How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac Without Software

How Can You Download YouTube Videos on Mac Without Software

A desktop video downloader is a common solution to download YouTube videos on Mac. But using it requires you to download and install a program on your computer, which will take your time and take up your computer space. Due to such reasons, many of you want to download YouTube Videos on Mac without software.

But how can you download YouTube videos on Mac without the software?

You may know various online YouTube video downloaders that help you download videos on Mac without software. Actually, there are other two ways that are similarly useful: You can get videos from YouTube without any software using a browser extension or save YouTube videos on Mac by changing the video URL. All of these methods are quite straightforward and easy to apply. Read on to check more details.

How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac Without Software

There are three proven methods to download YouTube videos without software. Whether you are using a Mac or PC, you can choose one of them to get the video you like from YouTube.

Option 1. Use an Online Video Downloader

Online video downloaders are websites that allow you to download YouTube videos without any software using the video URL. Such a tool spares you from software installation and may provide different options so that you can choose the video quality and format you prefer.

However, the qualities of online YouTube video downloaders vary. You need to carefully pick up the one that is free of ads and redirections and really works. After some trials, I fail to find a website without redirecting you to another website. But if you can stand up with this drawback, here I'd like to recommend you try the online video downloader from Savefrom.net.

To download youtube videos in chrome without any software:

Step 1. Copy the URL of the video you want to save to your Mac.

Step 2. Open a browser and visit the online video downloader. 

Step 3. Copy the video URL into the address bar and click "Download."

Step 4. Select the format and quality you'd like to download beneath the bar and click "Download" to continue.

Step 5. The video downloading will start immediately and you will be redirected to another page. Just close the new page and wait for the video downloading to complete.

Option 2. Use a Video Downloader Extension

Using a browser extension doesn't require software installation. But you need to add the extension to your browser, which will be quite fast, however. Be slightly different from a YouTube video downloader website, such an extension enables you to download YouTube videos on Mac without leaving the site. That's because it will add a "Download" button under the YouTube video you are playing and you will be able to download the video from YouTube to your Mac by clicking the button directly.

It's worth mentioning that Chrome has banned many browser extensions that support video download from YouTube. Given that, you should use an addon that is compatible with other web browsers, e.g. Firefox to download YouTube videos on Mac without software.

To download YouTube videos without any software via a web browser:

Step 1. Add the video downloader extension to your browser.

Step 2. Go to YouTube and play the video you want to download from the site.

Step 3. Now you should see there is a Download button under the video. Click the Download button to save the YouTube video to your Mac.

Option 3. Change the Video URL

Downloading a YouTube video by changing its URL is similar way like using a video downloader website. By changing the current URL of the YouTube URL, you will go to a website that supports YouTube video downloading and you don't need to copy the video address again. For example, you can add "ss" ahead of "youtube.com" and then you will go to an online video downloader with which you can save the YouTube video for offline watching.

How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac with Software

Although the tools introduced above can bring convenience for you, they are not the optimal choice for you to download videos from YouTube or other sites.

As you may have experienced, you will encounter issues like being bothered by ads and redirections. What's more, it will be time-consuming if you are going to download videos in bulk. Due to such reasons, it's a better choice to use a desktop video downloader for both Mac & PC - EaseUS Video Downloader. A program like this will be more stable when it works and faster when it downloads videos for you.

Most importantly, it performs well to download audio on Mac from over 1000+ sites, including YouTube. When downloading videos from YouTube, you can choose a video quality up to 8K and select the format you like. Whether you want to convert YouTube videos to MP3 or download videos from YouTube to computer, it will get your needs met perfectly.

To download YouTube videos on Mac with software:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Video Downloader. Head to YouTube and find your favorite video that you wish to download, then copy and paste its URL to the Search bar of EaseUS Video Downloader. Click "Search" to proceed. 

Step 2.  You'll see the video with a "Download" button below it. Click that button to continue.

Step 3.  Then, a setting dialog will pop up. You can know what output formats and resolutions are available for this video, choose the suitable option you want. Meanwhile, you can choose to download subtitles with the language option. After that, click "Download" to start downloading the video.

Step 4.  Wait for the download to complete, and then you can check the downloaded items in the Downloaded library.

Disclaimer: Please note that it's illegal to download copyrighted content and use them for commercial intensions without authorization. Before you download videos, you'd better check whether the sources are copyrighted.

The Bottom Line

For you to make a better decision:

If you rarely need to download videos, using an online tool or a browser extension is the quickest way. While if you need to download videos from different sites frequently, getting a desktop-based video downloader is recommended.