7 Best Alternatives to Facebook Video Downloaders

Last Updated on October 27, 2026 by Digiinte.com Team

According to Pew Research Center’s 2026 survey, 70% of US adults use Facebook, so a lot of video you care about ends up there: family clips, local events, tutorials, your own old uploads. It is no surprise that “Facebook video downloader” is a common search. It is also one of the riskier searches you can make.

The short answer to “what should I use instead?” depends on whose video it is. If it is yours, Facebook lets you download it. If it is someone else’s, Facebook offers no official download, so you either save it inside Facebook, switch to a properly licensed source, or ask the person who made it. This guide covers seven ways to do that, with the steps, the limits and what real users say.

Pew’s figures come from a survey of 5,511 US adults conducted between January 30 and June 18, 2026, with a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points. The rest of the research was done in October 2026 from help guides, licence pages and review sites. I did not test each option hands-on, and Facebook changes its menus often, so check the steps in your own account.

Why do people look for alternatives to Facebook video downloaders?

Mostly because the obvious tools come with problems that are easy to miss.

Security. In March 2025, Malwarebytes reported that the FBI Denver Field Office was warning about a rising number of scam websites offering free file conversion. Instead of converting anything, they load malware. The FBI said it can lead to ransomware. Malwarebytes added that the most serious version drops an information stealer that collects personal details, financial information, session tokens and email addresses. The warning covers online converters in general, but video downloader sites share the same business model: free tool, heavy ads, little accountability.

Clutter. AlternativeTo lists 44 alternatives to one Facebook downloader. Its page flags one tool as bundleware, which may install extra software, and another as discontinued. It carries no other safety checks, so you are on your own when choosing.

Rules. Meta’s developer documentation quotes section 3.2.3 of its terms: “You may not access or collect data from our Products using automated means (without our prior permission).” Many downloader tools work by automating requests, which is what that line targets. I could not open Facebook’s full terms page, and the quote is about automated collection, so it does not settle whether a single manual download is allowed. Copyright is a separate matter. A video belongs to whoever made it, even when it is public. This is general information, not legal advice.

What are the best alternatives to Facebook video downloaders?

Here is the quick version before the detail.

Option	Use it when	Cost	Catch
Download from your profile	The video is yours	Free	Your videos only
Download Your Information	You want your whole archive	Free	Slow, large files
Save video	You want to watch it again	Free	A link, not a file
Pexels	You need free footage	Free	Generic clips
Pixabay	You need footage or music	Free	Check licences carefully
Vimeo	The creator shares downloads	Free	Only where enabled
Ask the creator	You need one specific video	Free	Needs a reply

1. Download the video from your own profile

If you posted it, this is the cleanest route and the one most people overlook.

On a computer, Computer Hope’s guide says to open your profile, click More, then Videos, find the video and use its menu to pick a download option. You are offered Download HD only if the video was recorded in HD, otherwise Download SD. PicBackMan’s guide describes the same path with a Download video option on the three-dot menu and says the file keeps its original upload quality. On an iPhone or iPad, the PicBackMan guide points to Save to phone, which puts the file in Photos.

Live videos work too, with a catch. Restream’s guide says that on a desktop you open your profile, choose Videos, select the live video and use Download Video on the three-dot menu. If the live went out on a Page, you download it through Meta Business Suite instead, and the same guide notes that past Facebook Live videos cannot be downloaded on mobile.

Two things to remember. You cannot get a higher quality than you uploaded. And videos other people posted, even ones that tag you, do not show a download option. Computer Hope says the same of videos a friend uploaded that tag you. I could not read Facebook’s own help page, so treat menu names as a guide.

2. Export everything with Download Your Information

This one is for the person with years of videos and no backup. Go to Settings and privacy, then Settings, then Download your information. Choose Download or transfer information, select what to include and a date range, and decide whether the file goes to your device or to another service.

Panda Security’s guide says processing can take up to four days, and the download link expires four days after it is ready. PicBackMan recommends choosing HTML and high media quality when you want videos. Plan for large files, and do not ignore the email: a missed link means starting over.

It is a backup tool, not a quick download button. Run it once a year and your videos are no longer at the mercy of one account.

3. Save the video inside Facebook

For a video you only want to watch again, saving beats downloading. Open the video, click the three dots in the corner of the video window and choose Save. On a computer you find it under Saved on the left. In the mobile app, open Menu, then Saved, or use the Saved section of the Watch tab.

ITGeared’s guide says saved items are private by default. You can add them to a collection with its own audience setting, and if you share a collection, its viewers can see the collection’s name and comments on items in it.

The limit is that Save stores a link, not a file. Nothing lands on your device. That guide does not say what happens if the original is deleted, so assume a saved video can vanish. If you cannot afford to lose it, ask the creator for the file, which brings us to option 7.

4. Pexels: free stock footage

A lot of people searching for a downloader do not care about one particular clip. They need a shot of a street, a kitchen or a beach. Stock libraries are built for exactly that, and they spare you the copyright question.

Pexels states that all its photos and videos can be downloaded and used for free, and that you can modify them. Attribution is not required. You cannot sell unaltered copies, post the footage on other stock sites, or suggest that people or brands in it endorse your product.

What users say: Trustpilot gives Pexels 2.8 out of 5 from 52 reviews, with 35% five-star and 38% one-star. The profile is unclaimed, so the sample is small and may lean toward unhappy visitors. Fans praise quick, free access. Critics mention weak search, glitches and slow support. One reviewer, Shannon, wrote “Pexels is excellent! I can’t say enough” in March 2026. Another, Zubaidah Siddiq, complained in November 2025 about limited good pictures.

5. Pixabay: stock video and music

Pixabay’s Content License also allows free use and modification without credit. It bans selling content on a standalone basis and using recognizable logos or trademarks commercially. It warns that some content may carry separate rights, such as a person’s likeness, and that checking is your job.

What users say: The reviews are harsher. Trustpilot shows 1.5 out of 5 from 85 reviews, with half at one star and a third at five. The recurring complaints are AI-generated content that is hard to filter out, and some users report copyright claims on supposedly royalty-free music and footage. Others like it. One reviewer, Anthony Rongone, wrote “I honestly like Pixabay!” in May 2025.

Practical advice: save the page and licence for anything you use, and check music before you publish. If your content has to be bulletproof, Pexels is the safer default of the two.

6. Vimeo: when the creator allows downloads

Vimeo suits finished creative work such as short films and portfolio pieces. Its help center says you can download a video if the owner enabled downloads, which creators can switch on or off per video. When it is on, a download button appears on the page. There is no bulk download, so it is one video at a time.

What users say: G2 lists Vimeo at 4.3 out of 5 from 723 reviews. Those reviewers are mostly business customers rating it as hosting software, so the score says more about the service than about its download button. If you find a video you like and there is no button, the owner chose that. A polite message sometimes changes it.

7. Ask the creator for the original file

It sounds too easy, and it works more often than people expect. Send a short message saying what you want the video for and offering credit. Some creators will send the original file, which is better quality than a converter site produces, and a reply that says yes is your proof of permission if anyone questions the footage later. If they say no or ask for a fee, that settles it.

Keep the message. For anything you publish or use for a client, a written yes is worth more than a perfect download.

Which option is best, and why?

No review site covers all seven options, and Facebook’s own tools have no public score, so there is no single ranking. What the evidence supports is a match between the job and the tool.

• Your own video: download it from your profile. It is free, keeps original quality and needs no extra site.
• A full backup: Download Your Information, once a year.
• Watching later: Save. It is built in and private by default.
• Free footage: Pexels first. Its Trustpilot score is higher than Pixabay’s, though both samples are small.
• Creator work: Vimeo, which has the strongest published rating here with the business-user caveat.
• One specific video: ask. It is the only route that gets you the file and permission together.

Star ratings are one signal, not a verdict. Open review sites attract unhappy visitors and sometimes fake reviews, so read a few one-star comments as well as the five-star ones.

What if you still want to use a downloader site?

I would not, but a few habits lower the risk:

• Do not install anything a site pushes on you, such as an updater or a browser extension.
• Close pop-ups without clicking. Never type your Facebook login into a downloader page.
• Keep active anti-malware protection on. Malwarebytes also suggests a browser extension that blocks malicious sites.
• If something goes wrong, change your passwords from a clean device, tell your bank, and report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Most of the time the answer is already inside Facebook: download your own, save the rest. When you need footage, use a licensed source or ask the person who made it. Keep a note of the licence or the reply for anything you publish.