: Options include selecting playlist items, choosing whether to download a playlist, and filtering video selection.
Download controls: Options include rate limits, retries, fragment handling, and external downloaders such as aria2c, ffmpeg, wget, and curl.
File naming: Output templates can use video metadata to name files and create directory paths.
Embedding: The README includes instructions for embedding youtube-dl in other Python programs.
Integrity checks: The download page provides SHA256 checksums and instructions for verifying signatures with GPG.
Release: The download page lists version 2021.12.17 as its release and provides its download files.
License: The project says it is released to the public domain and may be modified, redistributed, or used freely.
Support: The project homepage directs users to its support page and lists an IRC channel for contact.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Video Downloaders in 2026#25 of 137

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Sources

ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/about.html· checked 11 Oct 2026
ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/supportedsites.html· checked 11 Oct 2026
ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/download.html· checked 11 Oct 2026
github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl/blob/master/README.· checked 11 Oct 2026
ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/· checked 11 Oct 2026