Youku launched in 2006 and spent its early years as the Chinese equivalent of the video sites appearing everywhere else: user uploads, variable quality, and a great deal of material whose provenance nobody examined closely. It merged with its main rival Tudou in 2012 and was bought outright by Alibaba a few years after that.
The acquisition changed what the platform is. Money went into licensed drama, variety shows and films, and Youku became a streaming service competing on exclusive programming rather than an open video host. The user-upload side still exists but it is no longer the point of the place.
That split matters practically. A substantial share of what is on Youku now sits behind a subscription, while alongside it there remains a large body of freely viewable material — clips, older uploads, promotional content and programmes made available without charge. Only the second kind is relevant here.
Saving a Youku video
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1
Copy the Youku address
Take the youku.com address from your browser, or use the share control under the player. The address contains an identifier for the video, and the whole thing is needed.
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2
Lay the address in the box above
Paste it into the field at the top of this page, which begins reading it straight away.
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3
Pick from the encodes
The versions Youku holds for that video are listed with file sizes. Older user uploads offer considerably less than recent professional material.
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4
Take it onto your device
Tap the row when it turns blue. Downloads on Android, the Files app on an iPhone.
Free material and the subscription catalogue
Youku today is two things sharing one website, and the difference decides whether anything can be saved.
| Kind of content | Can it be saved? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Freely viewable video | Yes | Watchable without an account |
| User uploads | Yes | The original side of the platform |
| VIP subscription drama | No | A paid product |
| Licensed films | No | Rights were bought to sell access |
| Region-locked programming | No | Not reachable from outside China |
The paid catalogue is where Alibaba's investment went, and it is how the programmes get made. Working around a subscription would simply take money away from production, which is not something this site does.
Why people save Youku video
Access is the strongest reason. Playback from outside mainland China is inconsistent even for material that is freely available, and a good deal of the catalogue is region-locked outright.
The older user-upload archive is also genuinely unstable. Material posted a decade ago disappears over rights claims and account closures, and much of it exists nowhere else.
And the ordinary case applies: a long programme is better watched from a file than streamed across an unreliable international connection.
Youku download questions
Can I save a VIP or subscription drama?
No. Those are a paid product, and paying for them is how the programmes are financed.
Why will Youku not play for me at all?
A great deal of the catalogue is region-locked to mainland China. That restriction applies before any question of downloading arises.
Is Youku the same as Tudou?
They merged in 2012 and are part of the same company now, though both names are still used.
What resolutions are there?
Up to 1080p on recent professional uploads, considerably less on older user material.
Can I download Youku a whole series?
No. Each episode has its own page and address.
Where does the Youku file save?
Downloads on Android, the Files app on an iPhone.
Will anybody be notified on Youku?
No. Nothing is reported and no account is involved.
My Youku link has stopped working.
Older uploads are removed frequently over rights claims, and international access is inconsistent. Both are likely explanations.
Is there a download limit on Youku?
No cap and no queue.
Is downloading from Youku acceptable?
For freely available material, a personal copy is ordinary. The subscription catalogue is a different matter and is deliberately out of scope here.