# OmniGet vs youtube-dl: a youtube-dl alternative that works - URL: https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-youtube-dl - Updated: 2026-09-27 - OmniGet 1.0.0 > Free, open-source yt-dlp GUI for Windows, macOS and Linux. Paste a link to save video, audio and files from 1,000+ sites, or run AI coding agents. --- [Benchmarks](https://getomniget.com/benchmark) # OmniGet vs youtube-dl OmniGet is a free, open-source (GPL-3.0) desktop app that runs yt-dlp, the maintained fork of youtube-dl. Timed on September 27, 2026, the OmniGet 0.10.1 app downloaded all 7 free test items; youtube-dl's last release (2021.12.17) got 2 and failed on every YouTube item, and its nightly build (2025.11.26) got 4. On a 372 MB direct file the app took 77.4 seconds and youtube-dl 78.5. Measured September 27, 2026 · 141.5k stars · Latest release 2021.12.17 · – views · [youtube-dl on GitHub](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) Written by [Antonio Leandro](https://getomniget.com/about), who makes OmniGet. youtube-dl is described from its own repository and releases. ## Short answer youtube-dl's 2021 release failed on every YouTube test in about two seconds, and the 2025 nightly finished 2 of 5 timed YouTube rounds against 4 of 5 for the OmniGet app. On the free corpus OmniGet got 7 of 7 items, the nightly 4 and the release 2. On a 372 MB direct file all of them ran close to the line speed; the OmniGet app was about a second faster in every round (77.4 s against 78.5 s). youtube-dl is still smaller, lighter on memory and runs on very old Python, which keeps it useful for old scripts and servers. ## 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 | youtube-dl | | --- | --- | --- | | Works on YouTube today | All 3 YouTube test items; 4 of 5 timed rounds (better) | 2021 release: none. Nightly: 2 of 3 test items, 2 of 5 timed rounds | | Free test items downloaded | 7 of 7 (better) | 2 of 7 (release), 4 of 7 (nightly) | | Speed on a large direct file | 77.4 s for 372 MB; about a second faster in all 5 rounds (better) | 78.5 s (release) and 78.6 s (nightly) | | Updates | yt-dlp stable or nightly, fetched and checked automatically (better) | No release since December 2021; nightlies stopped in November 2025 | | Scripts and servers | Settings, rules per channel, an MCP server for agents | Output templates, download archive, exec hooks, config files, Python API (better) | | Footprint and old systems | 44 MB macOS download; Windows x64, macOS, Linux x64 and ARM64 | 1.8 MB with Python 2.6 or newer, on almost any system (better) | OmniGet wins 4, youtube-dl wins 2, 0 tied ## Download speed Free test items downloaded correctly (7 in one pass) (Higher is better · %): - OmniGet: 100 % - youtube-dl: 57 % Direct file from download.blender.org (372 MB) (Lower is better · s): - OmniGet: 77.4 s - youtube-dl: 78.5 s Timed rounds of a 1080p YouTube video that finished (Higher is better · of 5): - OmniGet: 4 of 5 - youtube-dl: 2 of 5 ## What each app can do | | OmniGet | youtube-dl | | --- | --- | --- | | 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 | No | | Torrents and magnet links | Yes | No | | Direct file links | Yes | Partly | | Queue and parallel downloads | Yes | Partly | | Watch channels for new videos | Yes | No | | SponsorBlock, chapters, metadata | Yes | No | | AI agents and MCP | Yes | No | ### Where youtube-dl still makes sense youtube-dl is a single 1.8 MB Python file that still runs on Python 2.6, on old servers and on BSD, with output templates, a download archive and exec hooks for scripts. If you keep an old script that calls youtube-dl, the closest replacement is yt-dlp, which accepts most of the same options; OmniGet is the choice when you would rather paste links into a window. ## Who wins what - Free test items downloaded correctly (7 in one pass) OmniGet OmniGet 100 % · youtube-dl 57 % - Direct file from download.blender.org (372 MB) OmniGet OmniGet 77.4 s · youtube-dl 78.5 s - Timed rounds of a 1080p YouTube video that finished OmniGet OmniGet 4 of 5 · youtube-dl 2 of 5 youtube-dl is the command-line downloader most of today's tools descend from. yt-dlp was forked from it in 2021 and is what OmniGet runs today, so this page compares the original with an app built on its maintained fork. The last youtube-dl release, 2021.12.17, is what pip installs; its own release page calls it old and points to nightly builds, which live in a separate ytdl-org repository and stopped on 2025.11.26. Both were tested, the release as installed and the nightly with aria2c, against the published OmniGet 0.10.1 app and its command line, on the same Mac, network and day, with a warm-up round and five timed rounds in alternating order. All content is free: Blender open movies, a Creative Commons album and a public HLS test stream. ## Download size and packages Peak memory while downloading the 372 MB file (Lower is better · MB): - youtube-dl: 69.5 MB - OmniGet: 86.5 MB Peak CPU while downloading the 372 MB file (100% = one core) (Lower is better · %): - OmniGet: 75.7 % - youtube-dl: 88.5 % [Download OmniGet for Windows, macOS or Linux](https://getomniget.com/download) ## The apps in this benchmark - ### [OmniGet](https://getomniget.com) - License: GPL-3.0 - Built with: Tauri (Rust + web UI) - GitHub: 14.4k stars · v0.10.1 - Its own extractors, torrents and direct files on top of yt-dlp. - An MCP server and AI coding agents in the same app. - ### [youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) - License: Unlicense - GitHub: 141.5k stars · 2021.12.17 ## YouTube: the release stops at the first request The 2021 release stops at the first request with "The page needs to be reloaded", in about two seconds, on every YouTube item: 0 of 5 timed rounds. The 2025 nightly downloaded 2 of 5 and failed the other three with HTTP 403 errors after ten fragment retries. The OmniGet app finished 4 of 5 (one round also ended in a 403) and its command line 3 of 5, so YouTube pushed back on every tool after many downloads in a row. The nightly also picks a different format, 289 MB against 135 MB, so compare line speed rather than seconds: about 36 Mbps for the nightly and 29 Mbps for OmniGet. ## Other sites: gaps in the extractors The nightly also missed two items that have nothing to do with YouTube. On the Internet Archive it saved one file of a four-track album, and it does not recognise Blender's PeerTube server. yt-dlp, inside OmniGet, handled both. youtube-dl's list of supported sites has not been regenerated since the 2021 release. ## Large files: close, with OmniGet a second ahead On the 372 MB file from download.blender.org every tool took between 77.1 and 79.0 seconds in every round, and the OmniGet app was the fastest in all five, by about a second. A single connection already nearly fills a 40 Mbps line, so the gap stays small. youtube-dl used less memory (69.5 MB against 86.5 MB) and more CPU (89% of a core against 76%). ## Which one should you pick? - **Choose OmniGet if** you want downloads that still work on YouTube, a window with a queue and automatic retries, torrents, direct files, a browser extension and an MCP server, without Python or flags. - **Choose youtube-dl if** you keep an old system or script that only has Python 2, need a 1.8 MB tool with no installer, or maintain a site it supports that newer tools dropped. ## Other youtube-dl alternatives Free, open-source apps that do some of what youtube-dl does. - [Open-source yt-dlp GUIs compared](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/yt-dlp-gui) Every desktop app we track, ordered by GitHub stars, with its license, latest release and who it suits. - [OmniGet vs ezytdl](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-ezytdl) Electron front end for yt-dlp with advanced options. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Media Downloader](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-media-downloader) Qt/C++ front end for several download engines, including yt-dlp, gallery-dl and aria2c. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs SCrawler](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-scrawler) Windows app that saves media from social sites and user profiles. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Videomass](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-videomass) Cross-platform FFmpeg front end for batch conversion with presets; it removed its yt-dlp downloader in version 6.1.12. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Vividl](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-vividl) Windows front end for yt-dlp built with WPF. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Hindsight](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-hindsight) Agent memory system by Vectorize: retain, recall and reflect over a memory bank, as a server with Postgres or embedded in Python. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs aria2](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-aria2) Command-line download utility for HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent and Metalink, with many connections per file. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs you-get](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-you-get) Command-line downloader written in Python that scrapes media from web pages. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs yt-dlp](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-yt-dlp) The command-line audio and video downloader that OmniGet runs on. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Open Video Downloader](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-open-video-downloader) Cross-platform yt-dlp front end built with Tauri and Vue, with a very small installer. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs Parabolic](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-parabolic) yt-dlp front end with a native interface: WinUI on Windows and GNOME on Linux, published on Flathub. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs VidBee](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-vidbee) Electron app built on yt-dlp that also makes local transcripts, AI summaries and RSS subscriptions. Compared with OmniGet - [OmniGet vs ytDownloader](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-ytdownloader) Electron yt-dlp app with a clip trimmer and a video compressor, on many app stores. Compared with OmniGet - [yt-dlp on GitHub](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) The command-line audio and video downloader that OmniGet runs on. - [you-get on GitHub](https://github.com/soimort/you-get) Command-line downloader written in Python that scrapes media from web pages. - [Media Downloader on GitHub](https://github.com/mhogomchungu/media-downloader) Qt/C++ front end for several download engines, including yt-dlp, gallery-dl and aria2c. ## Where OmniGet still loses We publish this on purpose. It is the list we work from to make OmniGet better. - Footprint: youtube-dl is a 1.8 MB file that runs anywhere Python runs, back to Python 2.6; OmniGet is a 37 to 119 MB desktop app. - Scripts and servers: youtube-dl has output templates, a download archive, exec hooks, config files and a Python API. OmniGet exposes a smaller set of options in its settings. - Memory: 86.5 MB at the peak on the large file against 69.5 MB for youtube-dl, because the app keeps its own process running next to the download. ## Trying OmniGet costs nothing OmniGet does not read youtube-dl's config file, but it saves to normal folders and needs no Python, so you can install it next to youtube-dl and move over one download at a time. For scripts, yt-dlp takes most youtube-dl options as they are. ## Method Run it yourself `YOUTUBEDL= YOUTUBEDL_NIGHTLY= node scripts/bench/speed.mjs --slug omniget-vs-youtube-dl --tools omniget-app,omniget-cli,youtube-dl,youtube-dl-tuned --items video-1080p,direct-large --rounds 5 --warmup 1 --startup` [Raw data (JSON)](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-youtube-dl.json) Data licensed [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it freely with a link to this page. ### Sources - [github.com/tonhowtf/omniget](https://github.com/tonhowtf/omniget) - [getomniget.com](https://getomniget.com) - [github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl](https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl) ## Questions Is youtube-dl dead? Not formally: the repository is open and got commits until November 2025. But there has been no release since December 2021, the release does not work on YouTube, and the last nightly build is from November 2025. Why is youtube-dl not working on YouTube? YouTube changed how its players and signatures work after the 2021 release. In this test the release failed within two seconds with "The page needs to be reloaded" on every YouTube item. The nightly worked on some videos and got HTTP 403 errors on others. What is the difference between youtube-dl and yt-dlp? yt-dlp is a 2021 fork of youtube-dl with regular releases and nightly builds; it downloads fragments in parallel with -N and follows YouTube's changes. It accepts most youtube-dl options. OmniGet uses yt-dlp as its engine; see [OmniGet vs yt-dlp](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-yt-dlp) for that comparison. What is a good youtube-dl alternative? For the terminal, yt-dlp. For a window, OmniGet is free and open source for Windows, macOS and Linux and downloaded all 7 free test items here. Other options are compared on the [yt-dlp GUI roundup](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/yt-dlp-gui) and on the [you-get page](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-you-get). Why does youtube-dl say "env: python: No such file or directory" on my Mac? The youtube-dl file starts with #!/usr/bin/env python, and current macOS only has python3. Run it as python3 youtube-dl, or use a tool that does not need Python. ## Other benchmarks - [OmniGet vs you-get](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-you-get) - [OmniGet vs yt-dlp](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-yt-dlp) - [OmniGet vs ezytdl](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-ezytdl) - [OmniGet vs Media Downloader](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-media-downloader) - [OmniGet vs SCrawler](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-scrawler) - [OmniGet vs Videomass](https://getomniget.com/benchmark/omniget-vs-videomass) ## Try OmniGet 1.0.0 Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux. [Download](https://getomniget.com/download)