Ways to Download YouTube Videos, Compared

What are the ways to download YouTube videos?

YouTube videos reach your drive in four common ways: online downloader sites, browser extensions, desktop apps and command-line tools. Screen recording is a fifth route, but it re-captures playback instead of saving the stream, as screen recording vs downloading YouTube for editing explains.

The four categories differ first in where the download runs and how the tool is paid for:

Category	Where the download runs	How it is usually paid for	Typical catch for an editor
Online downloader sites	Their server	Ads	Capped resolution, fake buttons, pop-ups
Browser extensions	Inside your browser, often via an outside service	Free or freemium	Access to the browser that holds your logins
Paid desktop downloaders	Your PC	License or subscription	Batch or conversion features behind the paywall
Command-line tools	Your PC	Free	Every clip, merge and conversion is a typed command

The full criteria table, with a B-ROLL column, lives in online downloader vs desktop app vs browser extension.

Which criteria matter for editors?

For a timeline, five criteria matter more than download speed: full resolution, an edit-ready codec such as ProRes or DNxHR, a clip range, creator credits and a trustworthy source.

As of September 2026, YouTube streams are often AV1 or VP9 video with Opus audio, which some editing apps play slowly or reject. The reasons are covered in codecs and formats for editing YouTube footage.

How safe is each kind of downloader?

Downloader safety depends on who runs the code and how the tool is paid for. Ad-funded online sites often show fake download buttons, pop-up redirects and bundled installers, while a desktop app from a verifiable source usually has no ad layer.

Browser extensions live inside the browser that holds your email and client logins. The checklist in are online YouTube downloader sites safe? applies to every category, B-ROLL included. Whatever tool you pick, download only footage you have the right to use: your own uploads, Creative Commons, licensed or permitted material.

What are yt-dlp and ffmpeg?

yt-dlp is a free, open-source command-line program that downloads video and audio from YouTube and many other sites; ffmpeg is a free, open-source toolkit that merges, cuts and converts media. Many desktop downloaders are a window around these two tools.

In a download, ffmpeg joins the separate video and audio streams YouTube uses at 1080p and above, cuts sections and converts formats. The editor-level explanations are in what is yt-dlp and is it safe to use? and what is ffmpeg and why do downloaders need it?. Whether to use a window or typed commands is weighed in choosing a yt-dlp GUI for Windows as a video editor.

Where does B-ROLL fit?

B-ROLL is a free desktop app for Windows 10 and 11 that runs yt-dlp and ffmpeg for you, downloads the video, then converts it automatically into ProRes or DNxHR. B-ROLL also downloads only the part you mark and, by default, writes a credits file for every download. There is no account and no ads; donations are voluntary.

Ema Zamboni, a video editor who cuts in DaVinci Resolve Studio, built the conversion after 4K60 AV1 downloads proved heavy to play back and AV1 or VP9 files crashed Resolve at times. B-ROLL has limits too: one download at a time, a conversion that takes time and makes large files, a preview player that needs VLC, and no macOS or Linux version yet (both are planned). B-ROLL is built on open-source tools, but its own source code is not published. Every feature is listed in B-ROLL features for video editors.