FetchV vs MAX: Which Video Downloader Fits Your Browser and Workflow?
Compare browser availability, stream formats, subtitles, audio tracks, and recording options using each product’s published documentation.
FetchV and MAX compared
A feature-by-feature summary of public product documentation. FetchV statements about speed, privacy, and file size are vendor claims, not independently verified results.
| Need | FetchV (per its site) | MAX (our product) |
|---|---|---|
| Browser | Site lists Chrome, Edge, and Firefox; Firefox listing not confirmed | Chromium browsers; Firefox and Edge Add-ons listings are planned |
| Streams and quality | HLS, DASH, MP4, and WebM; quality selection for HLS and DASH | HLS, DASH, and direct video; detailed media properties before download |
| Subtitles and audio | Embedded subtitles and external VTT; separate audio/video combined automatically | Multiple subtitle formats, selectable tracks, and audio-only output |
| Recording | Documents fallback recording, including live-screen recording | Records supported live streams as they broadcast |
| Large downloads | Claims multi-threaded downloads and ~10 GB reliability; FAQ notes tab-memory limits | Queue, concurrent downloads, and playable partial files; no size or speed claim here |
| Price and privacy | Describes itself as free, local, and not collecting user data | Free, no account; processing is local. See our privacy policy |
How we compare
We use public product pages and our own site, current at 1 November 2026. MAX is our product, and this comparison describes its published features. We have not tested speed or reliability.
FetchV’s site and downloader page and FAQ document its features. Its statements about speed, privacy, and file size are the vendor’s own claims. For MAX, our product, we use its published features, FAQ, install page, and privacy policy. We don’t treat third-party comparison pages as evidence.
Absence from a product page doesn’t prove a feature is missing. Where a feature isn’t documented, we say so rather than assume it isn’t supported.
Which fits which workflow
You use Firefox
MAX isn’t available for Firefox. FetchV says it supports Firefox, but we haven’t confirmed a listing, so look for it in the Firefox Add-ons store and apply the same checks as in our guide to judging an extension’s privacy and permissions before installing.
You want to save a standard stream in a Chromium browser
Both document HLS and DASH downloads with a quality choice, so for a plain stream the practical difference is how each presents the choices and what you do with the result. If you want to compare the resolution, codec and estimated size of several versions before you commit, MAX shows those details; choosing download quality explains how to use them. If you simply want MP4 output, FetchV converts streams to MP4 without re-encoding.
You need subtitles, separate audio or several tracks
Both handle subtitles, in different ways. FetchV supports embedded subtitles automatically, and detects external VTT subtitles so you can select one; those are saved as a separate VTT file beside the video, for a player to load. MAX documents more formats (SRT, VTT, ASS or the original), plus muxing selected subtitle and audio tracks into the file or saving them separately. If VTT beside the video is all you need, FetchV’s documented behavior covers it; if you want SRT or ASS, or tracks combined in one file, MAX documents that. For audio, MAX documents audio-only output and track selection; FetchV documents automatic combining of separate audio and video, and we found no audio-only option. See downloading subtitles and extracting audio.
The page has a video but no detectable stream
This is where the two products differ in design. FetchV advertises a recording mode that can extract buffered video or record the live screen when the normal detection route fails. MAX documents no fallback of that kind: it records supported live streams as they broadcast and downloads what it detects. If your video can’t be detected and you accept recording as a fallback, FetchV’s documented mode is relevant to you. Recording the screen of protected content is a separate rights question, and neither product is a way around DRM.
Live streams
Both document live-stream saving. FetchV describes HLS live streams saved as MP4; MAX records supported live streams as they play, as covered in downloading live streams. Which streams work depends on the site and how it delivers video, not just on the extension.
Very large files or several at once
FetchV claims multi-threaded segment downloads and reliable downloads around 10 GB. Its own FAQ also says data is cached in the current tab’s memory, so larger videos use more memory, and it advises against downloading several large videos at once because the tab may crash. MAX documents concurrency, a queue that continues after the source tab closes, and the ability to keep a partial download. We can’t tell you which is faster or more stable for a given file; there is no independent test in this comparison, and the right test is your own file on your own connection.
What neither does
- Neither is a way to download YouTube or DRM-protected media. MAX doesn’t support either, and FetchV’s own notes say the same.
- Neither guarantees every site works. A site can deliver video in a way an extension doesn’t detect.
- When the publisher offers its own download option, use it first.
Bottom line
- Firefox: FetchV says it supports it; MAX doesn’t. Verify the listing.
- Chromium, standard HLS or DASH with quality choice: either documents it; choose by interface and the details you want to see.
- Subtitles as VTT beside the video: both. SRT or ASS, or tracks combined in one file, and audio-only output: MAX documents these.
- Video that can’t be detected and a recording fallback is acceptable: FetchV documents a recording mode.
- Speed and size claims: test with your own file; neither has been benchmarked here.
MAX Video Downloader is free from the Chrome Web Store. We also compare MAX with Video DownloadHelper and Video Downloader Professional.