This article has been re-published with prior permission of MakeUseOf.
By: Dan Price
I know what you’re thinking; “Why would I want to download all the videos in a YouTube playlist?”.
It’s a fair question – after all, we live in an age where everything from your phone to your fridge has an internet connection. We can get any video we want in a matter of seconds.
It boils down to one point – saving mobile data usage. If you want to download a whole TV series to watch when you’re traveling, or perhaps a playlist of videos about a hobby or a foreign language, it makes sense to download the files on your desktop then save them onto your mobile device.
In this article, I’m, going to introduce you to five apps and tools that will let you download an entire YouTube playlist in just a few easy clicks.
1. 4K Video Downloader
Available On: Windows, Mac, Linux
Lots of video downloading apps are saturated with adware, spyware, and aggressive toolbars. 4K Video Downloader is one of the few exceptions.
And it does a whole lot more than merely downloading playlists. You can download entire channels with a single click, ask the app to automatically download new videos from individual channels as soon as they become available, and even download YouTube’s new 3D and 360-degree videos.
One of its noteworthy features is the ability to download any associated subtitles. You can either embed them into the video file itself or save them as a separate SRT file. The videos themselves can be saved as MP4, MKV, M4A, MP3, FLV, or 3G.
If you decide to download a playlist, the app with automatically generate an M3U playlist file so you can easily play your content in sequence on an app. The downloading process is simple; just paste a YouTube link into the main window and let the app do its thing.
The app also supports downloading videos from other popular sites such as Vimeo, Facebook, and DailyMotion.
2. Gihosoft TubeGet
Available On: Windows, Mac
Like 4K Video Download, Gihosoft TubeGet covers a whole lot more than just YouTube. The app supports more than 10,000 sites, including Facebook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Metacafe, Break, Veoh, and Blip.tv.
The app can download single videos and entire playlists. To download a playlist, just grab its URL and click +PasteURL in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
You’ll then be prompted to choose either the format (MP4, WebM, 3GP, FLV, AVI, or MKV) and the quality (4K, 1440P, 1080P, 720P, 480P, 360P, or 240P). When you’re ready, click Download. The app will download up to five videos at a time.
If you’ve got a slow internet connection but want to download a large playlist, don’t worry. You can limit the download speed so it does not interfere with any other online activities you’re working on.
Lastly, the app also includes an MP3 extraction tool; it’ll let you save the audio of a video without needing to download the whole video file.
3. VLC Media Player
Available On: Windows, Mac, Linux
Did you know you can use VLC Media Player to save YouTube videos? The process is not as simple as using a dedicated third-party app, but if you’re adverse to installing yet more software on your machine, it’s a good option.
To begin, fire up the app and head to Media > Open Network Stream. Paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to download and hit Play.
After the video begins, go to Tools > Codec and copy the link in the Location box.
Paste the link into your browser and press Enter. Once again, the video will start playing automatically. Right-click on the video and select Save Video As.
If you’re interested in learning about some of VLC’s other hidden features, check out our article with six top tips.
4. MegaVN.com
Available On: All web browsers
If you don’t have VLC player and you don’t trust third-party apps, you can try using a web app. There are hundreds of web apps that will let you download individual videos, but ones that offer a way to download whole playlists are much harder to find.
At the time of writing, the best one is arguably MegaVN. Click the Playlist/Channel tab in the top right-hand corner of the screen and paste the link of the playlist you want.
There are a couple of other features that help make this the best web app. Firstly, like 4K Downloader, it will let you download the entire back catalog of a particular channel. Secondly, it gives you a way to download country-restricted videos using a proxy. The app even goes as far as to supply you with a list of proxies to choose from.
5. KeepVid
Available On: Windows, Mac
I’ll conclude the list with another downloadable app. KeepVid is in the same mold as 4K Video Downloader and Gihosoft TubeGet. You download the app on your desktop and paste in the links of any videos or playlists that you want.
More than 28 sites are supported, including news sites such as CBS and ABC, social media like Facebook and Instagram, and music services like SoundCloud and Mixcloud.
Unfortunately, KeepVid is not free – a lifetime license is $30. It might sound like a lot given I have already listed are four free options in this article, but it supports services that other apps cannot, and you can be sure it’s not going to disappear and become unavailable one day.
How Do You Download YouTube Playlists?
I’ve shown you five of the best tools and apps for downloading YouTube playlists, but as I mentioned at the start, there are lots of apps available.
I’d love to know what else you would add to this list? How do you get playlists off YouTube and onto your hard drive?
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