It’s been a few years since I switched from using my PC powered by Windows to my MacBook. I am very happy with the decision; however, there are things that I needed to adjust to. One thing I miss about using Windows is its great download managers. The two I used before were Free Download Manager and Internet Download Manager.
I’m pretty shocked and confused why Mac doesn’t have any download managers. It took me a while to find download managers that worked pretty well for my Mac. You might wonder why one needs a download manager. Well let’s start with discussing its importance when using a Mac.
Dec 11, 2014 In the range of this article, I am going to share top 5 best download manager for Mac OS X (2018). Mac OS X has been bringing a new futures to this world. The number of software developers who is focusing on applications for Mac OS X system is increasing strongly. Nov 27, 2019 So that, iGetter will shut down your Mac computer when all files will be downloaded from Internet. There are many more useful features such as Mirror, chart view, Zip Preview, resume and many more. Get iGetter for MacOS. Speed Download Manager for Mac OS. The 2nd top Internet download manager for Mac according to features and my choice. Now that we’ve established the purpose of download managers, let’s talk about the best download managers for OS X. IGetter iGetter might just be the IDM for Mac.
Importance of a Download Manager in MacOS
Some of us can survive without a download manager, but having a download manager makes it easier for you to organize you downloads. If you download files, apps, programs etc. on a daily basis on you Mac, then I suggest you use a download manager. It will help you prioritize, resume, pause or split your downloads to multiple threads. After a few trials and errors, below are 4 of my recommended download managers for Mac.
The list will start from the best download manager I have used down to some which might not be the top of the list for me but are pretty decent.
- Folx
This would be the best download manager out there that you can use for your Mac. Two reasons why this is the best is first it works well as a web-based download manager; second it is also a good torrent downloader. You can even search for torrent websites through the Pro version of the app.
You can prioritize your downloads, so you can make sure the ones you need most gets downloaded first. To help with prioritizing you can also control the download speed of each individual download.
Another powerful feature of this download manager is its browser integration. Folx works with a handful of well-known browsers such as Safari, Firefox, Opera and Chrome seamlessly and efficiently. Say goodbye to switching from you usual browser to another which you don’t really prefer for the sake of better downloading experience. There is no need for you to copy and paste you download links, just download directly from your browser of choice and Folx will do the rest.
Folx also has a feature called “Smart Speed Adjustment”. Sometimes when we are simultaneously downloading and browsing on the computer we will get lags or would need to choose which comes first. Now you can adjust the download speed so your browsing experience will not be negatively impacted.
Aside for all features mentioned above, it has everything else that a download manager should have like scheduling download tasks, tag downloaded content and resuming downloads.
If you want the best download manager, then you can get the free version or the Pro version for $19.95.
- iGetter
iGetter would be the runner-up on this list. It can split files into several segments so it makes the download speed faster. With segmented files, it can easily resume broken downloads.
Similar to Folx, iGetter also has “Download Scheduling” which lets you set your downloads to resume or start during low traffic hours. Another similarity to Folx is iGetter’s browser integration; it works seamlessly with major browsers. It also monitors your clipboard so that links will be pasted automatically to the downloading window. Lastly, iGetter has advance settings like changing the user agent or setting up a proxy.
Overall, iGetter does almost everything Folx can. It has the essentials of a download manager and also advanced features you can play around with. The only catch is it doesn’t have a free version, although you can use the Pro version without registering it, you might encounter issues if you decide to take that path. If you want to see its full potential, you can get the Pro version for $25.
- Progressive Downloader
Progressive downloader has some of the features of the two heavy-weights above. You can schedule and resume your downloads in a very clean and simple user interface. It also runs well on most well-known browsers like Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera while monitoring your clipboard for download links. It lets you save power by shutting down your Mac after downloading everything you need. A feature which limits the downloading speeds individually is also available.
Progressive downloader has the basic essentials of a download manager. If you are not a heavy downloader then this product might be for you, you can also download it for free.
- JDownloader 2
JDownloader 2 is a FOSS Java download manager. FOSS stands for free and open-source software and if you’re a fan of software that can receive contributed improvements from anyone, this is for you then.
JDownloader 2 made this list because it has the basic functions like setting bandwidth limitation, scheduling downloads and resuming broken downloads. The reasons why it is just number four in this list are the messy and confusing interface and the long wait before it starts up. A bit of a hassle if you’re in a time crunch, if you need your downloads for work, I would not suggest this download manager.
Do You Need Download Manager?
Downloading movies, music, pictures and apps is unavoidable. From entertainment to work, you can’t really predict when you’ll download your next file, but it’s always nice to be ready. The four download managers I have mentioned above can help you in a lot of ways.
If you are a heavy user or heavy downloader, then I suggest you go with the Pro versions of Folx or iGetter, it’s a good investment and you’ll get the chance to use these download managers to their full potential. For mid to light downloaders you can use Progressive Downloader or JDownloader 2 since both are free and will still have the basic features of a decent download manager. If you have tried any of these download managers or if you have other programs that you think should have made it on this list, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.
A Download manager is essentially a need of every mac user. Some of us literally want to get rid of default Mac download manager so we look around for the best download manager for Mac. We have come up with the list of the best download managers for mac which come with various capabilities like Queue/ Resume/ Pause download, Concurrent download from various sites, data compression, No daily download limit etc.
So if you are one of those mac users who is looking for a free download manager for Mac then you might want to try one of these download managers on your device and decide which one suits your needs the best.
Folx: Best download manager for Mac OS
Source: folx.softonic.com
Here are the features which make Folx for mac the best download manager for Mac:
- Folx for Mac is a free download manager and download accelerator
- Folx can download all files from simple file to torrents.
- Can handle any file size
- Supports all kind of downloading via HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.
- Multi-threading lets you download more than one file at a time
- Supports auto-resuming of the interrupted downloads
Once you upgrade to Pro:
- You can even search for torrents within Folx itself.
- Using ‘Auto Speed’ feature in Pro version, you can allocate internet traffic more evenly on a slower connection.
- You can schedule downloads and resume them at any time
- You can add tags to downloads for better organization.
iGetter: Second Best download manager for mac
Source: http://www.igetter.net/
iGetter is the second best download manager app for Mac. Though it is hard to find in the App Store but can be downloaded from other download sites and the publisher’s Web site.
Features of iGetter:
- Easy installation
- Free with no license expiration.
- iGetter has two parts: the download manager and the download accelerator.
- The download manager lets you handle a list of files to be downloaded; Allowing multiple downloads at the same time.
- The accelerator uses segmented downloading over several streams to accelerate the download process.
- Resume or pause the download.
Jdownloader: The best free download manager for mac
Source: jdownloader-free.en.softonic.com
JDownloader is surely the best free download manager for mac. Here are some of the features of Jdownloader for mac:
- Download files from file hosting services such as Mediafire, 4Shared, and others.
- Download files concurrently
- Download limit per day before IP address refresh
- Resume/ Pause your download at your wish
- Easier to use even for less experienced
- You just need to copy the URL of file you want to download and paste that in the downloader
- It compresses large files into usually RAR files to make the downloading size smaller.
Features of Pro version:
- No waiting time of around a minute in starting of the download
- No limits of MB downloaded per day.
Leech
Leech as a Mac download manager focuses on the browser’s integration. Here are some if its features:
- Set username and password for corresponding servers.
- The automatic login follows your account.
- No browser extension
- Queue, Pause and resume download
Speed download lite: A light Mac download manager
Source: speed-download.en.softonic.com
Igetter The Second Best Download Manager For Mac Free
Speed Download Lite has all the features that a full featured download manager has. Here are some of the features of Speed download lite for mac:
- Expected to be an IDM for Mac
- Ultra modern design
Maxel: The smart download manager
Maxel has recently gained a lot of popularity recently. Here are some of the features of this mac download manager:
- Resume interrupted downloads
- copy & paste links
- drag & drop text snippets and Maxel will extract links
- automatically download large files from your existing browser
- download authenticated files from Maxel’s built-in browser
- Easy on CPU
Progressive downloader
Source: progressive-downloader.en.softonic.com
Here are some of the features of the Progressive Downloader:
- A free internet downloader for Mac operating systems.
- download files through a multi-thread method
- Can be linked with other applications of Mac
- Provides automatic download support for files of various file hosting websites such as Rapidshare, Hotfile etc.
- Has a built-in mirror search, which looks for mirror site services for the files of large size.
Xtreme Download manager
Xtreme Download Manager is a free download manager tool for mac. Here are some of its features:
- Multiplies the download speed up to 600%.
- Queue/ Resume/ Pause downloads
- Incorporates with all the most widely used internet browsers and catches the flash videos from various video sharing web services such as Youtube.
- The GUI has a Youtube integrator, where you can you can paste the Youtube URL and it will grab the video in all provided formats (with varying sizes, of course).
- schedule downloads
- Uses sophisticated dynamic segmentation algorithm, data compression, and connection reuse to speed up the download process.
- Supports HTTP, HTTPS and FTP protocols, firewalls, proxy servers, file redirects, cookies, authorization etc.
- Integrates with Firefox on any operating system.
- Also, integrates with any other browser to handle downloads automatically using Advanced browser integration.
- Xtreme Download Manager is entirely written in Java, so it runs on any OS without even being installed.
Internet Download Manager: IDM for mac
Internet Download Manager, also known as IDM, is a tool for increasing download speeds by up to 5 times. You can resume, schedule, and organize your downloads. If there is any network problem, then IDM finishes the download later by resuming that.
It supports many protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and MMS protocols, and has an adaptive download accelerator for MP3 audio, FLV, and MPEG video files.