The best Android video downloader apps in 2026 split cleanly into three groups: the long-running aggregators with big site lists (TubeMate, VidMate, Videoder), the open-source picks that ship without ads or trackers (NewPipe, Seal), and the browser-plus-saver combos that try to do everything in one app (Download Hub, All Video Downloader Master, TubeMine). We tested eight of them for HD support, site coverage, install size, ad density, permission load, and update cadence, then ranked them by who they actually fit.
No serious video downloader is on the Google Play Store. Google’s policy excludes apps whose primary purpose is downloading from YouTube and other Google-owned services, which pushes every option in this category to Aptoide, F-Droid, or the developer’s own site. The plus side is that the verified stores run malware scans on every upload, which removes most of the supply-chain risk that “free apk download” search results carry. The minus side is that you have to know which store is verified before you tap install. The Android sideloading guide covers the verified-store list in detail.
What to look for in an Android video downloader
A few criteria matter more than the rest for this use case.
Site coverage. The bigger the extractor list, the more useful the app is across YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and the long tail. Two apps with “1000+ sites supported” can still differ on which 1000.
HD support. Most users want 1080p, the modern phones can do 2K and 4K, and the picker UI is what decides whether you actually get the resolution you wanted. Some apps default to 720p in the picker even when the source has higher.
Ad density. Free apps in this category run on ads, but the density ranges from “banner at the bottom” to “full-screen interstitial after every page load”. The reviews on Aptoide and Google Play (for the rare apps that ship there) tell you which is which.
Permission load. The honest apps ask for storage and not much else. Look out for apps that want accessibility-service access, notification-listener access, or contacts. None of those are needed to save a video.
Update cadence. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok change their extractor endpoints regularly. An app that hasn’t updated in 18 months is shipping with broken extractors. Aptoide shows the last-updated date on every app page.
Open-source or not. Closed-source aggregators can ship anything in the next update. Open-source picks have a reproducible build chain and a public commit log. NewPipe and Seal are the FOSS picks on this list.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Source | Free plan | Size | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TubeMate | All-purpose downloader | Aptoide | Free, ads | 25.5 MB | YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion extractors that get patched fast |
| NewPipe | Privacy, no tracking | Aptoide, F-Droid | Free, no ads | 10.4 MB | Open-source, audio-only mode, no Google libs |
| Videoder | YouTube-focused | Aptoide | Free, ads | 10.8 MB | Smallest install, 4K-capable picker |
| VidMate | TikTok and Instagram saves | Aptoide | Free, ads | 31.7 MB | Clipboard auto-detect |
| Download Hub | Built-in browser workflow | Aptoide | Free, ads | 23.1 MB | Multi-tab browser, 1000+ sites |
| All Video Downloader Master | Browser plus picker combo | Aptoide | Free, ads | 105.8 MB | Auto-resolution detection |
| Seal | Power users on Android 12+ | F-Droid | Free, no ads | 14 MB | yt-dlp wrapper, longest site list |
| TubeMine | Older phones | Aptoide | Free, ads | 29.2 MB | Lighter memory footprint |
#1. TubeMate, best all-purpose Android video downloader
TubeMate has been the canonical Android video downloader since 2012. The 3.4.20 build is the version currently mirrored on Aptoide with a TRUSTED malware-scan badge and 6 million-plus installs. Site coverage is broader than the FOSS picks, the extractor maintenance is among the most active in the category, and the picker exposes MP3 audio export from any source. The download manager runs in the background, supports pause and resume, and writes finished files straight to the gallery or SD card.
Where it falls short: Banner ads in the picker. No iOS or web client. The developer keeps the app off Google Play because of the YouTube ToS issue, so every install starts from a third-party store. Use Aptoide, not a search-result aggregator.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 5.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick TubeMate if you save from a mix of sites and want one app that handles all of them.
#2. NewPipe, best free open-source video downloader
NewPipe is the open-source path. The org.schabi.newpipe package ships from F-Droid and is mirrored on Aptoide as TRUSTED. It does not talk to any Google library and does not need a Google account, which makes it the cleanest pick for users who want to remove account tracking from the equation. The 0.28.7 build supports YouTube, SoundCloud, media.ccc.de, PeerTube, and a handful of others, plus an audio-only background mode that turns long-form videos into a phone-friendly podcast feed.
Where it falls short: Narrower site list than TubeMate or VidMate. Format options limited to what the underlying extractor knows. YouTube backend changes can take a few days to patch because updates depend on volunteer maintainers.
Pricing: Free, no ads, no in-app purchases. Source code on GitHub.
Platforms: Android 5.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick NewPipe if you want a clean privacy story and you mostly save from YouTube or SoundCloud.
#3. Videoder, best YouTube-focused downloader
Videoder is the lightest install on this list at 10.8 MB and the one most reviewers single out for a clean picker. The 14.2 build on Aptoide has 4 million-plus installs and a 5-star rating. The site list claims 1000-plus, but the strength is YouTube specifically: 4K downloads on the devices that can decode them, MP3 audio conversion, and a built-in batch downloader for playlists.
Where it falls short: No iOS port. The developer release cadence is slower than TubeMate’s. Instagram private-account stories sometimes fail silently.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 6.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick Videoder if 80 percent of your saves are YouTube and you want the smallest install that can still hit 4K.
#4. VidMate, best for social-media saves
VidMate covers TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and a few hundred others in one paste-and-save flow. The 5.3483 build is the version most users land on, with 15 million-plus Aptoide installs and a 3.95 rating. Clipboard auto-detect is the headline feature: copy a URL from any app, switch to VidMate, and the download dialog is already open. Our dedicated VidMate alternatives guide covers the migration paths in detail.
Where it falls short: Free build is heavy on banner and full-screen ads. Asks for broad permissions including storage and notifications. Runs a clipboard listener in the background that some users dislike.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 5.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick VidMate if your saves are mostly from social platforms and you want clipboard auto-detect.
#5. Download Hub, best for users who like the in-app browser
Download Hub by Tradron is the search-result winner for “hd hub video download apk” but lands on a 2-star Aptoide average. The strength is the bundled multi-tab browser: open a site, play the video, tap the download button, pick a resolution. The app claims 1000-plus sites and explicitly does not support YouTube to stay inside Play store distribution rules even though it isn’t on Play. Our Download Hub alternatives roundup lists the picks that handle the same job with fewer ads.
Where it falls short: Ad density inside the browser. No YouTube support. Last public update on Aptoide is 2024-07-10, which means recent Instagram and TikTok extractor changes are not patched.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 5.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick Download Hub only if the in-app browser is the workflow you can’t give up. Most users will be better served by All Video Downloader Master or TubeMate.
#6. All Video Downloader Master, best browser-plus-saver combo
All Video Downloader Master is the most direct Download Hub replacement: it bundles a multi-tab browser, auto-resolution detection, and a one-tap save. The 2.8.1 build by Vidmark Inc. has 10 million-plus Aptoide installs and TRUSTED status. The install is the heaviest in this category at 105.8 MB because of the bundled browser stack and codec set.
Where it falls short: Install size is roughly 5x the FOSS picks and 3x VidMate. The browser is built on a stock WebView, so any site that geofences or device-fingerprints the WebView can refuse to load. Ad density is similar to Download Hub.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 6.0 and up.
Bottom line: Pick All Video Downloader Master if you want the Download Hub workflow with a better picker and a larger active site list.
#7. Seal, best power-user pick
Seal is the open-source wrapper around yt-dlp. It is not on Aptoide and not on Google Play. The com.junkfood.seal package ships from F-Droid and from the developer’s GitHub releases. Site coverage matches yt-dlp’s upstream list, which is the longest of any picker on this list and is updated almost daily.
Where it falls short: No in-app browser. You paste URLs from another app or share-sheet them in. The UI assumes some familiarity with format codes (mp4, webm, opus) although the defaults cover most cases. F-Droid distribution means updates lag the developer’s release channel by a few days.
Pricing: Free, no ads, no in-app purchases. Source code on GitHub.
Platforms: Android 12 and up.
Bottom line: Pick Seal if you save from a wide tail of sites, want zero ads, and are already comfortable with the yt-dlp ecosystem.
#8. TubeMine, best for older Android phones
TubeMine is the lighter pick for older Android phones that struggle with the heavier downloaders. The package net.tubemine ships at 29.2 MB with TRUSTED status and 1 million-plus Aptoide installs. It exposes a stripped-down YouTube-centric flow with a smaller memory footprint, which matters on devices with 2 to 3 GB of RAM still in service across Indonesia, Brazil, and India.
Where it falls short: Site coverage is narrower than TubeMate. The picker UI looks dated, with limited resolution choices on some videos. Ads are present in the free build.
Pricing: Free, ad-supported. No paid tier.
Platforms: Android 5.1 and up.
Bottom line: Pick TubeMine if your phone is older than 2020 and the heavier picks stutter or get killed by the system memory manager.
How to pick the right one
- If you want the simplest, broadest option that just works: pick TubeMate.
- If you care about privacy and want zero ads with an open-source build chain: pick NewPipe.
- If you save almost exclusively from YouTube and want the smallest install: pick Videoder.
- If your saves are mostly social platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook): pick VidMate.
- If the in-app browser is the workflow you can’t replace: pick All Video Downloader Master instead of Download Hub. Same idea, better picker, larger active site list.
- If you already use yt-dlp on a desktop: pick Seal.
- If your phone is older than 2020: pick TubeMine.
- If you tried Download Hub and it felt heavy on ads: any of TubeMate, NewPipe, or Videoder will land more cleanly.
A note on legality: every app in this list ships with a disclaimer that downloading copyrighted content without permission is the user’s responsibility and against the law in many jurisdictions. The apps work for personal-use saves of your own content, public-domain content, Creative Commons material, and platform content where the platform offers an offline mode. YouTube’s own Premium tier covers offline playback inside YouTube without any third-party downloader involved.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to download videos on Android?
For most users, TubeMate is the best Android video downloader because of its broad site coverage and active extractor maintenance. If privacy matters more than site coverage, NewPipe is the best open-source pick. If you mostly save from YouTube, Videoder has the smallest install with full 4K support.
Are video downloader apps safe?
The verified-store builds are safe in the sense that they are not malware. Every app in this list holds a TRUSTED malware-scan badge on Aptoide or ships from F-Droid with reproducible builds. The real risk is the clone-domain attack: “free apk download” search results often serve a different file than the one the app’s name suggests. Install from Aptoide, F-Droid, or the developer’s own site, never from a random aggregator. Our modded APK safety guide covers the attack pattern in detail.
Why aren’t video downloaders on the Google Play Store?
Google’s Play store policy excludes apps whose primary purpose is downloading content from YouTube and other Google-owned services. Most video downloaders ship through Aptoide, F-Droid, or the developer’s site for this reason. The apps that do ship on Play (like the rare Aptoide-listed pick) are usually scoped narrowly enough to fall outside the policy, for example by skipping YouTube support entirely.
Can I download YouTube videos legally?
For personal offline viewing inside the YouTube app, yes, through a YouTube Premium subscription. Saving videos outside the YouTube app to general storage is against YouTube’s terms of service regardless of whether the video itself is copyrighted. Local copyright law in your country also applies and varies widely. The downloader apps in this list all include a disclaimer that the user is responsible for compliance.
Which video downloader has the most websites supported?
Seal has the longest list because it wraps yt-dlp, which supports more than 1700 sites and is updated almost daily. After Seal, TubeMate and VidMate are the broadest of the closed-source picks. Download Hub claims 1000-plus but its update cadence has slowed since mid-2024.
Is NewPipe the best free video downloader?
For users who want an ad-free, no-tracking, open-source pick, yes. NewPipe is the best free Android video downloader on every axis except site coverage. If you mostly save from YouTube, SoundCloud, PeerTube, or media.ccc.de, NewPipe outperforms every closed-source app. If you save from TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, you need one of the aggregators because NewPipe does not support those platforms.
