Alternative · Browser extension · HLS and DASH

Video DownloadHelper Alternative: HLS and DASH Without a 2-Hour Wait

Video DownloadHelper has two decades of history and 6 million Chrome users. Its free tier now rations streaming downloads, a recurring complaint in its reviews. Here is what changed, where it still wins, and what Vidora does differently.

By Romain Gouraud, founder of Vidora 6 min read

Quick answer

If Video DownloadHelper keeps making you wait 2 hours between HLS or DASH downloads, Vidora is a Chrome extension that saves those streams as one MP4 with sound, with no daily limit, no watermark and no sign-up while it is free. Keep Video DownloadHelper if you need Firefox, conversion to MKV or MP3, or live stream capture.

Video DownloadHelper vs Vidora at a glance

Facts about Video DownloadHelper come from its own help pages, store listings and extension package, read on 24 September 2026 (links in the sources). Facts about Vidora describe version 1.0.66, the version published on the Chrome Web Store.

  Video DownloadHelper 10.5 Vidora 1.0.66
Type Extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge Chrome extension
Free tier Simple downloads unlimited; HLS and DASH: 3 free, then 1 every 2 hours Free right now, no daily limit
Paid option Lifetime Premium license, one payment, all your devices and browsers None at the moment
Watermark On free conversions (Premium removes it) None added
Companion app Not needed since version 10 Not needed
HLS and DASH Yes, plus live streams Yes, saved as one MP4 with sound; live streams refused (record instead)
AES-128 HLS Decryption code present in the extension package (not described in its help pages) Yes, standard AES-128
Format conversion MP4, MKV, WebM, MP3 extraction No conversion; audio only as .m4a in some cases
YouTube Not on Chrome; advertised on Firefox Not supported
Account and data Not covered in the pages we read No account; anonymous usage statistics with no URLs or titles, can be turned off

Why people look for a Video DownloadHelper alternative

The 2-hour wait on streaming downloads

According to Video DownloadHelper's help page (updated 24 July 2026), "all non-advanced downloads are always free, forever, with no limits". Advanced downloads are the streams that must be rebuilt from pieces: HLS (m3u8) and DASH (mpd). You get 3 free advanced downloads after install, then 1 every 2 hours. One reviewer put it bluntly: "One vid download per 2h, this extension is a joke." (Trustpilot, 11 April 2026).

A watermark on free conversions

The FAQ built into the extension (version 10.5.49.2) says the Premium license "removes watermark from conversions", so free conversions carry one. Reviewers describe it as a QR code, one writing that it can "ruin downloaded files with a qr-code taking up 35% of the screen" (Firefox Add-ons review, 24 July 2026).

Streams that are not detected or do not finish

Some recent reviews report detection and resume problems: "It doesn't detect the streams more and more frequently" (Firefox Add-ons, 16 September 2026), and another says it "does not continue/resume downloads" (Chrome Web Store, 22 September 2026). These are individual reviews; the same listing shows an average of 4.5 out of 5 from 35.3K ratings.

Not a reason any more: the CoApp

Older guides say Video DownloadHelper needs a companion app on Chrome. That stopped being true with version 10. The CoApp project README now reads "VDH v10 doesn't require a companion", the repository was archived on 15 December 2025, and the Chrome package no longer asks for the permission the CoApp used. The CoApp was also free and open source, never a paid add-on.

Where Video DownloadHelper is still the better choice

Plenty of people are happy with it: "One of the few real media downloaders", wrote a Chrome Web Store reviewer on 22 September 2026.

How Vidora handles HLS and DASH streams

Vidora downloads HLS (.m3u8) and DASH (.mpd) streams and saves them as a single MP4 with sound. When a player serves audio and video as separate tracks, Vidora merges them into one file, and it refuses to hand you a silent file announced as complete.

You can start a download from the popup, from a button on the video player, from the right-click menu, or with Alt+D. The same engine covers Vimeo embeds on course sites, when you open them on the site that is allowed to play them.

Vidora download button shown over a video player on a web page in Chrome
The button appears when you hover a video. It downloads the video the popup ranks first for this tab, which is not always the one under your cursor when a page has several.

Switch in under a minute

  1. Install Vidora from the Chrome Web Store. There is no companion app to set up and no account to create.
  2. Open the page with the video and start playback if the player waits for a click, so it loads its stream.
  3. Click the Vidora icon, the button on the player, or press Alt+D. Pick a quality in the menu when the source offers several.
  4. Find the MP4 in Downloads/Vidora. The subfolder can be changed or left empty in Settings.

Still weighing other tools? The video downloader alternatives compared on one page cover eight of them, and our guide to the best video downloaders for Chrome ranks the extensions one by one.

FAQ

Is Video DownloadHelper still free?

Partly. Its help page says simple downloads stay free with no limit. Downloads of HLS and DASH streams count as advanced: 3 are free after install, then 1 every 2 hours without a Premium license.

Does Video DownloadHelper still need the CoApp companion app?

No. Video DownloadHelper version 10 works without a companion app. The CoApp project README says VDH v10 doesn't require a companion, and the repository was archived in December 2025.

Does Vidora add a watermark to downloads?

No. Vidora adds no watermark and does not re-encode the file. The one exception to re-encoding is Record the playback, the fallback that captures a playing video in real time.

Can Vidora download YouTube videos like Video DownloadHelper on Firefox?

No. Vidora does not support YouTube or DRM-protected services such as Netflix or Disney+. If you need YouTube, Video DownloadHelper on Firefox or a desktop app is the better fit.

Can I keep Video DownloadHelper for Firefox and use Vidora in Chrome?

Yes. Vidora is built for Chrome (version 116 or later), so you can keep Video DownloadHelper where you still need it, for example Firefox or format conversion.

Sources and method

Every fact about Video DownloadHelper below was read on 24 September 2026. Prices are not quoted: the publisher's page showed them in Thai baht from our connection, and we could not check the US dollar price. Reviews are opinions of individual users, quoted with their date. Vidora facts come from the code of version 1.0.66.

About the author

Romain Gouraud builds Vidora at RGC Digital LLC. This page compares a competing product, so every claim about it comes from the publisher, a store listing, its extension package or a dated public review. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.