Open source alternatives to Internet Download Manager

8 projects on starwire do the same job. Ranked by how much of what Internet Download Manager does each one covers, read from its README and website. Ties go to the most active.

What Internet Download Manager does

  1. Faster downloads over parallel connectionscore
  2. Pause and resume downloadscore
  3. Catch downloads from the browsercore
  4. Download queues and scheduling
  5. Grab video from web pages
  6. Organize downloads by type
  7. Bandwidth limits

Each dot in the table is one job, in this order. Square dots are core jobs and count double. Full means yes, half means partly. "See the evidence" under a project shows the line behind each one. Coverage is what a project documents, not how well it works or how hard it is to move to. How we score this

ProjectCoversStarsCommits, 12 weeksLast releaseClosed vs openedSetupLicense
misterdownloadmanagerCross-platform download manager written in Rust, an IDM alternative Replaces it85%9.6k+7.2k
448
 5 days ago93% Install like an app GPL-3.0
Covers all 3 core jobs. Partly: Organize downloads by type. Not shown: Bandwidth limits.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreYesfetching parts of the file at the same time
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreYesCrash-safe resume picks up where it stopped
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYesCatches downloads from Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Brave
  • Download queues and schedulingYesqueues and a scheduler that can wake the computer
  • Grab video from web pagesYes**Downloads videos** from web pages
  • Organize downloads by typePartlythe categories, the list of downloads
  • Bandwidth limitsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
nexonic-download-managerDownload manager for Mac and Windows with queues, scheduler and browser extensions Replaces it85%130+64
276
 yesterday92% Install like an app MIT
Covers all 3 core jobs. Partly: Organize downloads by type. Not shown: Bandwidth limits.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreYessplit each file into parts and download them
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreYesPause and resume, even after a restart.
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYesClick a download link in Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera
  • Download queues and schedulingYesscheduler, queues, batch
  • Grab video from web pagesYesDownload this video button on any web page
  • Organize downloads by typePartlyshows the name, size, category and folder
  • Bandwidth limitsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
plexoDesktop downloader that combines parallel connections to speed up transfers Replaces it80%5.7k+106
333
 34 days ago53% Install like an app MIT
Covers all 3 core jobs. Not shown: Grab video from web pages; Organize downloads by type.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreYesDownload file chunks in parallel across connections
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreYesPause and resume supported downloads across restarts
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYesCapture downloads or send individual links to Plexo
  • Download queues and schedulingYesQueue downloads and configure concurrent downloads
  • Grab video from web pagesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Organize downloads by typeNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Bandwidth limitsYesSet global and per-network speed limits
Ghost-Downloader-3Download manager built with PySide6 and Qt, with streaming support Replaces it70%11k+574
422
 3 days ago88% Install like an app GPL-3.0
Covers all 3 core jobs. Not shown: Download queues and scheduling; Organize downloads by type; Bandwidth limits.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreYesSmart chunking without file merging.
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreYesProgress is never lost.
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYesthe desktop app takes over seamlessly
  • Download queues and schedulingNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Grab video from web pagesYesA download button follows the video
  • Organize downloads by typeNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Bandwidth limitsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
MotrixDesktop download manager on aria2 for HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent and magnets Replaces it49%58k+289
325
 5 days ago100% Install like an app Custom license
Covers 2 of 3 core jobs. Partly: Download queues and scheduling; Grab video from web pages; Organize downloads by type. Not shown: Faster downloads over parallel connections.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreYesStart, pause, retry, and prioritize.
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYeshands browser downloads off to Motrix in one click
  • Download queues and schedulingPartlyStart, pause, retry, and prioritize.
  • Grab video from web pagesPartlyExtensible URL Resolver plugins for extracting media
  • Organize downloads by typePartly**Filename Template** for renaming files
  • Bandwidth limitsYesUpload and download limits with multiple speed-limit profiles
briskFast download manager for Windows, macOS and Linux Replaces it49%1.8k+44
55
 3 days ago100% Install like an app GPL-3.0
Covers 2 of 3 core jobs. Not shown: Pause and resume downloads; Organize downloads by type; Bandwidth limits.See the evidence
  • Faster downloads over parallel connectionscoreYesnew connections are added on the fly
  • Pause and resume downloadscoreNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Catch downloads from the browsercoreYesCapturing download requests from the browser
  • Download queues and schedulingYesDownload Queues and Scheduling
  • Grab video from web pagesYesDownloading video streams from the browser
  • Organize downloads by typeNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Bandwidth limitsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
gopeedDownload manager for HTTP, BitTorrent, Magnet and ed2k Not checked yet28k+45
103
 8 months ago63% Install like an app GPL-3.0
ab-download-managerDesktop and Android download manager with multi-connection speedup Not checked yet19k+28
55
 11 days ago41% Install like an app Apache-2.0

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