Free Download Manager (FDM) best alternative to IDM
| IDM is great, but the free version comes with annoying pop-ups. FDM is a better alternative with a modern design.
Download features in browsers have come far, but they are still lacking. The main problem comes when downloading large files: if you lose connection for a second, you lose it all.
But we had a solution for many years: the “Download Manager.” These are separate apps/software that manage your downloads. You install them and their browser extension, which catches the download link and downloads your files instead of the browser. You can also directly add downloads using a URL/link.
Most important features of a download manager:
Pause/Resume - If you have a half-downloaded file, they can resume downloading using a different or the same link.
Multiple connections - Unlike browsers, they can download different parts of a file simultaneously, increasing download speed.
If you know about download managers and use them for different things, you must know about JDownloader or IDM (Internet Download Manager).
IDM is especially popular; it offers many things we need, is easy to download, and is almost a good software.
Thing is that they have a paid plan, and this is where it all goes wrong. They offer a free version on a 30-day trial basis. The product is good, so many people use it, and when 30 days are up, they delete it and reinstall it.
But IDM has made it harder and harder to use their software this way, and you also get constant pop-ups that tell you to upgrade. IDM is good, but what they offer for free is sad and annoying. It is also old software, which means its codebase and UI (user interface) are old-school.
If you do get annoyed by IDM and try to search the internet for alternatives, you will get many recommendations. Many of them are free but have one problem or another. Some just don’t work, some are old as IDM, some are just hard to install, some don’t look good, and/or don’t get updates. Here you might find FDM (Free Download Manager) ‘the solution’.
I had tried many, and when I installed FDM, I was skeptical at first but it’s just really good.
First, the UI (interface/design) is good and modern with dark mode.
And yes, it offers all the usual features like - resume capability, multiple connections, a scheduler, etc.
If you are switching from IDM, it will take some time to get used to the features and to find all the settings.
But one thing you will notice is that when you use IDM, you are bombarded with options and choices. In FDM, you don’t feel that way, but don’t worry; the options are there. This is just what a good interface looks like.
How to Install?
It is straightforward, as in download the package and install it.
Then go to the browser extension store and add the FDM extension.
Extension -
And you are ready.
(FDM is also available in Microsoft store)
Available on
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
(I haven’t tried the Android version, so I don’t know how good it is.)
Update
Updates are done through the app/software itself.
In FDM, menu has option ‘Check for updates.‘
How to add category
In IDM, you had a feature where different types of content would get saved in different folders automatically.
FDM offers the same feature, but if you want to add a custom type, click on the ‘plus’ icon near the other categories/tags and enter the name of the category/tag.
Then right-click to edit. Here, you can specify the folder and file extensions.
(If you don’t know all extensions for content type just ask chatgpt or your favorite ai.)
Now I am not going to tell you every option and how to use every simple thing, I trust that you are smart enough.
Trying to replace IDM, I tried many things, and found out FDM fits the bill perfectly. It’s free, reliable, and has almost all the options.
