Be it intuitive tutorials, delightful music videos, or fascinating documentaries, YouTube is a one-stop shop that hosts a wide range of content. Being such a versatile platform for content lovers, there are times when you want to download YouTube videos on a PC or Laptop for offline access or save them for future reference.
However, it is sad to know that YouTube doesn’t offer any such in-built solution to let you download any YouTube videos.
But, you don’t need to worry as this detailed guide will help you provide multiple ways using which you can download your favorite content offline.
Important Note: Downloading any copyrighted content from YouTube without permission is considered illegal. If you download any video then it violates YouTube’s terms of service resulting in the termination of your account.
3 Ways to Download YouTube Videos on PC, Laptop, or Computer
Use Smart YouTube Video Downloader
Do you have a long list of videos that you want to save and watch offline? As YouTube doesn’t provide any direct option to download videos offline, a need for a quick and secure solution arises. Here, 4K Video Downloader comes into the picture.
This software with more than 11 million downloads permits you to watch your favorite videos anywhere and anytime without any internet connectivity. The reason why this is the most preferred YouTube video downloader is due to its easy usability. You just need to paste the URL in the application and you are good to go.
You can download complete YouTube Playlists and Channel content in high quality. Along with the videos, you can also download the subtitles in SRT format in over 50 languages. You can get these subtitles not just from a single video but from an entire playlist or a channel.
While downloading YouTube videos on a PC, you can choose the video resolution in which you want to save it (8K, 4K, 1080p, 720p, and lower resolutions).
Additionally, you can download this software to download YouTube videos for free. However, you must note that there is a restriction to download 30 videos per day. Along with that, you cannot run simultaneous downloads and will get advertisements in between. Thus, it is better to purchase a licensed version that is not that expensive and offers great value for money.
Download YouTube Videos Using its Premium Subscription
There are people who don’t feel like using software and looking for an online solution to download videos from YouTube, then YouTube Premium is a perfect solution for you. If you opt for this procedure, then you will be able to save those videos within the YouTube application only. But the key point is you will be able to watch them without any Internet connectivity.
And most importantly, there are no grey areas here and it is a Google-approved way of downloading YouTube videos. However, you need to keep in mind that those videos will be only there as long as they will be available on YouTube. If the creator removes that video, then you will lose access to that video. Additionally, the maximum resolution to save those videos is 1080p.
The subscription for YouTube Premium is $12 per month and you might get it at $7 per month if you qualify for its student plan. You can also get a family plan for $23 per month and share it with up to 6 members only if all of them are members of the Google family group.
This method is quite expensive when compared to the aforementioned software and also has some shortcomings. So, if you don’t any have issues using software, we will prefer you go with the Video Download for PC.
Use VLC Media Player to Download YouTube Videos
Many people know and use VLC Media Player as a medium to play videos on it. What most of them don’t know is that it has the capability to download videos from YouTube on PC.
To download those videos safely, you need to follow the below steps:
1. First of all, copy the URL of the video that you want to save.
2. Open VLC Media Player > Go to Media Menu > Select “Open Network Stream” option > click on the Play button.
3. Once the video starts playing, go to Tools > Codec Information.
4. Here, you will get a box named “Location” from where you need to copy the mentioned URL.
5. Now, paste the copied URL into the browser and it will start playing that video. In this window, you will get a 3-dots menu. Click on that menu and you will get the download option there.
The browser will start downloading your YouTube video. Although this is a free solution to download videos from YouTube on a PC, it is not a reliable solution and might end up giving error messages. Thus, you might have a bad experience while using this as your solution.
Moreover, you can only download YouTube videos in 1080p resolution max even if the video on YouTube is available with 4K resolution. So, it is up to you if you want to use this solution or not.
Conclusion
Although downloading videos from YouTube is against its Terms of Service still many people want to save those precious videos for future reference. Hence, they look for simple yet efficient solutions for the same. Thus, we have come up with a detailed guide explaining 3 ways to download YouTube videos on a PC. As per our recommendation, we will suggest you go with the third-party solution as it comes with various pros and is quite easy to use.