The research shortlist
Page updated
Open Video DownloaderTop pick
A polished cross-platform GUI for yt-dlp
Metadata checked Aug 18, 2026
Closest Downie replacement: a mature GUI, broad yt-dlp coverage, current v3.2.1 release, and dedicated Intel/Apple Silicon macOS downloads.
A mature desktop front end for yt-dlp with paste-and-download workflows, format selection, playlists, subtitles, metadata, cookies, queues, and macOS installers for Intel and Apple Silicon.
- 01Video, audio, subtitle, and metadata downloads
- 02Playlist support, queues, pause/resume, and concurrent downloads
- 03Quality, format, filename, and output-folder controls
- 04Intel and Apple Silicon macOS DMG releases
- It is a GUI around yt-dlp, so extractor coverage and site behavior follow that dependency.
Evidence sources (11)
- Official Open Video Downloader repositorySource available ·
- AGPL-3.0 license fileLicense ·
- Latest v3.2.1 release and downloadsRelease ·
- Official Open Video Downloader homepageWebsite ↗ ·
- Project iconScreenshots ·
- Product mockupScreenshots ·
- GitHub REST repository APISource available ·
- GitHub license metadataLicense ·
- Latest macOS release assetFree at review time ·
- screenshot asset fetched by the local materializerScreenshots ·
- Official Snapcraft publisher listing states Open Video Downloader is free and fully open sourceFree at review time ·
yt-dlp
The maintained command-line video downloader
Metadata checked Aug 18, 2026
Best for extraction breadth, release cadence, and community trust; its current 2026 release and official macOS install path outweigh the command-line-only UX.
Full review — capabilities, 2 caveats, evidence
The strongest coverage and maintenance choice: a command-line downloader with thousands of extractors, granular format selection, playlists, subtitles, metadata, thumbnails, and scriptable batch workflows.
- 01Thousands of supported sites and extractors
- 02Format selection, playlist, batch, and audio-only downloads
- 03Subtitle, thumbnail, metadata, and chapter handling
- 04Official standalone macOS binary and Python installation
- It is CLI-first and lacks Downie's native drag-and-drop GUI experience.
- Some merging and conversion workflows require FFmpeg.
Evidence sources (8)
- Official yt-dlp repositorySource available ·
- Unlicense fileLicense ·
- Latest yt-dlp 2026.07.04 releaseRelease ·
- Official installation guide with macOS binariesDocumented macOS path ·
- GitHub REST repository APISource available ·
- GitHub license metadataLicense ·
- Latest macOS release assetFree at review time ·
- Project homepageWebsite ↗ ·
yt-dlp GUI
A modern Tauri GUI for yt-dlp
Metadata checked Aug 18, 2026
Best newer GUI pick: current v0.7.0, MIT-licensed, macOS DMG distribution, and a feature set close to Downie; it ranks below OVD because the project is newer and smaller.
Full review — capabilities, 2 caveats, evidence
A newer Tauri/Rust desktop front end that adds URL preview, queue controls, playlist selection, clipping, browser-cookie handoff, and media post-processing to yt-dlp.
- 01Video, audio-only, and video-only downloads with preview
- 02Queues with pause, resume, cancel, progress, and concurrency controls
- 03Playlist selection, clipping, subtitles, thumbnails, metadata, and chapters
- 04macOS DMG release with optional Deno support for fuller YouTube format coverage
- The project recommends installing Deno for full YouTube format support.
- It has a shorter release history and a smaller community than OVD or yt-dlp.
Evidence sources (9)
- Official yt-dlp GUI repositorySource available ·
- MIT license fileLicense ·
- Latest v0.7.0 release and downloadsRelease ·
- Project iconScreenshots ·
- Product screenshotScreenshots ·
- GitHub REST repository APISource available ·
- GitHub license metadataLicense ·
- Latest macOS release assetFree at review time ·
- screenshot asset fetched by the local materializerScreenshots ·
Specifications, side by side
| Attribute | 1 · Open Video Downloader | 2 · yt-dlp | 3 · yt-dlp GUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0-only | Unlicense | MIT |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Status | Checked | Checked | Checked |
| Version | vapp-v3.2.1 | v2026.07.04 | v0.7.0 |
| Stars | 9.0k | 185.3k | 220 |
| Last push | |||
| Caveats | 1 | 2 | 2 |
About Downie
Downie — Download videos with ease. Save videos from thousands of websites straight to your Mac in just a drag and drop.
Setapp listing: Download YouTube videos
