Top 7 Ways on How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac (macOS Sierra) for Free

YouTube fans are always searching for a best way on how to download YouTube videos on Mac easily and legally. As there are many Mac YouTube downloader or YouTube downloader online services through the Internet, it is hard to choose the best? No worry! Here we share 7 easy ways to download videos from YouTube on Mac for free. Read on and learn how to download YouTube videos on Mac (OS X 10.12 macOS Sierra and 10.11 EL Capitan included).

Part 1. The Best Way to Download YouTube Videos on Mac

Easy Guide for Downloading YouTube Videos on Mac

Step 1. Download and launch YouTube video downloader

Download and start installation of iTube Studio YouTube Downloader (macOS Sierra, Mac OS X EL Capitan, Yosemite, Mountain Lion included). It's superb easy to use! After that, launch the program.

Step 2. Download YouTube videos from browser

Open your browser Safari, Chrome or Firefox and visit YouTube.com. When you watch a video on it, you will see the "Download" icon appearing at the top left corner of the video. And several web pages can be opened to download videos at the same time. Click the "Download" button and the video will be downloaded.

The download process can be checked in "Downloading" tab. And in "Downloaded" tab, you will find downloaded YouTube videos. You can see the downloaded videos on the list by clicking "Download" menu on the left side of the YouTube Downloader for Mac window. With the built-in FLV player, and right-click the program and choose "Play" option in drop-down box, you're able to view or play the video.

Step 3. Convert YouTube video to any format

To convert YouTube video, click the "Add to Convert List" icon on the right side for each video in "Downloaded" tab. You can add the video to "Convert" menu by doing this.

Open the "Convert" menu, and you can convert YouTube videos to iPod, iPhone, iPad and all popular devices. Find the "Convert" icon on the right of the video, click it. In the window that appears, choose from about 153+ output formats and click "OK" to start conversion.

Video Tutorial on How to Download YouTube Videos on Mac (macOS Sierra)

Part 2. The Method to Download Video, Music, etc with Limewire on Mac

Step 1. Go to the website of limewire to download Limewire software. Hit "Mac OS X (10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard)", you can get the basic version for free.

Step 2. Install and launch the Limewire, just input some of your interested words,select the type, and click search, then you'll find lots of files for you to download.

You can find and get the file by clicking download button. What's more, several files can be downloaded at the same time.

Step 3. Then click "Explore" when you finished downloading the file, and you will find your download videos on Mac.

Windows version can be downloaded if you want to download videos from limewire.com on your PC. If you can't find the YouTube and limewire videos files that you need, refer to the guide to know the method of converting downloaded files to other format.

Tips: Learn to get/record videos from video sharing sites for free.

Part 3. Download YouTube Videos on Mac with Chrome

If you use Chrome browser, you can download YouTube videos on Chrome directly on your Mac. To do so, you need a YouTube downloader for Chrome add-on. You can find and download one from Chrome Web Store.

After installing the YouTube downloader add-on on your Chrome browser, the video download can be easy. Just open YouTube video, and the add-on on your Chrome browser will be highlighted. Simply press the add-on button to download the video.

Part 4. Download YouTube Videos on Mac Directly from Internet

You can also directly download YouTube videos on Mac with a "Kiss", you can directly download Youtube on Mac from the Internet. To download a YouTube video, what oyu need is a YouTube video URL. When you open a YouTube video URL, you just add "Kiss" before the URL in the address bar. For example, the URL of www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRsQeRxHs29, now add a “kiss”, the URL changed to www.kissyoutube.com/watch?v=gRsQeRxHs29. And then your browser will parse the URL and open the download page as the image shown. There you can download the video with ease.

Part 5. Download Videos from YouTube on Mac on Safari Directly

Update: This method doesn't works any more due to code changes on YouTube.

Step 1. Launch Safari and find your interested video.

Step 2. Then,go to 'Window' and down to Activity. Press it, you will see a dialog box;

Step 3. Find the YouTube page among files appeared in the window when the dialog box shows up.

Step 4. After it's located and all the activities going on in the page is expanded, find the largest file size (you can find it in the right hand corner). In YouTube page, many video files are small, while most FLV videos are large files. After the largest file is located, you just need to double click on it.

There are several free online downloader websites for you to choose to download YouTube video on Mac:
http://www.free-youtubedownloader.net/
http://www.kcoolonline.com/

Part 6. How to Download YouTube to Mac Online for Free

Another easy way to download YouTube to Mac is to use online YouTube downloader like Zamzar. Before we dive into the guide, note that Zamzar not only allows you to download videos from popular video sharing sites, including YouTube, but it also acts as an online file converter. The online tool supports a wide variety of formats, so if formats are your primary concern, the web-based YouTube downloader for Mac will never disappoint.

Using Zamzar is as easy as pie. The online app’s main page has an entire user interface (all in the same place). Immediately you land on the home page, you’ll get these options instantly- browse your file, specify the format to convert to, enter your e-mail address, and upload and convert your file options.

Step 1: Of course, you start by opening the video you’d like to download from YouTube or any other popular video sharing site out there. When the video starts playing, copy its URL and head on to the next step.

Step 2: With the URL copied, go to Zamzar’s main site, zamzar.com, and paste the URL in the field provided on the main page (labeled as step 1).

Step 3: The next step involves specifying the format in which you’d like your video to be output in. As we did mention earlier, the online program has multiple video formats to pick from.

Step 4: Finally provide your email so that you can receive the file after it has been converted.

Step 5: The final step involves converting and saving your video locally. Agree to the app’s terms and click convert. After a few moments, your video will be ready for offline viewing- anytime, anyplace.

Part 7. How to Downloader YouTube to Mac with Realplayer

Alternatively, you can also RealPlayer program to download the YouTube clips to your Mac. Below is a brief guide on how you can start downloading videos from YouTube in just a few clicks:

Step 1: Of course, you start by installing RealPlayer to get to RealPlayer YouTube videos Downloader on your Mac. The installation is fast and easy as explained in the next step.

Step 2: Double tap tRealTimes-Realplayer.EXE file to install it on your Mac. Depending on the browser you are using, you can just tap the file at the base bar of the web browser or access if from the “My Downloads” folder. Click through the program's setup to finalize the installation process.

Step 3: Restart the browser and open the YouTube video you wish to save to your local storage. You will always view the RealPlayer Downloader button popping up at the top part of your browser, alerting you on whether there’s a video accessible for download on that particular page. Click it. And then tap on “Download This Video” option. Your video will consequently download to Real Player Library. As the download continues, it will show up in the RealPlayer Downloader window.That’s all! After some seconds, click on newly downloaded video in the RealPlayer Downloads folder o start viewing the video online!