Internet Download Manager, or IDM, is one of the most popular download managers for Windows out there. It has some really cool features like download speed acceleration, download resume, scheduled downloading, video grabber, browser integration, and much more. Sadly, IDM is only available for Windows. Plus, the software is available for a 30-day trial, beyond which you’d have to buy a license that comes at $24.95. So, if you are looking for an IDM alternative that is free or that can work on other operating systems as well, this article has got you covered. So without further ado, here is a list of the top 10 free IDM alternatives that you can try.
Here we have listed the best free alternatives for Internet Download Manager. The list contains both native apps and browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. You can check the entire list by using the table of content below and use it to navigate to specific apps if you want.
- JDownloader 2
- EagleGet
- FDM
- FlashGet
- Internet Download Accelerator
- uGet Download Manager
- DownThemAll!
- Download Ninja
- Xtreme Download Manager
- aria2
1. JDownloader 2
JDownloader 2 is a free download manager that has some of its parts open sourced. When it comes to features, JDownloader has most of the useful ones that come packed in IDM. For instance, you can resume downloads, set bandwidth limitations on your downloads, and apply themes. JDownloader 2 also offers multilingual support like IDM.
Download: Free Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Java-based platforms
EagleGet is a lightweight download manager available for Windows. It some features similar to IDM, like scheduling downloads, accelerated download speeds (up to 6 times), applying themes, setting speed limits, and browser integration. Unlike IDM, EagleGet doesn’t require an additional antivirus program on your computer but has its own malware checker.
3. FDM
When it comes to offering an accelerated downloading experience, FDM (Free Download Manager) can give IDM a run for its money. The highlight of this internet download manager is the ability to organize downloads efficiently so that you can download even large files fast without any hiccups. Moreover, it also allows you to resume broken downloads and control file priorities for torrents, which is yet another plus from the proficiency aspect.
FlashGet is a really fast download manager that can accelerate your downloads up to 10 times the speed, as compared to IDM’s 5 times. Boasting some similarities with IDM, it lets you create unlimited download categories and can call your antivirus program automatically after a download is finished. FlashGet also comes with an integrated offline reader. With its browser integration, it is one of the top contenders to be the primary IDM alternative.
Internet Download Accelerator is one of my favorites in this list. With many features like scheduled downloading, multilingual support, video and MP3 downloading, accelerated downloading up to 5 times, and themes, it bears a lot of similarity to IDM and is still free. You can use it for your personal use as much as you want, but if you want to use it for commercial purposes, you can buy its Pro version that will cost you $9.95 as a single user. With this pro version, you can get rid of the ads and even get access to some more features, like download speed control, FTP explorer, site manager etc.
6. uGet Download Manager
uGet Download Manager is a free open-source project that was launched in 2003. Equipped with all the basic functionalities of a download manager, it is a lightweight application available on a plethora of different platforms. Like IDM, it has the capability of downloading multiple files at a time, resuming paused downloads, and scheduling downloads. With its source code uploaded on SourceForge, you can rest assured of its security.
If you use Firefox, then you can download the DownThemAll! add-on to your browser. Albeit being an add-on, it offers features similar to IDM like one-click download, categorized (filtered) downloading, download acceleration up to 4 times, and download resume. Unlike IDM which works only on Windows, you can use DownThemAll! on any platform that supports Firefox. If you are not looking for a standalone download manager, then you should definitely try this one.
Download: Free Platforms: Firefox
In addition to being an IDM alternative, Download Ninja can also be a DownThemAll alternative for Google Chrome. As an extension, you don’t have to download it to your system in order to make it work. Simply add it to your Chrome browser, and you’re good to go. With Download Ninja, you get features similar to IDM like speed limiting, multilingual support, applying themes, download resume, and download acceleration.
9. Xtreme Download Manager
Claiming to increase the download speed of up to 500%, Xtreme has got all the bells and whistles to give IDM a stiff competition, and that too without bringing any complexity into the mix. So, how does this internet download manager achieve such a rapid downloading speed? Well, it makes the best use of sophisticated segmentation algorithm, connection reuse, and data compression to expedite the downloading speed.
aria2 is a command-line download utility for those who prefer and are comfortable with CLI. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink. With aria2, you can download a file from multiple sources to utilize your maximum download bandwidth.
Last but not least, the “Turbo” download manager is one of the best internet download managers in the market and certainly a deserving alternative to IDM. What gives this open-source free download manager is the support for multi-threading which offers the needed convenience to bolster downloading speed.
