Download managers are one of the most important component of any PC users' tool kit since so many e-mails contains attachments that need to be downloaded on a daily basis.

That's not forgetting files and music and anything else that your hard drive accumulates during the day as you click away. Most people have a browser integrated download manager but sometimes, its nice to have a separate application to do the job in case your browser crashes and your downloads disappear with it.

Orbit Downloader is a fast, lightweight and easy-to-use free download manager which is usually based on P2P and multi-source downloading technology. This means that downloading with Orbit Downloader is usually super fast. Orbit Downloader supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, MMS and RTSP protocols although its developers claim that it can increase speeds by up to 500% are a bit far fetched. However, you may experience increases in speed of up to two or even three times as much using Orbit Downloader depending on the file and host.

What's also impressive is that Orbit Downloader is super lightweight occupying a very minuscule amount of RAM which is important if you've got multiple downloads running at once. Orbit Downloader has also got a handy Flash capture tool which allows you to save Flash video files from YouTube and DailyMotion etc without the need to use a separate video downloader.

Fast, easy to use and very lightweight, Orbit Downloader is a competitive alternative to any browser-integrated download manager.

Download Orbit Downloader 2.7.3 in Softonic

DownloadStudio has over 12 specialized downloading tools to help you get programs, games, photos, music, movies, flash, documents, RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, complete web sites, complete FTP sites and much more! DownloadStudio Quick Start gives you instant access to all tools and features in one easy-to-use window! Extensive help and tutorials get you up-and-running fast.

DownloadStudio lets you download a complete web site, or to download just certain files that match your criteria from a web site. Downloading a complete web site allows you to view the web site offline without being connected to the internet. All files for the web site are downloaded and the site is fully functional. This is great for offline browsing, for research purposes and for making regular backups of a web site.

Downloading certain files from a web site based on your criteria is a very powerful downloading technique. For example, it lets you get all images from a web site, or to get all PDF files from a web site, or to get all music from a web site. DownloadStudio lets you specify the criteria that you would like to use when downloading files from a web site. These criteria can include file type, file size, file date, file location and more. For example, you may wish to download all JPEG images that are larger than 50KB from a particular web server. This would allow you to get all the large-sized photos from a photo gallery web site.

Download DownloadStudio 5.0.2.0 in Softonic

Neither the download managers that come bundled with Firefox or IE are particularly impressive so it's a good idea to add a third party downloader or plugin.

Fresh Download claims it can "turbo charge" downloads to make them download in less than half the time they would normally. It works with both FTP and HTTP protocols and gives you a whole range of control over how downloads are completed. Included is a pause and resume feature which is very useful for broken downloads or those downloads that suddenly and annoyingly time out. The program achieves such high speeds due to it's ability to connect to multiple connections and it works across most major browsers. if you don't want to carry out downloads immediately, you can also schedule them for a later date and it can even download links that you've copied to your clipboard or dragged into the main interface from your desktop. If you're downloading zip files, it can also decompress them automatically with it's own Zip extractor although note that it's not particularly powerful or fast - you'd be better using WinZip or WinRAR.

Although you won't notice huge download speeds, you will notice an improvement and besides, this is a much easier way to manage downloads.

Download Fresh Download 8.06 in Softonic

How many times have you tried to save streaming media locally but realised you don't have the appropriate tool? Net Transport (NetXfer) can do just that for you. Net Transport downloads MMS and RTSP streaming in multiple threads with perfect video & audio quality.

There are some other great features, like "Site Manager" which allows you to keep the active connection with the remote servers. In addition, the support for both SSL and SSH is hardly found in other upload/download tools.

Main Features:

• Simple but powerful "File Manager" to categorize and manage downloaded files
• Simple multi-user management
• Inbuilt "Site Explorer" lists the directory structure of the remote server
• FTP reuse mechanism uses one connection to get different files from the same site
• Assign every working thread a different proxy to break certain site restrictions
• Proxies with NTLM authentication can penetrate local firewall, like Microsoft ISA 2000
• Adjust the bandwidth usage of Net Transport
• Monitor browser click
• Can automatically shutdown the system or hang up the modem
• NTLM authentication is supported for both MMS and RTSP
• Use multi-threads for both MMS and RTSP to significantly reduce the time of downloads
• Automatically parse streaming script such as .asx, .smi to acquire real URLs
• Support SSH encryption for both HTTP and FTP
• Flexible "Scheduler Manager"

Download Net Transport (NetXfer) 2.62.468 in Softonic

Mass Downloader is a Windows download manager application that makes it easy to download video/audio streams and files from Internet sites at the maximum available speed. Download resume is supported. Multiple channels technology significantly reduces download time.

Mass Downloader supports a wide range of downloads: from usual and secured (HTTPS) Web sites, FTP servers, Real Media and Microsoft Media stream servers. The support of stream protocols makes it simple to download stream video and audio for offline viewing.

Mass Downloader also allows you to browse Zip archives before loading them and to choose only the desired files to download.

Mass Downloader has an excellent Internet Explorer-like user interface. Mass Downloader allows you to download specific files by filename, which differs from Offline Explorer in that Offline Explorer lets you speed your way through downloading entire web sites.

Download Mass Downloader 3.5 in Softonic

Boasting the ability to improve the speed of your downloads by an incredible 300 percent, Download Accelerator Plus features multi-server connections to let you squeeze the best possible performance from your Net connection.

The beauty of the software lies in its simplicity, you just choose the file you want to download, tell the program where you want it to be filed away then forget about as DAP does all the donkey work for you. What’s more, if you get booted offline for any reason the software will automatically resume the download from the place it had already reached.

DAP even searches for “mirror sites” for you and this serves to make downloading a pretty painless process, with the app sucking up files fairly quickly. DAP is a veritable feature-fest making the whole process much easier by including functions like automatic hang-up on completion of a download, download scheduling, and dial-up configuration – a handy tool for anyone not yet blessed with broadband.

The only slight niggle for some people may be the fact that it is nigh-on impossible to turn the thing off, unlike most of its peers, where you can choose to manually download something fairly easily. Having said this, because the program is so easy to use and integrates beautifully with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera browsers, there really is little reason why you wouldn’t want this great utility keeping watch of your downloads all the time.

Download Download Accelerator Plus 8.6.6.4 in Softonic

Speeding up your internet connection is something that all of us try but few actually achieve.

iGetter can greatly improve the speed of your downloads using segmented (accelerated) downloading. It includes all the regular features you'd expect from a download manager such as auto resume on broken downloads, queue filtering by various criteria, scheduling downloads for low traffic periods, auto redial on broken connections, auto hang-ups, shut downs on completion and much more. The number of features bundled into this program is truly staggering but perhaps the most notable is the Site Explorer that allows you to explore entire webs or FTP sites and find and download the files you're interested in. When the Site Explorer is used iGetter displays the web contents rendered in a separate view below the site tree. This makes the process of exploration very convenient as you see the web page directly in iGetter as you would with a web browser. When you reach the file or files you're interested in downloading, you can easily add them to the iGetter queue. In this way, you can download tons of links in just a few minutes.

Fast and easy to use, iGetter speeds up downloads and allows you to download several files at the same time meaning you'll experience quicker downloads than ever before.

Download iGetter 2.5.1 in Softonic

RapGet (full name RAPidshareGET) is a downloader with code recognition for such share servers as rapidshare.de, megaupload.com, slil.ru and others.

The program recognizes codes used by these servers and can directly obtain a connection with each to get hold of your favourite files. In addition, RapGet can work with multiple simultaneous downloads and offers information on each one of the files. It also has support for more than 40 languages.

Download RapGet 1.41 in Softonic

The quest for ever increasing download speed is like a quest for the holy grail and HiDownload attempts to reach nirvana through mutli-threading.

HiDownload is basically a multi-threaded download manager that allows you to download individual files (or lists of files) from web and FTP sites to get the most out of your broadband or dial-up connection. The program supports multimedia streaming with all important pause and resume features which allow you to download movies, music and capture streaming video at your own pace or to avoid disappointment if you suffer a broken connection. In addition, it provides all the standard features of a download manager, including scheduling, a drop basket, download history, clipboard monitoring, download categories as well as zip previews and more.
To look at, the interface is nothing special but it does clearly display your current downloads plus a browser window in the left hand pane from where you can locate files on your hard drive. The big question is, does it really speed-up downloads then? Well, as an alternative download manager for either IE or Firefox, it's certainly a better option giving you much greater control over how your downloads work. However, the actual speed differences are negligible and depend greatly on the state of your connection and that of the server delivering the file.

As an alternative download manager for your browser, HiDownload is a decent choice but don't expect it to perform miracles on your download speeds.

Download HiDownload Pro 7.18 in Softonic

Free Download Manager (FDM) is a full-featured download accelerator and manager. Using this software you can easily download a list of files and whole web sites from any remote server via HTTP, HTTPS and FTP. With FDM the downloading process will be as easy as never before!

FDM is a light-weight, powerful and easy-to-use application. Also this software product is well-known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. It can function as a site manager, accelerator, site explorer and scheduler.

Free Download Manager can resume broken downloads. So you needn't start the downloading process from the very beginning after casual interruption. You can resume unfinished download from the moment when it was interrupted. Also this program warns you if resuming isn't supported by the servers. It allows you to make a decision about the downloading. So with FDM you save your time and money.

Download Free Download Manager 2.5.758 in Softonic

There are so many TV torrents now available that it's hard to keep track of your favourite ones especially long running series.

The problem I find is that all too often, you wait ages for a torrent to appear and then the minute your back is turned and you've lost interest, someone posts the exact torrent you were waiting for. This torrent tracker provides the perfect solution if you're a TV torrent downloader and it supports all mainstream shows such as 24, Lost, Topgear, Desperate Housewives, the Simpsons, South Park, Grey's Anatomy, Battlestar Galactica, etc and more. Adding your own shows is very easy courtesy of a simple wizard and you'll find that you download less fake torrents because it can detect which torrents are genuine and which are not. By defining keywords, you can instruct the program which programs to ignore or keywords to filter out. In addition, the program utilises "break schedulers" which optimise torrents to ensure that you're getting the best out of your bandwidth. Saving torrents is easy as you it takes them directly to your hard drive asking you which torrent client you'd like to download it with. The only problem is that it doesn't seem to distinguish between languages when downloading torrents so if you don't want to watch Battlestar Gallactica in German, then double check the torrents as they are downloading.

A very useful torrent tracker which any TV series fan will find saves them time, effort and fake torrents.

Download ted 0.92 in Softonic

There are tons of programs out there promising to speed up your downloads and usually their results are very hit and miss to say the least.

Internet Download Accelerator is no real exception to this rule although its effects certainly are noticeable. The program works by splitting a file being downloaded into several parts and downloading these parts at the same time. In this way, it theoretically achieves a faster download and for the most part it does. It's also very useful in that it can reconnec to to broken downloads and if you use multiple browsers, it conveniently integrates into them all with no fuss. It's also empowered with an unusual feature which detects those links that you've copied to your clipboard. It automatically detects downloadable links that are there and prompts you to download them so you don't need to worry about forgetting. In addition to all this, it comes bundled with an FTP Explorer, a site manager for password and download folders, a download scheduler and download throttle so you can control it if it's starting to block your connection with too many downloads at once - very useful if you're on a network or shared connection.

You should at least notice a 15 % increase in the speed of your downloads and since it works across multiple browsers, it's a nice little solution for those who chop and change their browsing habbits.

Download Internet Download Accelerator 5.6 in Softonic

Ever wanted to stop and resume a download at a later date? Neither Firefox or Internet Explorer allow you to do this without extensions but this program does.

You can temporarily pause your download and resume it instantly a few minutes later and this includes both FTP and HTTP downloads. There's also support for BitTorrent transfers and Metalinks with full and partial hash verification, multi file support and display of metalink file information. No matter how many times your download is interrupted or stopped Retriever always ensures you have a successful download. You also have the ability to segment downloads so only a portion of the file will be downloaded which means that multi file torrents with individual files can be selected for download. You can even schedule downloads so that they start automatically. It can also store passwords for downloads from sites that require authorisation first.

In summary, this is a useful solution for anyone who experiences dripped downloads frequently or doesn't want to be tied to one download session although it does seem to drop downloads too.

Download Retriever Download Manager 1.08 in Softonic

InstantGet splits downloading files into multiple sections, downloading each section simultaneously to increase downloading speed up to 5 times faster. InstantGet provides rich management features, that make it easier to organize your downloads and manage proxies and sites. InstantGet has many convenient features especially for downloaded files; Downloaded files could be searched by URL, filename or comment; Features found in windows explorer could be found in InsteantGet too, right click on the downloaded files to popup an extended explorer context menu.

InstantGet supports ftp and http protocols, proxy servers, file redirects, cookies, directories with authorization, InstantGet integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Internet Explorer to automatically handle your downloads and can monitor clipboard. You can also drag and drop download URLs or use InstantGet from command line. InstantGet is capable of creating unlimited numbers of categories for your files. Download jobs can be placed in specifically-named categories for quick and easy access.

Download InstantGet 2.04 in Softonic

WinGet is a simple download manager that makes the task of downloading files lighter on you.

The program looks quite basic when compared to other similar tools, both in appearance and functionality. Although the developers have included general browser integration among its features, we couldn't make it work with Firefox – only with Internet Explorer.

However, as the program can also monitor the Clipboard, you can copy links in Firefox in order to be able to download them with WinGet. Inexplicably, sometimes the program keeps on displaying the download start dialog, which I found pretty annoying.

All your downloads are conveniently organized by the program into different customizable categories. You can also check the amount of data downloaded during a certain period of time, be it just today or the whole month. WinGet features a quite complete configuration menu where you can tweak the program's behavior from its bandwidth usage limit to what it should do after the download is finished.

WinGet is a small, lightweight download manager that includes only the most basic tools in this kind of software applications.

Download WinGet 3.0 in Softonic

Sharing your music, pictures, videos and documents with pals used to be a very arduous task. You'd have to copy everything onto a floppy or CD, get on your bike and travel to their house and present it to them. Thanks to growing Internet speeds and more hosting sizes it's now so much easier to get these files to your friends. Upload 2000 Turbo respresents a good example of how file sharing technology has evolved.

The application lets you take advantage of unlimited mail server space to share files via P2P. Because Upload 2000 splits the files into smaller chunks, the data transmission takes place very quickly, though the speed also depends on the server you're using. The program is different to normal P2P solutions, and it doesn't contain a search feature. As a result you can only really share files and folders with people you know, but this is not necessarily a bad thing because it means downloading files is much quicker.

If you want to take advantage of unlimited server space to exchange files quickly with your friends and family, Upload 2000 provides a simple, yet comprehensive solution.

Download Upload 2000 Turbo 1.2 in Softonic

Here at Softonic we download and test up to 30 programs a day, so having a download manager on our PCs definitely makes our life easier. Flashget is considered by many to be the best download manager out there, but does it really deserve this reputation? We gave it a test drive to uncover the features that make it such a widely-coveted application.

Flashget takes charge of your downloads, automating the whole process from start to finish. Among the essential features of a download manager is batch downloading of multiple files, well handled by the program. Flashget also lets you schedule downloads to start at particular times. This is good when you have a long list of files waiting to be downloaded but you want to avoid sucking up bandwidth. You can schedule them to download one after the other, or at times when you will not be using your PC. What makes Flashget a particularly valuable tool is the speed of its downloads. You can cut up a file into various parts to download it faster and can optimize the speed according to your connection. When tested out, Flashget definitely revealed higher performances than the in-browser download managers included in Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Modem users will appreciate the auto-connect/disconnect function but the majority of users, who are on broadband, can ignore this feature. Our favourite function was the ability to explore a website for all possible downloads, an easy way to catch all the files in a site in one go. However, avoid using this tool for a website like Softonic, otherwise you’ll end up with hundreds or even thousands of random programs queued up.

Flashget is compatible with Internet Explorer and Netscape (meaning it also works with Firefox and Opera) but a little browsing on the developer’s website and you will find out that it also offers plug-ins for Opera and Firefox.

Flashget allows you to set up rules for your downloads, such as organizing them according to name or URL; a promising feature which actually turned out to be pretty disappointing. Where we expected a whole range of filters to select and organize downloads according to categories like size, download speed or even comments, we only found two sets of rules, seriously limiting this feature’s possibilities.

So what is our verdict? Flashget has enough features to make it a solid option for any download addict or beginner alike. What’s more, Flashget is fast. Actually, it’s really fast: the Formula 1 of download managers. If you download files often, you won’t be disappointed.

Download FlashGet 1.9.6.1073 in Softonic

ReGet Pro is a fast, small and user-friendly utility that downloads files from the Internet more efficiently. ReGet Pro is a good choice for everyday Internet user with regular download needs. Unlike many other download managers ReGet Pro is very easy to use and contains essential features for perfecting the download process.

High speed

ReGet Pro is designed to dramatically accelerate your downloads (up to 3-5 times) by splitting file to sections and downloading these sections simultaneously.

Resumption of broken downloads

If your download gets interrupted, ReGet Pro can automatically reconnect to the Internet and proceed downloading from where it left off. This feature also allows you to pause downloading and continue later

Easy to use

ReGet Pro comes complete with an intuitive, user-friendly interface. Moreover, you can fully customize the application to fit your needs.

One-click downloading

ReGet Pro seamlessly integrates with all popular browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, MSN Explorer, Opera, and Mozilla.

Download queue

If you don't want to download all the files simultaneously, you may set some of them for later downloading. Queued download can be started automatically when the previous download is finished or manually at any time you want

Download log

If you have a problem with any particular download, ReGet Pro lets you know what exactly happened in a plain and simply language (you do not need to learn all those Internet errors codes).

Download ReGet Deluxe 5.1.301 in Softonic

This cheeky little download manager will suit even the most die hard down loaders. It features a whole range of options: crash and broken link recovery, set download time, segment downloading. We also appreciated mirror searching, by which GetRight looks for alternative websites to get the program from.

GetRight seduces dialup modem users with options like automatic dial up launch and shutdown. You can also ask it to redial if the connection fails. GetRight supports Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, and Firefox. It fits nicely on your desktop, whether as a window or tray icon. But GetRight goes beyond the basics of most download managers, integrating its own browser, from which you can generate a list of download links available on any web page and choose the ones which you want to obtain. GetRight allows you to extensively organize your downloads, from high to low priority, history or even by setting various filters on your files.

GetRight is a nobrainer to manage your downloads.

Download GetRight 6.2a in Softonic

If you usually come across downloads from free hosting sites you'll probably have noticed that they're all quite unfriendly and difficult to use: lots of ads, waiting times, extra clicks, passwords and some other elements make downloading from free hosting services a real pain.

Luckily enough you can now use Universal Share Downloader. This manager handles the whole downloading process in a very convenient way, saving you all the hard work. Just enter the appropriate link for the file you want to download an this application will take care of everything.

Universal Share Downloader is configured to work with more than a hundred free hosting services, including the most popular ones like RapidShare, MegaUpload or YouSendIt. It can also be integrated into Firefox (with the FlashGot extension) and Internet Explorer, plus monitor the Windows Clipboard for copied download links.

Some other interesting features are compatibility with proxy servers, the ability to schedule tasks, support for remote control and automatic program updates.

Download Universal Share Downloader 1.3.4.4 in Softonic