How to Download YouTube Videos for Offline Viewing (Free)
Download Any YouTube Video Now
Paste the YouTube URL below. No software required — works right in your browser.
⬇ Open FetchrWhy Download YouTube Videos?
YouTube Premium offers offline viewing, but it costs $13.99/month and the downloads are locked inside the YouTube app — you can't export them to your device, share them, or watch them without the app. Fetchr gives you the actual video file that you own and can watch anywhere, forever, without paying a subscription.
Common reasons to save YouTube videos offline: watching tutorials without an internet connection, archiving content before it gets deleted, extracting audio from music videos or lectures, or sharing a clip with someone who doesn't have a YouTube account.
How to Download YouTube Videos Using Fetchr
Step 1: Copy the YouTube URL
On desktop, go to the YouTube video and copy the URL from your browser's address bar.
It will look like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ.
On mobile, tap the Share button under the video, then tap Copy link. You can also use the short youtu.be link — both formats work.
Step 2: Paste into Fetchr and Fetch Info
Open fetchr.cc and paste the YouTube URL into the input box. Click Get Video Info — Fetchr will show you the video's title and thumbnail so you can confirm it's the right one before downloading.
Step 3: Choose Your Quality and Download
Select a quality:
- 1080p HD — best quality, larger file (~300–800MB per hour)
- 720p — great quality, medium file (~150–400MB per hour)
- 480p / 360p — smaller files, fine for phones or slow storage
- MP3 Audio — audio only, 192kbps (~50MB per hour)
Click Download. The progress bar will show you the real-time download status. When it hits 100%, a green "Save File" button appears — click it to save to your device.
Downloading YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts work exactly the same way. Copy the Shorts URL (it looks like
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XXXXXXXXXXX) and paste it into Fetchr.
Shorts are typically in 1080×1920 (vertical) format and download as MP4.
Extracting MP3 Audio from YouTube
Select MP3 Audio to extract just the audio track from any YouTube video. This is ideal for:
- Music videos — save the song to your music library
- Podcasts and interviews uploaded as video
- Language lessons, lectures, or audiobooks on YouTube
- Meditation, sleep sounds, or ambient noise videos
The output is a standard MP3 file at 192kbps that works with Spotify, Apple Music library import, VLC, Windows Media Player, and any other music app.
What About YouTube's Terms of Service?
YouTube's Terms of Service (Section 5B) state that you should not download videos without explicit permission. However, downloading videos for personal offline use has been widely practiced for decades and is generally considered acceptable under fair use principles in many jurisdictions. The key rule: don't redistribute, re-upload, or monetize content you don't own. Fetchr is a tool — you're responsible for using it within the law.
Can I Download YouTube Playlists?
Fetchr handles single videos. For full playlist downloads, use yt-dlp directly on your
machine: yt-dlp --yes-playlist [playlist-url]. This is a free, open-source
command-line tool that powers Fetchr behind the scenes.
Why Does 1080p Take Longer Than 720p?
YouTube stores 1080p and higher resolutions as separate video and audio streams that need to be merged. This merge step (done by FFmpeg on the server) adds a few seconds. At 720p and below, the video and audio are already combined, so downloads are slightly faster.