FreeTube
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 9 YouTube clients by recommenders
A free YouTube desktop client with built-in ad and sponsor blocking, advanced search, and no Google account needed. Critics say its interface is weak on mobile and some videos load slowly.
A free YouTube desktop client with built-in ad and sponsor blocking, advanced search, and no Google account needed. Critics say its interface is weak on mobile and some videos load slowly.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 28
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 97%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 28 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 28 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Blocks ads and sponsored segments
“Advanced search works. Also auto-skipped sponsored content, thumbnails directly from video content, no google account to use it”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: YouTube search barely works, I made a search form with advanced filters” “Much better experience, with integrated adblock, sponsorskip, and dearrow”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “How to bypass YouTube ad-blocking restrictions?” “I use freetube for Linux and Tubular for android, so no ads at all.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” - Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads”
- Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Digital minimalism”
Keeps subscriptions and RSS feeds
“Even something like rss list of those channels with something like freetube could be good as well”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Living Human Brain Cells Play Doom on a CL1” “let you keep a subscription list, even if you watch the videos elsewhere”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: YouTube search barely works, I made a search form with advanced filters” “freetube which had rss really easy to work with”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “A website to destroy all websites” - Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock”
No Google account or login
“Advanced search works. Also auto-skipped sponsored content, thumbnails directly from video content, no google account to use it”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: YouTube search barely works, I made a search form with advanced filters” “They don't work quite as well in my experience, but you don't have Daddy Google breathing down your neck.”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Google terminated my YouTube channel even thought I made no videos or used it” “no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Digital minimalism” Strong desktop client
“The same arrangement works on my main desktop, but i mostly use FreeTube there as well.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “uBlock filter list to hide all YouTube Shorts” “I use freetube for Linux and Tubular for android, so no ads at all.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “a fantastic desktop client”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “NewPipe: YouTube client without vertical videos and algorithmic feed”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Interface not designed for mobile
“the UI isnt great for small screens really but you would probably have any eaiser time transferring the settings and subs between devices”
Comment from 27 Sep 2026 in “PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock” “the freetube UI is not really designed for mobile”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “uBlock filter list to hide all YouTube Shorts”
Other YouTube clients people recommend
The four most recommended other YouTube clients, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 9 YouTube clients, rankedWhat people said
29 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“no login, no algorithm, no ads, no sponsored content”
“the procedure is usually only needed for applications like FreeTube where the developer has a reason to remain anonymous”
“the UI isnt great for small screens really but you would probably have any eaiser time transferring the settings and subs between devices”
“you can import your newpipe subs”
“in my experience it cannot get around the login requirement for mature-flagged videos”
“only watch a few channels of YouTube thru FreeTube”
“FreeTube is great but it is a desktop app you have to install”
“I do donate money, though, to projects I regularly use”
“FreeTube, yt-dlp, etc. are your friends.”
“FreeTube has been extremely slow with loading videos for me.”
“Advanced search works. Also auto-skipped sponsored content, thumbnails directly from video content, no google account to use it”
“let you keep a subscription list, even if you watch the videos elsewhere”
“its not as good as newpipe, but im using syncthing”
“Even something like rss list of those channels with something like freetube could be good as well”
“the freetube UI is not really designed for mobile”
“The same arrangement works on my main desktop, but i mostly use FreeTube there as well.”
“a fantastic desktop client”
“Do not use YouTube to consume YouTube content.”
“FreeTube can help with this”
“The only way to watch things on YouTube and not be effected by this nonsense is to use a different client”
“They don't work quite as well in my experience, but you don't have Daddy Google breathing down your neck.”
“seems to work well generally”
“I watch Freetube and Netflix on my Starlite tablet and it works well.”
“freetube which had rss really easy to work with”
“Much better experience, with integrated adblock, sponsorskip, and dearrow”
“the video won't play in FreeTube or PipePipe”
“I use freetube for Linux and Tubular for android, so no ads at all.”
“the freetube app has both of those extensions built in”
“Many thanks to the developers tirelessly compensating for Google's frequent deliberate breakage.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.