YouTube Downloader

Download YouTube videos or audio with Apify. Submit up to 100 video URLs in a run and get a temporary download link for each successful result.

Quick start

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console and paste your video URLs into Video URLs.
2. Choose a preferred video quality, or turn on Audio Only and optionally select an audio bitrate. Click Start.
3. When the run finishes, open Output and click Download URL. Save the file before the link expires.

Download a video

{
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cdFIkJhjVc"],
  "quality": "720p"
}

Download audio only

{
  "videoUrls": ["https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz0qubtokio"],
  "audioOnly": true,
  "bitrate": "256"
}

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
videoUrls	Array of strings	Yes	Up to 100 individual YouTube video URLs.
quality	String	No	Preferred video resolution. Choose 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, or 2160p. If omitted, the Actor prefers 720p when available.
audioOnly	Boolean	No	Set to true to download audio only. Defaults to false.
bitrate	String	No	Preferred audio bitrate in kbps when audioOnly is enabled. Choose "48", "50", "64", "96", "128", "192", "256", or "320". If omitted, the Actor selects the audio bitrate automatically.

If your preferred quality or bitrate is unavailable, the Actor may use an available alternative.

Supported links

Use a YouTube watch URL, a youtu.be share link, a Shorts or Live URL, or a YouTube Music watch URL.

Output

The run's default dataset contains one item per successful download. Use sourceUrl to match a result to your input and downloadUrl to save the file.

[
  {
    "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cdFIkJhjVc",
    "downloadUrl": "https://example.com/download/video.mp4"
  }
]

API

Set the APIFY_TOKEN environment variable to your Apify API token, then start a run.

curl --request POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/scraper_one~yt-downloader/runs" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${APIFY_TOKEN}" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"videoUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cdFIkJhjVc"],"quality":"720p"}'

The response includes the run ID in data.id and the dataset ID in data.defaultDatasetId. Use the Get Actor run endpoint to check the run status. When it reaches SUCCEEDED, replace DATASET_ID with the dataset ID and fetch the results.

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/DATASET_ID/items" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${APIFY_TOKEN}"

Pricing

Cost depends on file size and your Apify plan. The table shows estimated download charges for a 10-minute video. Actual file sizes vary, and a separate Actor start fee applies. See the Pricing tab for current rates.

Quality	Estimated file size	Free	Starter	Scale	Business
360p	50 MB	$0.10	$0.075	$0.0625	$0.05
480p	90 MB	$0.18	$0.135	$0.1125	$0.09
720p	220 MB	$0.44	$0.33	$0.275	$0.22
1080p	450 MB	$0.90	$0.675	$0.5625	$0.45
1440p	1,000 MB	$2.00	$1.50	$1.25	$1.00
2160p (4K)	2,000 MB	$4.00	$3.00	$2.50	$2.00

Limitations

• The Actor downloads individual videos. Playlist and channel URLs are skipped.
• Private or restricted videos may be unavailable. Check the run log if an input URL has no result.
• Only download content you have permission to download.

Use cases

Archive videos you have permission to download, save audio for transcription, or collect media for content research and automated workflows.

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Support

For help with a run, contact scraper1one@gmail.com and include the Apify run ID.