Two ways to watch offline
Most people looking at VidMate want one thing: videos on their phone without an internet connection. There are two completely different ways to get that. VidMate is the free, unofficial route — a sideloaded Android app that downloads videos from many sites. YouTube Premium is the official route — a paid subscription that lets you save YouTube videos inside the YouTube app. This post compares them honestly so you can pick your trade-off.
What each one actually does
VidMate is a downloader. You find a video on a supported site, choose a format and quality, and it saves a real file to your phone — an MP4 you can play in any player, move to a computer, or keep forever. It works across many websites, not just YouTube, and it's free.
YouTube Premium's offline mode is a saver, not a downloader. You tap download inside the YouTube app, and the video is stored for offline viewing inside that app. You don't get a file you can move around. It only works for YouTube content, and it costs a monthly subscription. But it's official, supported, and built into the app you already use.
Cost: free vs subscription
VidMate costs nothing. That's its biggest advantage and the reason it's so popular — in many parts of the world, a monthly subscription in dollars is genuinely expensive relative to local incomes. If money is the deciding factor, VidMate wins without a contest.
YouTube Premium charges every month. What you get for it goes beyond downloads: no ads on YouTube, background play, and YouTube Music included. Whether that's worth it depends on how much YouTube you watch. Heavy daily users often find the ad-free experience alone justifies the price; occasional viewers won't.
Safety: sideloading vs the Play Store
This is where the comparison gets lopsided. VidMate can't be on the Play Store — Google's policies forbid YouTube downloaders — so you install it by sideloading an APK from a website. Every copy is only as trustworthy as its source, and fake VidMate copies laced with malware are extremely common. You take on the job of verifying files, reading permissions, and watching for adware.
YouTube Premium involves none of that. It's inside the official YouTube app from the Play Store, updated automatically, with Google's security review behind it. From a pure safety standpoint, there's no contest: the official route wins by a mile.
What you can download
VidMate works across many sites — video platforms, social networks, and more — and gives you actual files in formats you choose, including audio-only. If you want videos from places other than YouTube, or you want MP3s of content, VidMate does things Premium simply doesn't offer.
Premium only covers YouTube, and only within the YouTube app. You can't extract an MP3, you can't move the file to another device, and some videos aren't available for offline saving at all — music videos and certain licensed content are often excluded, and downloads can expire or require periodic reconnection to verify your subscription.
The legal picture
With YouTube Premium, everything you save is licensed. You're using YouTube's own feature exactly as intended. There is no copyright question to think about.
With VidMate, the legal responsibility is yours. Downloading copyrighted videos without permission can infringe copyright in most countries, and YouTube's terms of service don't allow downloading through third-party tools. The app won't warn you or check rights — it just downloads what you point it at. If you use VidMate, stick to content you own, content in the public domain, or content whose creator allows downloading.
Who should pick which
Pick VidMate if: you can't or won't pay a monthly subscription, you need downloads from sites beyond YouTube, you want real files you can move and keep, and you're comfortable vetting APK sources and reading permission screens.
Pick YouTube Premium if: you mainly watch YouTube, you want zero security hassle, you'd like ad-free viewing and background play anyway, and the monthly cost fits your budget.
There's also a middle path many people take: use Premium for YouTube and keep a downloader only for the other sites Premium can't touch. You don't have to treat this as an either-or.
Free legal options worth knowing
If both options feel wrong — VidMate too sketchy, Premium too pricey — there are free legal alternatives. Many streaming services now offer free ad-supported tiers, some with offline viewing. Public broadcasters in various countries offer apps with free episode downloads. Podcast apps are free and download by design. None of these replace a universal downloader, but they cover a surprising amount of everyday offline viewing without any risk.
Whatever you choose, the key question from our main guide stays the same: know what you're installing, know what you're downloading, and know where the lines are. Our about page has more on how this site approaches the topic.