“How can I download YouTube videos on a Mac?” Mac users must have thought about this question hundreds of times. Generally, the YouTube Premium users can only download videos within the YouTube App for iOS and Android devices. There is no an official way to download YouTube videos on iMac/MacBook. Thankfully, there are some third-party YouTube downloader for Mac Apps and online tools help you get the job done. In this article, we’ve collected the 6 best YouTube Video Downloaders for Mac with a detailed introduction for you. Scroll down to read and choose the best one!

Detailed Review of 6 Best YouTube Video Downloaders for Mac

In this part, you can walk through reviews of the 6 best YouTube video downloaders for Mac (desktop apps and online downloaders), with tested details from their user interface, video format, video quality, efficiency, download speed, pricing, compatibility, pros and cons, etc. Keep reading and grasp them all.

Top 1. iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader

iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader is one of the top YouTube video downloaders for Mac. It is an all-in-one streaming video downloader that supports more than 8 streaming sites, including YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Twitter. This tool offers up to full HD 1080p resolution and Dolby Atmos 5.1 surround sound for a cinema-like viewing experience.

With is built-in web browser, users can easily search for YouTube videos by keywords, titles or URLs. It empowers to download YouTube movies and TV shows to Mac, Windows computers as MP4 or MKV files. Moreover, it also lets you choose your preferred audio track and subtitle language before downloading. After downloading, you can save the YouTube videos on your computer permanently, and enjoy them offline on Mac/PC, or move to other devices!

Top 2. 4kFinder Video Downloader

4kFinder Video Downloader is a multifunctional video downloaders for streaming video sites. This tool supports over 100 sites, including YouTube, YouTube Music, Vevo, Niconico, Vimeo,Dailymotion, Veoh, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Bilibili, Tub8, and even porn sites, etc. It is another great choice for YouTube lovers. With it, you can download HD, 2K, 4K, and even 8K videos from YouTube to your Mac or PC, and save the videos as MP4, MOV, WEBM files. Moreover, it also lets you convert YouTube music videos to MP3 with 32kbps high bitrate. The downloaded YouTube videos can be moved to any device, player for offline playback.

Top 3. Airy Video Downloader

The fourth recommended YouTube downloader for Mac that can provide high-quality YouTube videos download function to you is Airy Video Downloader. This downloader can help you download short video clips, 360-degree, locked videos and age-restricted videos from YouTube without hassle. You can manually select the video format and video quality before downloading. After which, you can then watch YouTube videos offline on your Mac or PC using other players!

Top 4. 4K Video Downloader

As its name suggests, it can help you download 4K video from YouTube, catering to those who prefer watching 4K Ultra HD. It is able to download videos, music, channels, and playlists from YouTube to your Mac or Windows computer with high quality. In addition to YouTube, 4K Video Downloader also supports other popular sites like Facebook, SoundCloud, Twitch, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.

Please note that, 4K Video Downloader and 4kFinder Video Downloader belong to different companies. They offer different features and services for users. During the test, I prefer 4kFinder over 4K Video Downloader. 4kFinder offers free technical support and software update without no extra fee. More importantly, 4kFinder software supports up to 8K resolution, while 4K Video Downloader can only reach 4K.

Top 5. Keepvid YouTube Downloader

Keepvid YouTube Downloader is a free online YouTube video downloader for Mac. It doesn’t require to install any extra app or program. Instead, it lets you copy & paste YouTube video URLs to grab the video you want without a Premium account. Using it, you can download YouTube videos to Mac or PC in MP4 format for offline watching.

However, batch download is not supported. You can only download YouTube video one by one. When you add video URL to its search box, this online page will lead you to another page, the security factor is relatively low. Moreover, it sometimes fails to analyze some URLs. Therefore, we recommend that you turn to a professional desktop software, such as YouTube downloader iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader.

Top 6. ClipGrab

The final recommended YouTube video downloader for Mac is ClipGrab. ClipGrab is a free and open downloader for Mac, Windows and Linux. It supports to download videos from YouTube, MyVideo, MySpass, Clipfish, Sevenload and more sites for free. Similar to iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader, ClipGrab also comes with a built-in YouTube browser, allowing search for video content on the program directly.

Also, one of the disadvantages of ClipGrab should be malware that it contains InstallCore, which is a potentially unwanted program. If you don’t mind, this free YouTube downloader is a good choice to download you favorite videos on YouTube. But, we recommend you choose a more professional, reliable and safer tool, that is, iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader.

Detailed Guide of How to Download YouTube Video on a Mac?

In this part, we will take the top 1 YouTube video downloader for Mac – iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader as an example, to show you the detailed guide to download YT videos to Mac.

Step 1. Launch iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader
To begin with, download and install the iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader on Mac OS X 10.11 or above. Then launch the program, choose YouTube service to go on.

iMovieTool has the integrated YouTube web browser, simply log in to your YouTube free or premium account to access the video library. After logging in, you will see its neat and simple interface.

Step 2. Search for YouTube Videos
You can access the YouTube videos and search for any hot, latest and classical films and TV shows, and HD MV. Just type any name in the search bar.

Or, head to YouTube website, copy the video link from the address bar, and paste the link into iMovieTool, hit “Search” icon.

Step 3. Adjust the Output Settings
Go to the top right corner of the interface, click on the “Gear” icon to pop up the settings window. You can customize the video format (MP4, MKV), video quality, video codec (H264, H265), audio language, subtitle language, download speed and more.

Step 4. Download YouTube Video onto Mac
Then, press on the “Download” icon next to the video title, the download process will commence. During the process, you can continue searching for more videos for batch download.

Step 5. Watch YouTube Video Offline on Mac
Once done, go to “History” section, click “Blue Folder” icon to locate the downloaded YouTube videos.

You can now watch these downloaded videos on your Mac using other media players!

Comparison: Which One Is the Best YouTube Video Downloader for Mac?

As the 6 best YouTube video downloaders for Mac are provided, which one do you like? Here are several aspects you can consider when choosing the best YouTube downloader.

Video Quality: The best YouTube video downloader tool will offer high-quality downloads that match the original video quality on YouTube, bringing a better viewing experience.

Video Format: An excellent YouTube video downloader should support a variety of formats to make your downloads highly compatible with different devices and media players.

Safety: When using a new app/program, it should have a clear and neat user interface, with no pop-up ads or hidden plugins.

Efficiency: The downloader should be fast and reliable, with minimal risk of download failures. It would be best if it has the ability to batch download YouTube videos or entire playlists/channels, which would save your time.

Now, let’s walk through the table comparison of these top 6 YouTube video downloaders for Mac.

Among the YouTube video downloaders for Mac above, iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader stands out as the ultimate choice, meeting all criteria for an exceptional YouTube video downloading tool. It is faster, more stable and intelligent. Secondly, 4kFinder is a good choice for those who prefer higher resolution downloads. It supports up to 8K, improving your viewing experience.

FAQs About YouTube Video Downloader for Mac

❓ What is the free web downloader for YouTube on Mac?
Answer: Keepvid YouTube Downloader lets you download YouTube video on Mac online. But this web tool is unstable and has ads on the page. You can try the more professional 4kFinder or iMovieTool.

❓ What app can I use to download YouTube videos on Macbook?
Answer: The above 6 YouTube downloader apps can be used to download YouTube videos on MacBook and iMac.

❓ How can I download YouTube videos on my Mac for free without software?
Answer: Above, we’ve introduced a free online YouTube downloader for Mac, that is Keepvid YouTube Downloader. It allows to download YouTube videos on to a Mac for free without any software.

❓ Can I convert YouTube videos to MP3 on Mac?
Answer: Of course. Some YouTube downloaders mentioned above can help you download or convert YouTube videos into MP3 audio format, such as the 4kFinder. You can have a try.

Benefits of Using a YouTube Video Downloader for Mac

There are many benefits to using a YouTube video on a Mac.

• Don’t worry about your favorite YouTube videos disappearing one day.
• Download purchased or rented movies, shows from YouTube and keep them permanently.
• Burn the downloaded YouTube videos into DVD on your Mac for collection or playback elsewhere.
• Watch the downloaded YouTube videos on your MacBook in offline mode or airplane mode when you’re traveling or in the flight.
• Play your YouTube downloads with other media players like VLC, iTunes, QuickTime on your Mac.

Conclusion

This is the full review of the 6 best YouTube video downloaders for Mac. After reviewing their main features, pros and cons, you may have an idea of choosing which one to trust. Among those, iMovieTool YouTube Movie Downloader will be the best ideal, as its powerful feature of downloading movies and TV shows from YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Twitter, Apple TV+ to Mac and Windows in HD MP4/MKV without hassle. You can enjoy a smooth and flexible playback experience on a Mac of your favorite YouTube videos. Give it a try right now and begin to download YouTube videos for free on your Mac to watch offline!