How big is each yt-dlp GUI? Five free apps, measured

Download size, release pace and file formats of OmniGet, Open Video Downloader, ytDownloader, Parabolic and VidBee, read from their official GitHub releases.

Measured September 26, 2026 · OmniGet, Open Video Downloader, ytDownloader, Parabolic, VidBee

Short answer

Open Video Downloader has the smallest download on Windows and macOS. OmniGet is second, at a fraction of the Electron-based VidBee and ytDownloader and of Parabolic. OmniGet also had the most recent release when we measured. All five are free and open source, and all five use yt-dlp underneath.

Who wins what

  • Windows installer

    Open Video Downloader

    Open Video Downloader 4.3 MB · OmniGet 37.1 MB · ytDownloader 110.1 MB · Parabolic 223.9 MB · VidBee 353.6 MB

  • macOS download (Apple Silicon)

    Open Video Downloader

    Open Video Downloader 7.1 MB · OmniGet 42.1 MB · ytDownloader 128.9 MB · Parabolic 135.2 MB · VidBee 250.1 MB

  • Linux download (x64)

    Open Video Downloader

    Open Video Downloader 111.8 MB · OmniGet 119 MB · ytDownloader 158.1 MB · Parabolic 180 MB · VidBee 270.7 MB

  • Days since the latest release

    OmniGet

    OmniGet 5 days · VidBee 27 days · ytDownloader 31 days · Open Video Downloader 83 days · Parabolic 125 days

People who want yt-dlp without the command line usually end up choosing between the same five free apps. They look alike in screenshots, so we measured what you can check yourself: how big the file you download is, how recently each project shipped a release, and which systems and formats each one offers.

Every number below comes from the latest official release on GitHub, read through the GitHub API on the date at the top. Nothing was estimated, and the script that collects the numbers is public, so anyone can run it again and compare.

Results

Windows installer Lower is better · MB
  1. Open Video Downloader 4.3 MB
  2. OmniGet 37.1 MB
  3. ytDownloader 110.1 MB
  4. Parabolic 223.9 MB
  5. VidBee 353.6 MB
macOS download (Apple Silicon) Lower is better · MB
  1. Open Video Downloader 7.1 MB
  2. OmniGet 42.1 MB
  3. ytDownloader 128.9 MB
  4. Parabolic 135.2 MB
  5. VidBee 250.1 MB
Linux download (x64) Lower is better · MB
  1. Open Video Downloader 111.8 MB
  2. OmniGet 119 MB
  3. ytDownloader 158.1 MB
  4. Parabolic 180 MB
  5. VidBee 270.7 MB

AppImage for every tool except Parabolic, which ships a Flatpak bundle instead.

Days since the latest release Lower is better · days
  1. OmniGet 5 days
  2. VidBee 27 days
  3. ytDownloader 31 days
  4. Open Video Downloader 83 days
  5. Parabolic 125 days

Seen enough? Get OmniGet for your system.

Download for Windows

Choose a file

All files and checksums

Free · no account · 37 MB · .exe

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OmniGet is a desktop app

It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. There is no Android or iOS version. Send this page to your computer:

Other platforms: Windows macOS Linux

What that means in waiting time

Time to download each app (Windows installer) at common connection speeds.

2 Mbit/s20 Mbit/s100 Mbit/s
Open Video Downloader 18 s2 s1 s
OmniGet 2 min 36 s16 s3 s
ytDownloader 7 min 42 s46 s9 s
Parabolic 15 min 39 s1 min 34 s19 s
VidBee 24 min 43 s2 min 28 s30 s

Files each project offers

OmniGetOpen Video DownloaderytDownloaderParabolicVidBee
Windows installer ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes
Windows portable (x64) ✓Yes ✓Yes —No ✓Yes ✓Yes
Windows on ARM build —No ✓Yes —No ✓Yes —No
macOS, Apple Silicon ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes
macOS, Intel ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes
Linux AppImage ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes —No ✓Yes
Linux .deb ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes —No ✓Yes
Linux .rpm ✓Yes ✓Yes ✓Yes —No —No
Linux Flatpak —No —No —No ✓Yes —No
Linux on ARM ✓Yes ✓Yes —No ✓Yes —No

The apps in this benchmark

  • OmniGet

    License:
    GPL-3.0
    Built with:
    Tauri (Rust + web UI)
    Version tested:
    v0.10.1 (September 21, 2026)
    • Its own extractors, torrents and direct files on top of yt-dlp.
    • An MCP server and AI coding agents in the same app.

  • Open Video Downloader

    License:
    AGPL-3.0
    Built with:
    Tauri (Rust + web UI)
    Version tested:
    app-v3.2.1 (July 5, 2026)
    • The smallest installer in this group on Windows and macOS.
    • Built on Tauri, like OmniGet, so it does not ship a full browser.

  • ytDownloader

    License:
    GPL-3.0
    Built with:
    Electron
    Version tested:
    v4.0.1 (August 26, 2026)
    • Linux packages in every common format: AppImage, .deb, .rpm and a zip.
    • macOS builds for both Apple Silicon and Intel.

  • Parabolic

    License:
    MIT
    Built with:
    .NET (C#): WinUI on Windows, GNOME on Linux
    Version tested:
    2026.5.0 (May 24, 2026)
    • Native look on Linux: a GNOME app, also published as a Flatpak.
    • MIT license; the Flatpak id shows its earlier name, Tube Converter.

  • VidBee

    License:
    MIT
    Built with:
    Electron
    Version tested:
    v2.1.0 (August 30, 2026)
    • A portable Windows build next to the installer.
    • Zip packages for Windows and macOS besides the installers.

Why download size matters

Size is the first thing you feel on a slow or metered connection. Electron apps carry a full copy of the Chromium browser, which is why VidBee and ytDownloader weigh hundreds of megabytes. OmniGet and Open Video Downloader are built on Tauri and use the web view the system already has, so they stay small. Parabolic is a .NET app and its Windows installer is the second largest here.

What the size does not tell you

An app can fetch yt-dlp and FFmpeg on first launch instead of bundling them, so the installer is not the whole story. OmniGet downloads both on first run and checks yt-dlp against its SHA-256. Size also says nothing about which sites work, how the queue behaves or how much memory the app uses while downloading. Those are separate benchmarks, and they will get their own pages.

Release pace

yt-dlp changes often because the sites it reads change often. An app that has not shipped a release in months may still work, since most of them update yt-dlp on their own, but a recent release means someone is actively fixing things. The number of days is counted from each project's latest release to the measurement date.

Which one should you pick?

  • Choose OmniGet if you want a small download that also handles torrents, direct files and its own site extractors, and you may use the MCP server or AI coding agents later.
  • Choose Open Video Downloader if the smallest possible download matters most to you and you only need yt-dlp's sites.
  • Choose ytDownloader if you want every Linux package format and do not mind a larger Electron download.
  • Choose Parabolic if you use GNOME on Linux and prefer a native desktop look, or you want a Flatpak.
  • Choose VidBee if you want a portable Windows build of an Electron app and download size is not a concern.

Method

Run it yourself

node scripts/bench/gui-downloads.mjs

Raw data (JSON)

Sources

Questions

What is the smallest yt-dlp GUI?

Of the five free apps measured on this page, Open Video Downloader has the smallest download on Windows and macOS. OmniGet is second.

Why are Electron apps bigger?

Electron apps ship their own copy of the Chromium browser engine. Tauri apps, like OmniGet and Open Video Downloader, use the web view that the operating system already provides.

Are these numbers up to date?

They were read from the latest GitHub release of each app on the date shown at the top. Run the script linked in the method section to get today's numbers.

Other benchmarks

Try OmniGet 0.10.1

Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux.

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