OmniGet vs VidBee
VidBee turns downloads into local transcripts; OmniGet adds torrents, SponsorBlock and an MCP server.
Short answer
OmniGet is built to download: parallel fragments and aria2c for speed, torrents, direct files, SponsorBlock and an MCP server for AI agents, with no telemetry. VidBee is built for what comes after: local transcripts with speaker labels, AI summaries and RSS subscriptions with auto-download; its analytics are on by default. OmniGet is also the smaller download: 37.1 MB against 353.6 MB on Windows.
Pros and cons, side by side
Written from our study of each app's repository and releases. Every row names the better app, including when it is not OmniGet.
| What matters | OmniGet | VidBee |
|---|---|---|
| Sites | Own extractors, yt-dlp, torrents, direct files | yt-dlp sites plus local file import |
| Download speed | Parallel fragments, aria2c, segmented files, speed limit | Parallel downloads with retries |
| YouTube extras | SponsorBlock and chapter split | Chapters and metadata, no SponsorBlock |
| Following creators | Followed channels checked for new uploads | RSS subscriptions with filters, tags, auto-download |
| After the download | Summaries from subtitles; MCP lets agents queue downloads | Local transcripts with speakers, AI prompts, search |
| Privacy defaults | No telemetry | Analytics and error reports on by default, can be turned off |
OmniGet wins 4, VidBee wins 2, 0 tied
Download speed
Download speed is being measured: same links, same connection, same computer, several runs each. The results will appear here with the script to run them again.
What each app can do
| What each app can do | OmniGet | VidBee |
|---|---|---|
| Playlists and channels | Yes | Yes |
| Subtitles | Yes | Yes |
| Audio only | Yes | Yes |
| Choose quality and format | Yes | Yes |
| Private and members-only videos (your login) | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | Yes | Yes |
| Torrents and magnet links | Yes | No |
| Direct file links | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Queue and parallel downloads | Yes | Partly |
| Watch channels for new videos | Yes | Yes |
| SponsorBlock, chapters, metadata | Yes | Partly |
| AI agents and MCP | Yes | Yes |
VidBee is one of the most starred free yt-dlp apps. It is built with Electron. OmniGet is built with Tauri and uses the system web view. Both are free and open source.
The numbers come from each project's latest GitHub release, read on the date at the top of the page.
Download size and packages
Seen enough? Get OmniGet for your system.
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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:
What that means in waiting time
Time to download each app (Windows installer) at common connection speeds.
| 2 Mbit/s | 20 Mbit/s | 100 Mbit/s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OmniGet | 2 min 36 s | 16 s | 3 s |
| VidBee | 24 min 43 s | 2 min 28 s | 30 s |
Files each project offers
| OmniGet | VidBee | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows installer | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Windows portable (x64) | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Windows on ARM build | —No | —No |
| macOS, Apple Silicon | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| macOS, Intel | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Linux AppImage | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Linux .deb | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Linux .rpm | ✓Yes | —No |
| Linux Flatpak | —No | —No |
| Linux on ARM | ✓Yes | —No |
The apps in this benchmark
-
OmniGet
- License:
- GPL-3.0
- Built with:
- Tauri (Rust + web UI)
- GitHub:
- 14.4k stars · v0.10.1
- 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.
-
VidBee
- License:
- MIT
- Built with:
- Electron
- GitHub:
- 10.7k stars · v2.1.0
- 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.
Packages
Both ship installers and portable builds on Windows and Apple Silicon and Intel builds on macOS. On Linux, VidBee offers AppImage and .deb; OmniGet adds .rpm and ARM builds.
What each app does
VidBee focuses on downloading with yt-dlp in an Electron interface. OmniGet adds its own extractors, torrents, direct files, a browser extension that forwards your login, an MCP server and AI coding agents.
Download size
The gap is large on every system, around ten times on Windows. That is the cost of shipping Chromium inside the app, which Electron does and Tauri does not. On a slow connection it turns into minutes of waiting before the first download.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose OmniGet if you want a far smaller download, .rpm or Linux ARM packages, or torrents, direct files, the MCP server and AI agents in the same app.
- Choose VidBee if you already like its interface and download size does not matter to you.
Where OmniGet still loses
We publish this on purpose. It is the list we work from to make OmniGet better.
- Nothing measured here puts OmniGet behind VidBee. The next comparison to run is memory use while downloading, where Tauri should be tested against Electron instead of assumed.
Trying OmniGet costs nothing
Both are free and save to normal folders. Install OmniGet, point it at your usual download folder and keep VidBee until you are sure.
Method
Run it yourself
node scripts/bench/gui-downloads.mjs Sources
Questions
Why is VidBee so much bigger than OmniGet?
VidBee is built with Electron, which ships a copy of Chromium. OmniGet is built with Tauri and uses the web view the system already has.
Do both have a portable Windows version?
Yes. Both publish a portable Windows build next to the installer.
Other benchmarks
Try OmniGet 0.10.1
Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Download