OmniGet vs ytDownloader
OmniGet is a free, open-source alternative to ytDownloader for Windows, macOS and Linux: it adds torrents, direct files, SponsorBlock, a browser extension that forwards your login and an MCP server. Measured on September 26, 2026, it is also the smaller download (37.1 MB against 110.1 MB on Windows); ytDownloader can trim clips and compress video, and installs from more app stores in more languages.
Written by Antonio Leandro, who makes OmniGet. ytDownloader is described from its own repository and releases.
Short answer
OmniGet has more speed-ups (aria2c, parallel fragments, segmented direct files) and reaches more: torrents, direct links, followed channels, SponsorBlock and an extension that forwards your login. ytDownloader wins on editing and reach: it trims a clip to a time range, compresses video on the GPU, ships on Flathub, Snap, Microsoft Store, Chocolatey and Scoop, and has more languages. OmniGet is also the smaller download: 37.1 MB against 110.1 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 | ytDownloader |
|---|---|---|
| Sites | Own extractors, yt-dlp, torrents, direct files | yt-dlp sites |
| Private and members content | Extension sends cookies, or browser cookies, or cookies.txt | Browser cookies or a cookies file |
| Speed options | Parallel fragments, aria2c, segmented direct files, speed limit | Parallel fragments, 5 downloads at once |
| YouTube extras | SponsorBlock, chapter split, followed channels | Metadata and thumbnail only |
| Clip and compress | Not offered | Time range and GPU video compressor |
| Install options and languages | Installers, winget, Homebrew; 12 languages | Flathub, Snap, MS Store, Chocolatey, Scoop; 23 languages |
OmniGet wins 3, ytDownloader wins 2, 1 tied
Download speed is not timed yet: the timed test is being run on the same links, connection and computer for every app. Until then, the table above lists speed options, not results.
What each app can do
| OmniGet | ytDownloader | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Not confirmed |
| Queue and parallel downloads | Yes | Partly |
| Watch channels for new videos | Yes | No |
| SponsorBlock, chapters, metadata | Yes | Partly |
| AI agents and MCP | Yes | No |
Editing tools, or more ways to download
ytDownloader keeps a simple yt-dlp flow and adds editing: a time-range trimmer and a GPU video compressor. OmniGet adds its own extractors, torrents, direct files, a browser extension that forwards your login, an MCP server and AI coding agents.
ytDownloader is a popular, straightforward yt-dlp app built with Electron. OmniGet is built with Tauri. Both are free, open source under GPL-3.0 and available on the three systems.
The numbers come from each project's latest GitHub release, read on the date at the top of the page.
Download size and packages
Why ytDownloader is bigger
OmniGet is about a third of ytDownloader's size on Windows and macOS and smaller on Linux too. The difference comes from Electron bundling Chromium.
Seen enough? Get OmniGet for your system.
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OmniGet is a desktop app
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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 |
| ytDownloader | 7 min 42 s | 46 s | 9 s |
Files each project offers
Files attached to each project's latest GitHub release. Store listings such as Flathub, Snap or the Microsoft Store are not counted here.
| OmniGet | ytDownloader | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows installer | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Windows portable (x64) | ✓Yes | —No |
| 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 | ✓Yes |
| 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.
-
ytDownloader
- License:
- GPL-3.0
- Built with:
- Electron
- GitHub:
- 10.6k stars · v4.1.0
- 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.
Packages
Both publish installers for Windows, Apple Silicon and Intel builds for macOS, and AppImage, .deb and .rpm on Linux. OmniGet also has a portable Windows build and ARM packages for Linux; both offer an .msi, and ytDownloader adds a zip on Windows.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose OmniGet if you want a smaller download, a portable Windows build, Linux ARM, or torrents, direct files, the MCP server and AI agents in the same app.
- Choose ytDownloader if you want to trim clips or compress video in the same app, install from Flathub, Snap, the Microsoft Store, Chocolatey or Scoop, or use the app in a language OmniGet does not have yet.
Other ytDownloader alternatives
Free, open-source apps that do some of what ytDownloader does.
- Open-source yt-dlp GUIs compared Every desktop app we track, ordered by GitHub stars, with its license, latest release and who it suits.
- OmniGet vs ezytdl Electron front end for yt-dlp with advanced options. Compared with OmniGet
- 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 Windows app that saves media from social sites and user profiles. Compared with OmniGet
- 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 Windows front end for yt-dlp built with WPF. Compared with OmniGet
- 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 Command-line download utility for HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent and Metalink, with many connections per file. Compared with OmniGet
- OmniGet vs you-get Command-line downloader written in Python that scrapes media from web pages. Compared with OmniGet
- OmniGet vs youtube-dl The original command-line video downloader that yt-dlp was forked from. Compared with OmniGet
- OmniGet vs yt-dlp The command-line audio and video downloader that OmniGet runs on. Compared with OmniGet
- 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 yt-dlp front end with a native interface: WinUI on Windows and GNOME on Linux, published on Flathub. Compared with OmniGet
- OmniGet vs VidBee Electron app built on yt-dlp that also makes local transcripts, AI summaries and RSS subscriptions. Compared with OmniGet
- Media Downloader (macOS) on GitHub Tiny native macOS app in Swift: paste a link, it saves an MP4 with the yt-dlp and FFmpeg you installed, then opens a trim panel.
- YTSage on GitHub yt-dlp front end written in Python and PySide6, with SponsorBlock and subtitles.
- Arroxy on GitHub Cross-platform yt-dlp front end written in TypeScript.
Where OmniGet still loses
We publish this on purpose. It is the list we work from to make OmniGet better.
- Clip and compress: ytDownloader trims a video to a time range and compresses it on the GPU. OmniGet does neither yet.
- Install options and languages: ytDownloader is on Flathub, Snap, the Microsoft Store, Chocolatey and Scoop, in 23 languages. OmniGet has installers, winget and Homebrew, in 12 languages.
- Next to measure: time from install to the first finished download on a clean machine.
Trying OmniGet costs nothing
Both are free and GPL-3.0, and both save to normal folders, so you can try OmniGet alongside ytDownloader without losing anything.
Method
Run it yourself
node scripts/bench/gui-downloads.mjs Data licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse it freely with a link to this page.
Sources
Questions
Which is smaller, OmniGet or ytDownloader?
OmniGet, on Windows, macOS and Linux, measured from their latest GitHub releases.
Do both have the same license?
Yes, both are open source under GPL-3.0.
What is a good alternative to ytDownloader?
OmniGet is a free, open-source alternative for Windows, macOS and Linux, also under GPL-3.0: a smaller download with torrents, direct files, SponsorBlock and an extension that forwards your login. It cannot trim or compress video yet, which ytDownloader can. Open Video Downloader, Parabolic and VidBee are other free yt-dlp apps, each compared with OmniGet on its own page.
Other benchmarks
Try OmniGet 1.0.0
Free and open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Download