While I still swear on Internet Download Manager for all my downloading needs, many users may need such tools only occasionally or do not want to pay for a service. If you need to download a video every now and then, then you may prefer a fast solution that does not need to be installed.
Cobalt.tools is such a tool. Yes, there are numerous video downloaders out there, but hear me out.
Cobalt is an ad-free, tracking-free solution that has a minimalistic design. It worked with every video service I threw at it. Probably won’t work with DRM-videos, but that is a limitation for all video downloaders.
To use it, you simply paste the video URL into the form on the website. Hit the >> button and you get the download dialog of your browser. It does not get simpler than that.
The default configuration is set to auto. This means that Cobalt determines what to download and the quality of the download.
A click on settings shows a number of preferences. Here you can make changes to video, audio, and other settings.
- Video — Change the preferred quality between 8k+ and 144p
- YouTube Codec — Switch from h264 to av1 or vp9.
- Twitter — Convert Gifs to .gif.
- Audio — change format from mp3 to ogg, wav, opus, or “best”.
- Mute Audio — remove audio from videos.
- Use browser language — so that YouTube dubbed audio tracks provide the correct audio track.
- Appearance — light and dark mode supported.
- File name style — classic, basic, pretty, and nerdy (pick pretty).
Closing Words
Cobalt.tools is an excellent video downloader. It is easy to use and privacy friendly. You can customize it, if you want, but this is optional.
While it is not best-suited for mass download sessions, it may work for that as well, albeit a little bit less comfortably. Its strength is its simplicity. Paste, click go, and save. It does not get simpler than that.
Which video downloader do you use, if any? Feel free to leave a comment below.