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YT5s Alternative: YouTube to MP4 and MP3

Paste a YouTube link and choose MP4 at 360p, 720p, 1080p or up to 4K, or MP3 audio. HD files are prepared in seconds with the sound already merged in.

vidstill is an independent tool and is not affiliated with YT5s. This page explains what YT5s does and how to get the same result here.

What YT5s is

YT5s is a YouTube downloader and converter site in the same family as YT1s, Y2Mate and the many YTMP4 and YTMP3 pages. The flow is familiar: paste a YouTube link, choose MP4 at one of several resolutions or MP3 at a bitrate, wait for a progress bar, and download. It asks for no account and installs nothing, which is what made it useful.

People used it to keep a tutorial or lecture offline, to save a copy of their own video, to pull audio from a talk, or to grab a clip they are allowed to reuse. Some also used it for other platforms, since sites of this type often accept links from more than one service.

Why people are looking for a YT5s alternative

Converter sites live on borrowed time. Domains change hands or endings, network filters at schools and workplaces block them, and search results shift from one mirror to another. If the YT5s address you used no longer loads, or now redirects to a page you do not recognise, that is the usual reason.

When such a site does load, the experience is the second reason. Advertising around the download button, redirects on the first click, and browser notification prompts are common to this whole category. And the format menus can mislead: a 320 kbps MP3 from YouTube is no better than a 128 kbps one, because that is roughly what YouTube's audio stream contains, and an HD MP4 is only useful if the audio was merged in.

vidstill makes the same job simpler and more honest: one address, no pop-ups, a fixed 192 kbps MP3 that keeps everything the source has, and HD with the sound included.

How to download a YouTube video with vidstill

  1. Copy the YouTube link. From the address bar or Share → Copy link in the YouTube app. Shorts and youtu.be links work.
  2. Paste it into the box at the top of this page and press Go. The video card shows the title, channel and length.
  3. Choose MP4 or MP3. MP4 360p · instant saves straight from YouTube. 720p, 1080p and best (up to 4K) are prepared with the audio merged in and show a Download button after a few seconds. MP3 audio produces a 192 kbps MP3.
  4. Save the file. Your browser downloads it normally.

No account is needed for the first few downloads each day. Prepared files stay available for about an hour and are then deleted.

Choosing between the options

  • 360p is the small combined file YouTube already serves. It is the quickest, plays on anything, and is fine for watching on a phone.
  • 720p is the default for most people: sharp on a tablet, a third the size of 1080p.
  • 1080p is full HD for laptops and TVs, or for clips you plan to edit.
  • Best is whatever the uploader provided, up to 4K. Large. Check the file size before downloading on mobile data.
  • MP3 is the soundtrack only. Right for talks, podcasts and music you are allowed to keep.

For 720p and above, vidstill fetches YouTube's separate video and audio streams and joins them into one MP4 without re-encoding, so quality matches what YouTube plays and the wait is seconds rather than minutes.

What you get beyond the download

  • Transcript and summary. Each video gets a Transcript tab (captions with timestamps, or a speech-to-text transcript when the video has none, copyable and exportable as TXT) and a Summary tab with a TL;DR, key points or chapters. For a long lecture this can save you the download altogether. See /youtube-transcript and /youtube-summarizer.
  • A public page for the video. Transcript and summaries live at a shareable address; sign in to make yours private.
  • TikTok, Instagram and X. Paste those links into the same box for an MP4 or MP3.

How vidstill compares with YT5s

Same task, same price for light use, same no-install approach. vidstill is different in staying on one address, keeping ads out of the download path, merging audio into every HD file, being honest about MP3 bitrate, and adding the transcript and summary tabs.

What vidstill does not do: there is no browser extension, so it is paste-the-link every time. It does not download playlists or batches yet. Guests get 3 downloads a day, a free account 10, and Pro removes the limit (details at /pricing). There is one MP3 bitrate and no WebM, 3GP, WAV or FLAC. Only public videos work, so nothing private, age-restricted, login-walled or live. When YouTube is rate-limiting our requests you may see a message asking you to wait a minute.

When something goes wrong

  • Unsupported link. Make sure it is a single video address, not a playlist or channel.
  • Video unavailable. It is private, removed, or blocked in the region our servers use.
  • HD stuck at "Preparing…". Very long 4K videos take a while; try 1080p or 720p.
  • Daily limit reached. Sign up for a larger allowance or come back tomorrow.

vidstill fetches public videos on your behalf and does not host copies. Prepared files are deleted after about an hour. Download only what you have the right to keep: your own uploads, Creative Commons work, or content you may watch and want offline for personal use. Do not re-upload or sell other people's videos. Rights holders can use the DMCA page to have a public video page removed.

FAQ

Is vidstill the same as YT5s?
No. vidstill is not affiliated with YT5s or any site using that name. It does the same job, YouTube to MP4 or MP3, and also gives you a transcript and an AI summary of the video.
Which qualities can I choose?
360p, 720p, 1080p and best, which is the highest the uploader provided up to 4K, plus MP3 audio. The picker only shows sizes that actually exist for that video.
Is the YT5s alternative free?
Yes for everyday use. Guests get 3 downloads a day without an account, a free account gets 10, and Pro removes the limit. Nothing to install.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It is a web page, so it works in Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android. On iPhone the file lands in Files under Downloads; on Android in the Downloads folder.
What bitrate is the MP3?
192 kbps. YouTube's own audio streams are around 128 to 160 kbps, so 192 kbps keeps everything the source contains. We do not offer a 320 kbps option because it would only make the file bigger, not better.
Does it work for TikTok or Instagram too?
Yes. The same box accepts TikTok, Instagram and X links and gives you an MP4 in the best available quality or an MP3. Each platform also has its own page with specific notes.
Is it legal to download YouTube videos?
Downloading for personal, offline viewing of content you may watch is generally fine, and your own uploads or Creative Commons content are always fine. Re-uploading or selling someone else's work is not. Check the rules where you live.

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