Pulltube Review: A Beautiful Mac Video Downloader
Entertainment • Dec.9, 2019
Video content is gaining much popularity, and it is being shown in the way the world consumes video. According to a Hubspot research, 45 percent of people watch and hour or more of video content per day.
Considering the way video is consumed, even video hosting sites such as YouTube have started to add video-downloading features to their apps. However, there are certain limitations to download videos right from the YouTube app. It doesn’t let you watch it on any other player, or even transfer it with convenience. Besides, you cannot download all the videos on YouTube.
A workaround this problem is to install a third-party app that lets you download videos from video streaming sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and more.
So if you have a Mac and are looking for a friendly app to download videos, then Pulltube is an option that you could potentially consider.
Here, we will give you a review of Pulltube — what it does, and what it does not, why you should invest in it, and why you should not. At the end of this review, you will have a fair idea on whether you should buy Pulltube video downloader for your Mac.
So stick around which we check out the several layers of this app — it’s going to be a promising ride.
Getting started with Pulltube
When we went over to the Pulltube website, we noticed that it is quite neat. The download link is not hard to find. You have to scroll down the page and click on the download link.
Once the DMG file is downloaded, you open it, and your Mac starts verifying it. Post verification, you have to copy the app to your applications folder.
That done, Pulltube will be installed, and you can now open it from your list of applications.
When we opened Pulltube for the first time, we realised that it looked reasonably native. The interface looked well-integrated with the appearance of the operating system. The interface — the size of a dialogue box — is transparent so you can look at your wallpaper through it.
At the first launch, it popped up a notification, asking if it could show notifications around completed downloads, and such. It was great that the app could do it beforehand as unwanted notifications can be quite annoying.
There’s also a link button at the bottom of the window which opens a browser window which takes you to the tutorial page, where you are briefed with the several functions that the app can perform. The tutorial page is the same homepage from where you get to download the video.
The homepage of the app lets you post video links from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, Cloudmix, Bandcamp, Youku, iQiyi and other platforms.
Downloading videos with Pulltube
There are plenty of options — a lot of video streaming sites from where you can download videos from. Head over to one those and copy the download link from your address back.
Now come back to the app and paste the download link there.
We will show you how to do that with YouTube videos. We went to YouTube, copied the link of the many recommended videos on our homepage, and pasted it to the app.
You also get the option to paste multiple links so that you can have multiple downloads. You don’t have to do them one by one — you can copy multiple clips all at once and paste them on the clipboard.
If you have a text file which has links to videos that need to be downloaded, well, you can simply drag the text file to the Pulltube interface and Pulltube will extract all the links out of it. That’s so easy.
At the bottom of the program page, at the red bar, you get the also get the option to choose the video quality and download format. There’s also an option to switch between downloading the subtitles of the video, downloading subtitles only, and downloading both the video and subtitles. By default, the option is to download both the video and the subtitles — that, if subtitles are available for the video.
At the top-right, you get options that let you check the history of the downloaded videos and an option to add videos to the download later list. The download later feature of the video is handy as you can have a list of all the videos that you can download later, say when you are on an unlimited data connection.
Once you have your settings configured, you can click on the Download option — basically the red bar — to start the download. The videos that are downloaded are stored in the Downloads folder of your Finder by default.
Of course, you can save your favorite destinations for every single media download if needed. Simply select the Save to option on the round video thumbnail on the main page. Then, you choose the desired folder where your future media downloads will be saved.
The backend of Pulltube is also quite handy. You get to tweak around a few options that let you customize how your videos are downloaded.
The settings let you change your default download location, updated your MP3/M4A/MP4 bitrate, and change the format in which your media thumbnails are saved.
If you need to save the same video in multiple formats, then you don’t have to go through the rigorous process of pasting the links over and again. You can create duplicates on the main interface by clicking on the thumbnail icon and apply individual format settings for your download.
Besides these options, there are tabs that let you manage login and proxy data if you need those options.
Then, there’s a button which lets you check for updates and seek help online. That’s pretty much.
With the options that you are provided with, you can download the videos of your choice in just a few easy clicks — no more worrying around downloading videos online. This online video downloader can surely take care of that aspect.
Also, a point worth mentioning is that the app supports playlist downloading as well. If PullTube detects that the video is part of a playlist, it will offer to download the entire collection. It will fetch the data for each entry and handle the downloads consecutively. So the next time you want to download an entire album, Pulltube can actually be a great option.
And yes, it does have support for 8K, 4K, and 60fps videos.
What we like about Pulltube
Pulltube video downloader for Mac comes with a lot of handy features that let you download online videos. With the options it provides, it can surely become a favorite with people who like to watch videos online or to download them to edit later.
Let’s look at some of the things that we liked about Pulltube.
Video trimming feature
Our favorite in the list has to be the ability to trim down videos. It’s quite refreshing.
Often, there are bits of the video that you want to trim out. Sometimes you don’t want to view the entire video, and parts of it do the job.
There’s a scissor-like button in the app which lets you trim the video to your desired length — either by feeding inputting the timestamps, or dragging through the video timeline for a preferred part of the video that you would want to trim out.
So yes, a plus point for that!
With this feature at hand, you can be assured that you can keep away from large video downloads.
Browser plugins
The browser extensions for Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are also quite cool. You install these options, go to the videos, right-click on them, and click on the send to Pulltube option. That way, you won’t have to copy and paste the links to download your favorite videos.
Once you are on the video page, all you have to do is click on the plugin button. That done, the plugin will prompt you to open Pulltube so that you can begin your online video download.
Basically, it just saves you one step. We tried this with Chrome, and it worked without any hassle.
Gestures and shortcuts
Another cool feature of Pulltube are the gestures. Pulltube comes with some handy gestures that can save you a few steps around the whole process of downloading videos online.
Here are the list of gestures and shortcuts that you can use for Pulltube.
- Enter/Return — starts download;
- Esc — cancels video data fetching process, or cancel all downloads if you are on a download screen
- Command + V — pastes video link
- Command+O — shows a menu where you can paste several links that are separated by a space or new line
- Command + , — shows Preferences of the app
- Command + W — closes the main window
- Command + Q — quits the app
- Command+L — shows the download later list. If you want to add videos to this list, you can use Command+O and check the download later option at the bottom
- Swipe left/right or Click on the thumbnail — reveal available options for videos
What’s making us reconsider using Pulltube
Now, Pulltube is a handy video downloader, but certain features are quite standard in it like the several web apps that let you download videos online. If you are aware of these web apps or have used video downloaders in the past, then you might feel that Pulltube just brings all these features under an elegant skin.
Here are some of the factors that made us reconsider using Pulltube, or think whether people should pay for such an app.
No option to convert videos to many formats
Although Pulltube provides you with the option to convert videos to MP3, M4A, and MP4, it doesn’t let you convert videos to a lot of other formats.
Well, so if you are someone who does a lot of video conversion, then Pulltube might disappoint you. But this depends. For regular users, video conversions might not be a thing.
A little pricey, maybe?
As we said, Pulltube feels like an aggregation of numerous features under one skin, a lot of which could be used independently through several web apps.
Here’s a tip: consider adding ‘ss’ in the address bar before ‘youtube’ and see the magic. Well, we are not saying that it is the best option to download online videos, but yes, it is an option.
Nonetheless, you pay for accessibility, and that, we think, is the point here.
Looking at Pulltube cons, we don’t think that they are the real deal-breakers. Yes, if you want to spend time switching between web apps, then sure, you don’t need Pulltube.
Pricing
A lifetime license for Pulltube costs $14.99. If you want to check out the app, then you can access the trial version for 14 days.
Want to get the full version of Pulltube for free? Well, there’s an option for you to get access to a free license by helping translate it into your native language.
It’s also available on Setapp.
Bottom line
Pulltube is quite a wholesome app that lets you download online videos. It is best for you if you play around a lot with videos or like to watch them offline. Pulltube is also a great option if your favorite video streaming platform is not just limited to YouTube.
If not, then you can hunt for a web app which lets you do the same; also, there won’t be any downloading hassle. But don’t complain if you are bombarded with a lot of apps and broken links.
Want to check out some other cool video downloaders? Have a look at our list of the best YouTube downloaders for MacOS.