5 Best Linux Download Managers In 2023

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One of the difficulties a new Linux user faces while switching from Windows is finding a good Linux download manager. If you are a Windows user, you might be familiar with download managers like Internet Download Manager (IDM), Download Accelerator Plus (DAP), etc.

There is nothing to worry about, for Linux users, there are many alternatives to Linux Download managers. And yes these are open source; means you can download them for free. The article below is about a few of the popular and free Linux download managers available.

Best Linux Download Managers

1. XDM – Xtreme Download Manager

XDM download manager for Linux is also packed with basic as well as some advanced customizable features. It also supports browser integration with popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and opera.

To install XDM on Fedora based system –

sudo wget https://github.com/subhra74/xdm/releases/download/7.2.11/xdm-setup-7.2.11.tar.xz
sudo tar -xvf xdm-setup-7.2.11.tar.xz

After extracting the setup, right-click and run the file. Or, run the setup from the command-line.

sudo bash install.sh

Xtreme download manager supports almost all web browsers including Google Chrome, Firefox, and Vivaldi. Its browser monitoring works together with a web browser extension and the app itself. The browser extension detects every download easily.

XDM can also detect Youtube videos and provide an option to download them in any format. No need to copy-paste video URLs to download them.

XDM supports schedule downloading. You can create queues and the download will start as you schedule the downloader. In case the download exits without completion, it lets you refresh the download link and resumes the download where it exited.

More features

  • Force assembly of files
  • File types to download filter
  • Multi-threaded

2. uGet

To install uGet for Fedora based system –

sudo dnf install uget

To install on Debian/Ubuntu based system –

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:t-tujikawa/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install uget

Running uGet

uGet is a highly feature-rich download manager with multi-threading download, pause/resume, queueing up, etc. After installation, start uGet. Open the applications menu and type “uget” in the search box.

​Let’s download a sample music file at URL:​Click on File -> New Download or click on the first yellow icon of the main window (the one where the mouse pointer is hovering in the image below).

Now copy and paste the URL  in the Url box. Press “OK” and you are done!

You can customize parameters like –

  1. On Completion action ( to shutdown/ reboot/ hibernate/ do nothing in Edit menu).
  2. Limit max download speed : Goto Edit -> Settings -> Bandwidth.
  3. You can view downloads by status like Active, Queuing, finished, etc. by selecting the option in the left menu bar.

This Linux download manager is rich with tons of basic and advanced customizable features. It’s hard to cover every minute detail here. You can enjoy exploring uGet once you install it. Leave settings unchanged if they confuse you.

​More Features

  •  Bandwidth Limit
  •  Queuing of downloads
  •  Multithreaded
  •  Torrent support.
  •  On completion action.

3. SteadyFlow

SteadyFlow is a minimalistic Linux download manager that allows you to download files by entering URL and manage them via a user interface. Unlike, uGet it is not featured rich but serves the purpose decently. Among other Linux download managers, SteadyFlow is on the list for its basic features and just work philosophy.
​
On Fedora-based system

sudo dnf install steadyflow

​On Debian based system

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sikon/steadyflow
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install steadyflow

To download, press the add button on the left top corner. Enter URL.

​Set on completion action. Default is “Do nothing”.

Press “Start”

​More Features

  •  Bandwidth Limit
  •  Queuing of downloads
  •  Multithreaded

4. FlareGet

Flareget to some extent is equivalent to Internet Download Manager. It integrates with web browsers smoothly.

For Fedora or Ubuntu based system

  1. Download Flareget from this link. Choose the one based on your Linux distribution: Debian or Fedora.
  2. Open the containing folder and double click on the file. It will open up in the software center.

Click install. It will prompt for the password. Type in password and press “Authenticate”.

To open Flareget, Search for Flareget in the menu bar “Flareget” and click on the icon or press enter.

Flareget features

  1. Multithreaded
  2. Integration with browsers
  3. Pause/resume capabilities
  4. Youtube downloader
  5. Bandwidth limit configuration

5. kGet

kGet is another Linux download manager with basic features like pause-resume, multi-threaded download, etc.
​
To install kGet on a Fedora-based system

sudo dnf install kget.x86_64

​To install kGet on Debian/ Fedora based system

sudo apt-get install kGet

Conclusion

​There is a variety of Linux download managers to choose from. We shall recommend Xtreme download manager or uGet download manager over others. While all of them are good, XDM and uGet comes with so many features.

XDM and flareget allow easy integration with your browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and opera. These two can be good alternatives to internet download manager on Windows.

If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment in the section below. If you liked this article, share it with your friends.