# Alternatives to aria2 The scriptable download engine. aria2 ranks #8 of 11 in Download managers, with an Alt Score of 70. It is licensed under GPL-2.0 and free from Free. 8 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aria2/ Category: Download managers ## Where aria2 stands out - **CLI** — 3 of 7 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Users and developers who need reliable command-line control over downloads, including sysadmins scripting batch transfers and developers embedding a download engine into their own tools via RPC. - **What you get**: A lightweight command-line download utility that speaks HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink. It can pull a single file from multiple sources and protocols at once to maximize connection throughput. A built-in JSON-RPC and XML-RPC interface allows remote control and integration with GUI frontends or custom scripts. - **How it works**: aria2 runs as a CLI process or background daemon, splitting a download into segments fetched in parallel across multiple connections, mirrors, or protocols simultaneously, then reassembling them into the completed file. It can be driven interactively, via config/input files, or programmatically through its RPC interface. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-08) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-08) - **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-08) - **Platforms**: ? - **Status**: maintenance (verified 2026-07-08) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Download Master](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/download-master.md) | 80 | Proprietary | Windows | | 2 | [Internet Download Manager](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/internet-download-manager.md) | 80 | Proprietary | Windows | | 3 | [Xtreme Download Manager (XDM)](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xtreme-download-manager.md) | 80 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 4 | [Free Download Manager](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/free-download-manager.md) | 75 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Android, Linux | | 5 | [yt-dlp](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/yt-dlp.md) | 75 | Unlicense | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 6 | [Folx](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/folx.md) | 70 | Proprietary | macOS | | 7 | [JDownloader](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jdownloader.md) | 70 | GPL | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 8 | [Motrix](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/motrix.md) | 70 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 9 | [Persepolis Download Manager](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/persepolis.md) | 70 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 10 | [4K Video Downloader](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/4k-video-downloader.md) | 40 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Download managers checklist | aria2 | Download Master | Internet Download Manager | Xtreme Download Manager (XDM) | Free Download Manager | yt-dlp | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Free | Donationware | One-time | Free | Free | Free | | Starts at | Free | $9.95 | €21.50 | Free | Free | Free | | License | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Unlicense | | Platforms | ? | Windows | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Android, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | | Segmented downloading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Browser integration | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Video grabbing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | | Scheduler | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | Resume support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Open source | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | | No bundled adware | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | | Speed limits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | CLI | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ## Sources Sources for aria2. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “aria2 is a utility for downloading files. The supported protocols are HTTP(S), FTP, SFTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink.” - **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “aria2 is a utility for downloading files.” - **Status**: maintenance — (verified 2026-07-08) - Note: Latest release 1.37.0 (2023-11-15); low activity. - Quote: “We will ship MINOR updates on the 15th of every month. We may skip a release if we have had no changes since the last release.” - **License**: GPL-2.0 — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991” - **Segmented downloading**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “* Segmented downloading” - **Browser integration**: No — (verified 2026-07-08) - Note: Exposes RPC; third-party extensions can integrate but aria2 ships none. - Quote: “JSON-RPC (over HTTP and WebSocket)/XML-RPC interface” - **Video grabbing**: No — (verified 2026-07-08) - Note: No stream/video extraction. - Quote: “aria2 is a utility for downloading files. The supported protocols are HTTP(S), FTP, SFTP, BitTorrent, and Metalink.” - **Resume support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “Continue downloading a partially downloaded file.” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991” - **No bundled adware**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Note: OSS CLI tool via GitHub; no installer bundle or adware. - Quote: “aria2 is a utility for downloading files.” - **Speed limits**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “--max-overall-download-limit= ... --max-download-limit=” - **CLI**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-08) - Quote: “* Command-line interface” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/