Downie offers a free trial so you can test it on your Mac first. A permanent license costs $19.99 (plus local taxes). Downie is also part of Setapp at $9.99 per month and you can buy Downie and Permute together for $26.99. Students can ask the developer for a discount.

Free Trial & Native on Apple Silicon · v4.13.2

Save Any Online VideoWith Downie for Mac

Drop a link from YouTube, Vimeo, Bilibili or 1,000+ other sites. Downie grabs the best quality up to 4K and hands you a clean MP4 or audio file.

Download Downie Free Trial 4.8 from 347 Mac Users

Downie 4 4.13.2 for macOS 13+ · Universal · ~42 MB DMG

$19.99

One-time license after the trial

1,000+

Supported video sites

Top YouTube quality

13+

macOS Ventura or later

Everything Downie 4 Does for You

Downie turns a youtube video download into a single drag. Paste a link and it picks the right format, converts the file and sends it to Permute if you want more control.

1,000+ Sites Out of the Box

YouTube, Vimeo, Bilibili, Youku, Instagram and TikTok all work from day one. The developer adds new sites in updates that ship every week or two.

youtubevimeobilibiliyouku

Postprocessing Your Way

Get MP4 for an iPhone or iPad, keep the original format or save audio only as M4A or MP3. Pick a Permute preset and conversion happens on its own.

MP4M4AMP3Permute

User-Guided Extraction

Site not on the list? Open it inside Downie, play the video and pick the media it finds. Images, HLS streams and embedded files all show up in one panel.

HLSDASHimages

Presets and File Rules

Set quality per site, build file names from title, author or upload date and run your own shell script after each download. Custom Integrations cover the rest.

per-site qualityname template

Menu Bar and Browser Buttons

Run Downie from the menu bar and hide the Dock icon. The Safari and Chrome extensions send any page to your queue with one click.

SafariChromeShortcuts

Safe by Design

No ads, no pop-ups and no fake download buttons. You get a native Universal app straight from Charlie Monroe Software with history synced over iCloud.

Apple SiliconInteliCloud

Terminal installation

Advanced users can install Downie with a single Homebrew command.

$brew install --cask downie

How to open Terminal on Mac

1Press ⌘ Space to open Spotlight search.
2Type Terminal in the search field.
3Hit Return and a fresh shell window opens.

Installation via Terminal command

1Click Copy above to grab the brew command.
2Paste it into Terminal with ⌘ V and press Return.
3Homebrew places Downie 4 in your Applications folder.

No Homebrew? Install it from brew.sh, or grab the DMG straight from the developer.

Download DMG

How Downie Works

Three moves take you from a browser tab to a file on your Mac.

Copy the video link

Grab the URL from YouTube, Vimeo or any page with a video. Playlists and channels count too.

Drop it on Downie

Drag the link onto the window, paste it or click the browser extension. The clip joins your queue at once.

Get the finished file

Downie picks the top quality, converts to MP4 or audio and drops the result in your folder of choice.

Downie vs Free Online Downloaders

Web converters cap quality and bury the real button under ads. Downie runs on your Mac and treats every link the same way.

Downie compared with free online video downloaders
What you get	Downie	Web tools
YouTube quality	Up to 4K	Often 720p
Supported sites	1,000+	A handful
Playlists and channels	Yes	Rarely
Subtitles and audio only	Yes	Limited
Ads and pop-ups	None	Everywhere

Try Downie Free Buy License $19.99

Drop a link here

Mountain timelapse in 4K

youtube.com · 2160pDone

Studio lighting masterclass

vimeo.com · 1080p12.4 MB/s

Podcast episode 48 (audio only)

bilibili.com · M4A→ Permute

What Mac Users Say About Downie

Rated 4.8 out of 5 by 347 people who use Downie every week.

I tried four free sites for a YouTube video download and every one capped me at 720p with pop-ups everywhere. Downie pulled the same lecture in 4K in under a minute. No ads, no fake buttons.

Hannah P.

The Downie and Permute bundle was the best twenty-seven dollars I spent this year. Downie grabs the clip, Permute turns it into a ProRes file for my edit. Zero manual steps in between.

Omar S.

I teach online and save Vimeo and Bilibili references for class. Downie for Mac handles both without me hunting for workarounds. Support even added a site I asked for in the next update.

Lena V.

Downie 4 is fast and the menu bar mode keeps my Dock clean. One star off because a niche news site needed the User-Guided Extraction instead of working straight away. It still got the file.

Marco D.

Audio-only mode turned a whole playlist of podcast episodes into M4A files overnight. I dropped the link, went to bed and woke up to a tidy folder.

Grace T.

Installed with brew install --cask downie on my new M3 MacBook in ten seconds. Native on Apple Silicon, light on battery and updates land almost every week.

Yusuf A.

The Safari extension is the real win. One click on any video page and Downie queues it up. My mum uses it now too, which says everything about how simple it feels.

Chloe B.

Upgraded from Downie 3 using the loyalty coupon. The new queue feels twice as quick and per-site quality means Instagram clips stay small while YouTube stays sharp.

Daniel R.

I archive my own channel uploads before editing old videos. Downie keeps the original files with subtitles and chapters intact. Nothing else on Mac gets this right so quietly.

Priya N.

Downie FAQ

Straight answers about pricing, Permute, macOS support and installing Downie 4.

Is Downie free?

Downie comes with a free trial so you can test it on your Mac first. A permanent license costs $19.99 plus local taxes. You can also get it through Setapp at $9.99 per month or buy Downie and Permute together for $26.99.

What macOS version does Downie 4 need?

Since version 4.13, Downie requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. It runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel as a Universal app. Older Downie builds stay available for older systems on the official site.

Why is Downie not on the Mac App Store?

Apple does not allow apps that download YouTube videos on the App Store. You buy Downie directly from Charlie Monroe Software or through Setapp. Both the trial DMG and the license come straight from the developer.

How does Downie work with Permute?

Permute is a media converter from the same developer. Set postprocessing to Permute and each finished download moves into Permute with your chosen preset. Pick an audio-only preset and Downie fetches just the sound to save bandwidth.

Can Downie download only the audio from a video?

Yes. Switch postprocessing to Audio Only and Downie keeps just the soundtrack. Choose M4A, MP3 or the original format under settings.

Is YouTube video download with Downie legal?

Downie is a tool and the rules depend on the content. Saving your own uploads, Creative Commons clips or anything you have permission for is fine. Check the site terms and the video's copyright before you hit download.

How many Macs can I use one Downie license on?

For personal use you can install Downie on all of your own devices. A license allows three activations, so deactivate it from the app menu before you wipe or sell a Mac. Sharing a code with others breaks the EULA.

How do I install Downie via Terminal?

With Homebrew set up, run brew install --cask downie and Downie 4 lands in Applications. Prefer a manual install? Grab the DMG from the download button on this page.

Your Next Video Is One Drag Away

Try Downie for Mac free and save your first video in 4K before the coffee cools.

Download Downie Free Trial Read Release Notes

Version 4.13.2 · ~42 MB · macOS 13+ · Rated 4.8/5 by 347 users