The Best Download Managers for Windows – March 2019

While browsers are better able to handle downloads than before, they are still a clunky way to get your files. They cannot resume a paused download, have no error correction, cannot verify files or optimize download speeds. For that you need a download manager. This piece will showcase what I think are the best download managers for Windows in 2019.

With most files getting larger and more opportunities to download than ever before, using a download manager offers a lot of benefit for the average Windows user. They can speed up downloads by breaking the file up into smaller packets, allow you to pause and resume if you get interrupted, compensate for lost packets and even encode files into different format should you need them to.

Download managers for Windows

As most of these download managers are free, there is every reason to use them!

Free Download Manager

Free Download Manager is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a free download manager for Windows. It’s strengths lie in media so is excellent for anyone who downloads lots of music or movies. It also includes its own torrent client for a little extra benefit.

What makes this program cool is its scheduling feature and remote control. You can schedule downloads for quiet periods so you don’t hog all the bandwidth. You can also remotely control downloads from your phone as long as you have an internet connection. It’s a very powerful download manager and considering it is free, is well worth checking out.

Ninja Download Manager

As well as having a cool name, Ninja Download Manager also has cool features. It’s a newer app with a flat design and a look that sits comfortably within Windows 10. It is easy to use and has a scheduler, a download accelerator that splits files before downloading and reassembles them once on your PC and a bunch of other tools too.

There is also a neat video preview feature that allows you to check the quality of a video file before you download all of it. If you’re downloading from unofficial sources, this could save a lot of time and bandwidth!

Download Accelerator Plus

Download Accelerator Plus is a free variant of a premium product that doesn’t leave you wanting. The free version has a download accelerator, a video previewer, file converter, a file harvesting option to find multiple download sources for a file to speed up downloading and a link checker to verify sources.

The app looks a little dated but works very well. It has all the features you need in a download manager and if it doesn’t, the premium version will have. Overall, it’s one of the best download managers for Windows around right now.

JDownloader

JDownloader is a very powerful download manager more suited for serial downloaders and larger files than for media. The fact that you have to manually deselect adware from the installer is a mark against it but the power and utility of the program makes us give it a pass despite that.

Where JDownloader shines is in its ability to automatically complete Captchas, automatic RAR file extraction, pause and resume downloads, set bandwidth limits, download multiple files at once and even download directly from YouTube and other media platforms. There is also plugin support which offers huge potential for downloaders.

uGet

uGet is an open source download manager that doesn’t look much but offers a ton of features for no money down. It looks okay with a simplistic UI but handles download like a champ. It can handle multiple connections, use file splitting for faster downloads, can pause and resume, batch download, queue downloads and has browser extensions for even more power.

While the interface is minimal, it’s also a chameleon. Install it onto your computer and it will adopt your desktop theme, whatever it may be. It’s a small thing but makes uGet stand out. The downside is that it will take a little more configuration than these others.

EagleGet

EagleGet is a newer download manager and looks the business. It has a smart UI that fits with Windows 10 and makes short work of handling downloads. It can integrate with most browsers, work with HTTPS and FTP, use multiple download sources, split files into smaller pieces, prioritize downloads, pause and resume and will check all downloads for malware automatically.

I don’t know how good that malware check is so I wouldn’t depend on it entirely but it is a neat feature. The downside to EagleGet is that it is ad-supported. You either have to have ads or allow others to use your bandwidth a bit like bit torrent. Despite these negatives, EagleGet makes such short work of downloads that it deserves a place in this list.

Those are what I think are the best download managers for Windows in 2019. Got any other suggestions to add? Tell us about them below if you do!