Top 5 Free Download Managers

A download manager is a computer program dedicated to the task of downloading (and sometimes uploading) possibly unrelated stand-alone files from (and sometimes to) the Internet for storage.

Good download managers also allow you to start several concurrent download sessions for the one file. Download managers, as you may know, are applications that can pick up a download link from your browser and get you the file much faster than a standard browser can. These applications also make it easier to manage a huge download list, as they offer a central interface and are capable of multi-part file transfers.

Here is the list of my Top 5 Free Download Managers

1. Free Download Manager - Free Download Manager is one of the best freeware programs available. Not only does it integrate with a wide variety of browsers, it also has a very well-designed interface, and separate clients for FTP and HTTP. It’s also a ’site ripper’ – that is, it can download entire websites without much ado.

2. FlashGet - FlashGet is a leading download manager and has the highest amount of users on the internet. It uses MHT(Multi-server Hyper-threading Transportation) technique, supports various protocols and has excellent document management features. FlashGet is a freeware without any adware or spyware.

3. Orbit Downloader - Orbit Downloader, leader of download manager revolution, is devoted to new generation web (web2.0) downloading, such as video/music/streaming media from Myspace, YouTube, Imeem, Pandora, Rapidshare, support RTMP. And to make general downloading easier and faster.

4. FileZilla - is powerful Open Source FTP/SFTP client with many features. It includes a site manager to store all your connection details and logins as well as an Explorer style interface that shows the local and remote folders and can be customized independently. The program offers support for firewalls and proxy connections as well as SSL and Kerberos GSS security. Additional features include keep alive, auto ascii/binary transfer, download queue, manual transfers, raw FTP commands and more. A nice program for beginners and advanced user alike.

5. DownThemAll - DownThemAll is all you can desire from a download manager: it features an advanced accelerator that increases speed up to 400% and it allows you to pause and resume downloads at any time. DownThemAll is fast, reliable and easy-to-use! It lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage and much more: you can refine your downloads by fully customizable criteria to get only what you really want!

Other Great Download Managers

GetGo Download Manager helps download your favorite videos from YouTube and other websites with embedded FLV flash videos with one-click. It integrates with IE and Firefox browsers. With the program, you can easily set up a batch download using an URL pattern template and rename downloaded files automatically using a filename pattern template. Other features such as download scheduler, resume broken downloads, managing downloaded files, etc., are included. The program has optional Standard and Search toolbars in the user interface. Upon installation, it adds a GetGo Toolbar into your browser, but that can be disabled.

Download Accelerator Plus (free) is a toned down version of the commercial DAP Premium, but basic features are available such as multi-connections to download sites, mirror search, etc. It has an active 'information pane' at the right panel which can't be disabled.

Star Downloader Free accelerates your downloads by splitting files into parts and downloading them from mirror sites. It is also a toned down version without some of the useful features available in the commercial Star Downloader Pro, such as a link leecher.

MetaProducts Download Express, a small application weighing in at about 680 KB, supports IE and Firefox browsers and allows you to download individual files from the Web and FTP sites with multiple channels technology. It features a Projects list without classification of downloaded files. Download speed is slower than the top-picked download manager.

Gigaget - Gigaget is the next generation download manager which utilizes cutting-edge Net Grid technology that improves your download speed by 7-10 times.

LeechGet (Personal Edition) is a free download manager for non-commercial use only. It provides common download features and limits the number of simultaneous downloads to one only. The unlimited number of downloads is available to its commercial premium version.

Fresh Download offers several useful features such as turbo-charged downloads, pause and resume, multiple connections, integration with browsers, clipboard monitoring, categorized download, etc. Upon obtaining the software, you will be asked to enter your name and email address to get free codes to unlock the software. This program does not display the original names of some downloaded files when a download link is manually added.