How to Download YouTube Videos for Free
YouTube Premium costs $14/month for offline downloads. If you just need to save a few videos for a flight or a commute, that is expensive. There are free ways to download YouTube videos that work on any device without installing an app.
How to Download a YouTube Video
- Copy the video URL. Open YouTube, find the video, and copy the URL from the address bar (desktop) or share menu (mobile).
- Open the YouTube downloader on LoveConverts.
- Paste the URL and click Download.
- Save the file. The video downloads in the highest available quality.
YouTube Shorts Downloads
YouTube Shorts have their own URL format. The process is the same: copy the Shorts URL (it contains /shorts/ in the path), paste it into the Shorts downloader, and download.
Reducing Video File Size After Download
YouTube videos in 1080p can be quite large. A 10-minute video might be 200-400MB. If you need to share it or save storage space, use the video compressor to shrink it by 50-70% without noticeable quality loss.
Audio-Only Downloads
If you only want the audio from a YouTube video (for a podcast clip, music, or lecture), select MP3 as the output format. The audio track is extracted without processing the video, resulting in a much smaller file.
Important Notes on Copyright
YouTube's Terms of Service state that downloading is not permitted without YouTube's written permission. In practice, downloading for personal offline use is widely done and rarely enforced. However:
- Do not re-upload downloaded videos as your own content
- Do not use downloads commercially without the creator's permission
- Respect copyright. If a creator asks you to remove their content, do so
For your own uploaded videos, downloading is perfectly fine and is the recommended way to back up your content.
